An “achingly beautiful” photo series of life and death has just won a Pulitzer. Jahi Chikwendiu's series on young adult cancer brought immediate tears to my eyes

AMERICAN FORK, UT - JULY 5: Shay Wright Martin holds her infant daughter, AmyLou Martin, at the burial of Shay's husband, Tanner Martin, at the American Fork Cemetery on July 5, 2025, in American Fork, UT. Tanner, who succumbed to illness on June 25, 2025, was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in November of 2020 at age 25. At the time, he was going to school for a bachelor's degree in psychiatry and had just celebrated his second wedding anniversary with his wife, Shay. Most cancers in the United States are found in people age 65 and older, but a new study shows a concerning trend: Cancer among younger Americans, particularly women, is on the rise, with gastrointestinal, endocrine and breast cancers climbing at the fastest rates. There is not a clear explanation why cancer rates are rising among younger people, but experts say there are several possible reasons behind the trend, including rising obesity rates and lifestyle factors such as drinking alcohol, smoking, sleeping poorly and being sedentary. Environmental factors, including exposure to pollutants and carcinogenic chemicals, also probably play a role. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images).

Photographs have power – and I was reminded of just how much emotion an image can carry when one of the newest feature photo series to win a Pulitzer instantly brought tears to my eyes. A series of black-and-white photographs by Jahi Chikwendiu, a former The Washington Post photographer, following a young couple welcoming their first child as the father faced terminal cancer, has won a 2026 Pulitzer Prize in the Feature Photography category.

In the series that the Pulitzer Prize committee calls “a heart-wrenching and achingly beautiful photo essay,” Chikwendiu documented the struggles of a young family welcoming their first child while the father faced terminal cancer. Tanner and Shay Martin, of Utah, welcomed their daughter on May 17, 2025. Tanner died from stage 4 colon cancer less than six weeks later on June 25, 2025.