Beauty and breast cancer are not words one would typically put together.

Cranston photographer and author Mary Jane Bohlen, however, has managed to illustrate the connection between the two in her new book, “Bosom Buddies.” On Friday, Jan. 29, the book will be on sale at Corner Bakery in Garden City from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Along with Bohlen, many of the survivors photographed for the book will be on hand. There will also be a video production geared toward the book and its meaning.

Bohlen will also be at the Scurvy Dog, located at 1718 Westminster St. in Providence, on Saturday, January 30, at 5 p.m. to sell and sign books. Additionally, plans for book signings are being made at both Barrington Books locations in Rhode Island.

Bohlen worked closely with Bill Roche, a graphic designer from Newport, and the two would meet regularly at the Corner Bakery. Roche assisted with many aspects of the book, including design, layout, and selected images. Bohlen knew the Corner Bakery would be the perfect location for her first book signing.

“For over 20 years I have had the dream of creating a book of photos and essays showing the scars and reconstructions, the thoughts, fears, inner spirit, and especially the hopes of those brave enough to bare their bodies and show their beauty, all inspired by this magnificent tree that I once photographed,” Bohlen said.

The book features 29 models, including Bohlen, who have all been affected by breast cancer. Bohlen did not meet some of the models until the day of their photography shoot.

The project began three years ago, with many bumps and roadblocks along the way. To photograph breast cancer survivors in some of the most public places proved to be a challenge, but one Bohlen was up for. She had a dream, and followed it.

“I have chosen the name ‘Bosom Buddies’ as the title of this dream and have been photographing my ‘buddies’ for the last few years as they kayak, ride horses, work in their gardens, sing, do yoga, and other activities meaningful to them,” she said. “The women depicted in this book are representative of the many thousands of brave warriors who battle this dreaded disease called breast cancer every day. They have taken their bravery one step further by allowing themselves to be photographed in subtle and delicate settings.”

Each photograph also features an essay, poem, or other writing from the model on the opposite page, providing further insight into the journey through breast cancer.

“This has been a very liberating experience for me to finally be at a place in my life that I am able to share my story,” said model and breast cancer survivor Zilda Bettencourt. “It hasn’t been easy dealing with cancer three times, but in the end the cancer was what finally gave me the courage and strength to put an end to 20 years of domestic violence. I have learned so much about myself. I have finally found the peace that I so longed for. Never give up hope.”

Bohlen was brought up the oldest of eight siblings in Brookline, Mass. During the Sixties through the mid-1970s, she was a biomedical photographer, one of only two women in the U.S. employed in this field. Working at hospitals all over the city of Boston, she photographed artificial hearts being implanted in pigs and cows and cutting-edge surgeries on humans, and took a 16mm movie of a lung transplant in a rat through a microscope. She documented social events that included visits from dignitaries, film, TV, and Broadway stars, and weddings and bar mitzvahs. She also did public relations work, in addition to her own photography.

Bohlen left this field in the mid-1970s to begin raising her family, and moved to Virginia in 1979. In 1990, at the age of 46, she began her college career as a studio art major, graduating in 1994, and went on to achieve her master’s degree in printmaking and paper and book arts from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2000. She taught K-8 art in Fredericksburg, Va., and was an adjunct professor at VCU.

As a two-time breast cancer survivor, Bohlen has the insight and wisdom to photograph women in a very vulnerable state. Always the optimist, she looks at breast cancer as somewhat of a blessing.

In May 2008, after living with a mastectomy of her right breast for 16 years, she was told that cancer had returned to her left side. Now, with two mastectomies, she says she never has to wear a bra again – unless she wants – and she decided to retire a year earlier than planned and move back to New England to be closer to family.

Moving to Rhode Island gave her the opportunity to enroll in the certificate program for digital photography at the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence (RISD), from which she graduated in June 2012. It was also in Rhode Island that she discovered the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation and became a volunteer with the group, which supports men and women and their families who have been touched in some way by breast cancer.

“I have since become friends with some of the most amazing and courageous women ever, and I volunteer on the Hope Bus, a mobile wellness and resource center … delivering programs, services, and resources across Rhode Island and into Massachusetts,” she said. “Its primary mission is to raise breast health awareness, encourage screening, and provide resources about breast cancer. Whenever and wherever my skills are needed, I try my best to be available.”

Bohlen lives with her husband of almost 45 years, Bob, in Cranston. Her daughter, Nie, and six-year-old grandson, Sam, along with her youngest son, Patrick, live close by, while her older son, Bobby, lives in Portland, Ore.

Fifty percent of the proceeds from “Bosom Buddies” will go directly to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation. The cover of the book depicts a tree, more than 400 years old, which caught Bohlen’s eye in 1993.

“I found the tree in Ledyard, Conn. Standing 90 feet high, with a circumference of over 26 feet, the tree had been declared dead in June of 1969 due to damage by gypsy moths,” Bohlen said. “In its younger days it was a sacred place where Native Americans would come together to vote and decide on important tribal issues. I took many photographs and upon returning home, quickly developed and printed my images. On close inspection, I began to see a one-breasted figure that immediately inspired me to create an aquatint etching, which I titled ‘Bosom Buddy.’ Although gnarled and broken, I discovered the soul that lived on in this timeless beauty. In 2009, a new white oak was planted in its shadow as the old lady needed to be taken down, her life having been an inspiration for all those who chanced to meet her.”

Bohlen recalled in the spring of 1992, she had herself been “gnarled and broken” after her first breast cancer diagnosis.

“The Ledyard Oak became my ‘Bosom Buddy’ and helped me relate to my inner beauty that was so much more meaningful than what was found beneath my clothing,” she said.

“Being in this book was a way of really dealing with being a breast cancer survivor,” said Patricia Vanhoolandt, one of the models in “Bosom Buddies.” “This opportunity made me feel powerful and realize that I fought one of the toughest battles in my life and won. It was a way of releasing a lot of hidden fears and mental scars from my cancer journey.”

“I look back to the first time when Mary Jane reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to be in a book she was publishing for breast cancer survivors. I remember myself saying, ‘What an inspiration,’ and feeling honored to be involved in the journey along the way of completing this book,” said model and cancer survivor Tracey Donahue-Henebury of Cranston. “I now sit and turn pages in this beautiful masterpiece over and over, not just because I am in it, but because I am amazed of the inner and outer beauty that breast cancer has actually enhanced in all women … I watch friends and family turn the pages also. I watch their eyes tear up. I watch their eyes fill up. I watch the tear fall down their cheek. I tell them, don’t be sad – show this book to someone you may know who may be traveling the road all of us have been down. All women need to feel the beauty that lie beside these scars.”

“Bosom Buddies” lists for $49.95, plus tax, along with shipping costs if ordered by mail. For more information, contact Bohlen at mjay44@verizon.net.

(Reporter and breast cancer survivor Meri Kennedy also participated in the production of the book for editing and modeling.)