Headstrong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl - Paperback

by Christy Bailey (Author), Susanna Donato (Editor)

Christy has a secret. While even her closest friends see the confident young professional rocking a blond '90s perm, she privately battles an ever-growing patchwork of bald spots, enlisting stinging creams, painful injections, and clever camouflage, from comb-overs to berets. Then, after her brief marriage collapses, her eyebrows vanish, too.

At first, Christy manages her alopecia areata with wigs, creating a masterful façade of a woman with striking auburn tresses. She even runs marathons in a baseball cap adorned with sweaty strips of fake hair. When 26 miles isn't enough distance from her secret, she quits her corporate job and joins the Peace Corps, embarking on a bold, sexy, and intentional journey of radical self-acceptance.

On a remote Honduran island, Christy embraces a new image, her bare scalp wrapped in the colorful headscarves-pañuelos-that earn her the nickname "Pañuelo Girl." But she can't run forever. Who will she be when she returns home to a society obsessed with beautiful hair?

A memoir of hope, courage, and self-determination, awarded a starred review by Kirkus Reviews.

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About the book: After years of struggling with the pain of hiding her hair loss, caused by alopecia areata, with wigs, hats, and a double life, Christy Bailey joins the Peace Corps at age 35, and on a remote Honduran island, begins a bold journey toward self-acceptance. Along the way, she earns the nickname "Pañuelo Girl" for her trademark bright headscarves as she discovers her own strength, beauty, and capacity to live her wildly adventurous life on her own terms.

Why this book matters: Alopecia areata affects 7 million people in the U.S., according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation; 80% are adults. Unlike most books related to alopecia areata, which tend to emphasize "cures" (spoiler: there is none) and treatments, this book is a feisty, funny, moving account of coming to terms with difference and finding joy in being freely yourself. As a bonus, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the Peace Corps service experience.

The backstory: After her Peace Corps service, Christy returned to the U.S., earned an MFA, and began crafting a memoir that would provide hope to others grappling with an alopecia diagnosis and symptoms. Sadly, Christy Bailey died in 2015 of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) before publishing her memoir, Headstrong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl. She left directions to complete and publish the book, which was edited by her literary executor, Susanna Donato, a professional writer and editor with 30 years of experience.