Memoir, "Headstrong," Shines Light on Alopecia, Radical Self-Acceptance, and Peace Corps Service

DENVER - Rezul -- A compelling new memoir, Headstrong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl, is now available ahead of National Alopecia Areata Month in September.

Headstrong tells the bold, funny, and moving true story of a woman who chose self-acceptance over shame after years of hiding her autoimmune hair loss. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition that affects nearly 7 million people in the U.S., according to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

The book received a coveted starred review from Kirkus Reviews. Early reader reviews for Headstrong average 4.9 on Amazon and Goodreads.

When Bailey's hair began falling out in her 20s, she tried everything to hide it. But after a series of personal losses — including a friend's death from cancer and the unraveling of her career and marriage — she made a radical choice: she joined the Peace Corps, left behind the wigs, and wrapped her bare scalp in vibrant bandanas, or in Spanish, pañuelos. On a remote Honduran island, she discovered the strength to become who she really was.

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"In a culture obsessed with beautiful hair, Christy claimed her beauty on her own terms," said Susanna Donato (https://www.linkedin.com/in/susanna-donato-health-care-nonprofit-content-writer-editor/), the book's editor and Bailey's literary executor. "She wrote Headstrong to show how embracing difference can be the start of something powerful. But Christy's story is also unique because she made the life-changing choice to join the Peace Corps at age 35 — turning the page to even greater adventure as she organized a successful triathlon on a small Honduran island."

Bailey's story lives today because she made the essential decision to name a literary executor and editor before her 2015 death from inflammatory breast cancer, just as she was completing the manuscript. Donato published Bailey's manuscript in collaboration with Bailey's family and estate. Herself a professional writer and editor, Donato is available for interviews about the book and about preparing a literary legacy or preserving others' literary work.

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Bailey earned her MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and served in the Peace Corps from 2002–2004. She taught writing in university classrooms and homeless shelters, worked as a writer-in-residence at a children's hospital, and was a member of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop Book Project. Headstrong is her literary legacy.

Headstrong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl is available in paperback and e-book from Amazon and all major digital retailers, as well as through Bookshop.org and independent booksellers and libraries.

Learn more about Christy Bailey and Headstrong on Facebook @ChristyBaileyAuthor, on Instagram at @christybailey_headstrong or online at www.christybaileyauthor.com.