CHRISTY BAILEY

PRAISE FOR HEADSTRONG

Christy Bailey’s ferociously funny, luminously lucid Headstrong slaps shame in the face. From the end of her marriage (back before divorce was cool) to the loss of her hair from alopecia areata, and from North Carolina to Honduras, Bailey confronts the social expectations that bind women and, with candid humor and insight, unwraps them to reveal the unvarnished beauty of being truly seen and loved.

—AMY MONTICELLO, author of How to Euthanize a Horse

Headstrong is a tapestry of serious beauty: in the face of major life losses, including the loss of all her hair due to alopecia, Christy weaves rich childhood memories, smart cultural commentary, and a striking resiliency that grows from her vulnerability and the self-exposing progression of her disease. Her book is a testament to the force that Christy was to all who knew her, and a lasting legacy of her unique suffering and the hopeful courage it imparted to her life.  

—MEGAN NIX, author of Remedies for Sorrow

This is a memoir for the soul—one woman’s journey to find her true self inside her mirror. Battling self-doubt, a bad marriage, cultural expectations, and a body rejecting hair growth, Christy Bailey travels from North Carolina to Central America to Colorado in search of purpose and belonging, only to discover that her destination resides within. Headstrong redefines notions of femininity, strength, and liberation by showing us what it really means to be bald and beautiful. Christy’s voice resonates with sass, grit, wisdom, and light. It will sing for decades to come.

—HARRISON CANDELARIA FLETCHER, author of Finding Querencia: Essays from In Between