CHRISTY BAILEY
PRAISE FOR HEADSTRONG
“A triumphant story of a long journey of self-acceptance. [Headstrong is] an insightful, posthumously published memoir about alopecia and personal fulfillment. … Bailey describe[s] the everyday difficulties of living with alopecia, from the daily bombardment of advertisements featuring women with luxuriant hair to the discriminatory actions of an airline ticket agent, in relatable detail. … The story of Bailey’s Peace Corps experience, in particular, is an eye-opening read; the dismissive attitude of the mayor and municipal office at her first site is disheartening, but it makes her story of her successful organization of the Isla del Tigre Triatlón even more inspiring.”
“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
“Bailey’s journey, well-written and highly personal, reveals the complicated self-awareness and self-confidence that she ultimately achieved with her time in the Peace Corps and carried back to her life in the US. ... I highly recommend this memoir and the powerful journey it describes”
— ROBERT THURSTON - Peace Corps Worldwide
“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
About the author
CHRISTY BAILEY devoted her career to crafting meaningful, memorable narratives as a magazine editor, marketer, PR professional, blogger, and creative nonfiction writer. With an MFA in creative writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MBA in marketing, and a BA in journalism, she mastered storytelling from just about any angle.
She was active in Lighthouse Writers Workshop in Denver, taught creative writing at University of Denver and Regis University and to students who were unhoused or living with chronic illness, and was a writer-in-residence at Children’s Hospital Colorado. A fearless traveler, she served in the Peace Corps in Honduras and traveled to nineteen countries. She had alopeica and was hairless for twenty years.