Me, My Hair, and I : Twenty-seven Women Untangle an Obsession

Curl up with these “astonishingly good essays” about hair and its many meanings by Anne Lamott, Suleika Jaouad, Maria Hinojosa, Marita Golden, and more (People). Ask a woman about her hair, and she just might tell you the story of her life. Ask a whole bunch of women about their hair, and you could get a history of the world. The essays in Me, My Hair, and I are reflections and revelations about every aspect of women’s lives from family, race, religion, and motherhood to culture, health, politics, and sexuality. They take place in African American kitchens, at Hindu Bengali weddings, and inside Hasidic Jewish homes. Also layered into these intimate reminiscences are tributes to influences from Farrah Fawcett to Botticelli’s Venus. The long and the short of it is that our hair is our glory—and our nemesis, our history, our self-esteem, our joy, our mortality. Every woman knows that many things in life matter more than hair, but few bring as much pleasure as a really great hairdo. “A deliciously enlightening read, equal parts fun and poignant.” —Chicago Tribune “Explores a surprising range of issues, including identity, relationships, vanity, femininity, aging, and society.” —The New York Times “Untangles the many truths about hair, and the lives we lead underneath it.” —Pamela Druckerman, New York Times-bestselling author of Bringing Up Bébé “[A] splendid collection . . . By turns wry, tender, pointed, and laugh-out-loud funny.” —Publishers Weekly

Curl up with these "astonishingly good essays" about hair and its many meanings by Anne Lamott, Suleika Jaouad, Maria Hinojosa, Marita Golden, and more ( People ). Ask a woman about her hair, and she just might tell you the story of her life. Ask a whole bunch of women about their hair, and you could get a history of the world. The essays in Me, My Hair, and I are reflections and revelations about every aspect of women's lives from family, race, religion, and motherhood to culture, health, politics, and sexuality. They take place in African American kitchens, at Hindu Bengali weddings, and inside Hasidic Jewish homes. Also layered into these intimate reminiscences are tributes to influences from Farrah Fawcett to Botticelli's Venus. The long and the short of it is that our hair is our glory— and our nemesis, our history, our self-esteem, our joy, our mortality. Every woman knows that many things in life matter more than hair, but few bring as much pleasure as a really great hairdo. "A deliciously enlightening read, equal parts fun and poignant." — ChicagoTribune "Explores a surprising range of issues, including identity, relationships, vanity, femininity, aging, and society." — The New York Times "Untangles the many truths about hair, and the lives we lead underneath it." —PamelaDruckerman, New York Times -bestselling author of Bringing Up Bébé "[A] splendid collection... By turns wry, tender, pointed, and laugh-out-loud funny." — Publishers Weekly

“[A] splendid collection . . . By turns wry, tender, pointed, and laugh-out-loud funny.” — Publishers Weekly “Untangles the many truths about hair, and the lives we lead underneath it.” —Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé Ask a woman about her hair, and she just might tell you the story of her life. Ask a whole bunch of women about their hair, and you could get a history of the world. Surprising, insightful, frequently funny, and always forthright, the essays in Me, My Hair, and I are reflections and revelations about every aspect of women’s lives from family, race, religion, and motherhood to culture, health, politics, and sexuality. They take place in African American kitchens, at Hindu Bengali weddings, and inside Hasidic Jewish homes. The conversation is intimate and global at once. Layered into these reminiscences are tributes to influences throughout history: Jackie Kennedy, Lena Horne, Farrah Fawcett, the Grateful Dead, and Botticelli’s Venus. The long and the short of it is that our hair is our glory— and our nemesis, our history, our self-esteem, our joy, our mortality. Every woman knows that many things in life matter more than hair, but few bring as much pleasure as a really great hairdo. These twenty-seven "hair pieces" offer up reflections and revelations about family, race, religion, ritual, culture, motherhood, politics, celebrity, what goes on in African American kitchens and at Hindu Bengali weddings, alongside stories about the influence of Jackie Kennedy, Lena Horne, Farrah Fawcett, and the Grateful Dead. Layered into these essays you'll find surprises, insights, hilarity, and the resonance of common experience. Marita Golden writes about her grief over what so many African American women still endure to obtain "good hair." Patricia Volk itemizes her seventeen hair care products, each with a price tag. Myla Goldberg tells of how ill equipped she was to tend the hair of her adopted biracial daughter. And Suleika Jaouad describes the ravages of chemotherapy and the empowerment of shaving designs onto her head. These writers know that a woman's hair is her glory, her nemesis, her history, and her self-esteem. They know, too, that many things in life matter more than hair, but few bring as much pleasure as a really great hairdo."With tender sensitivity and wild wit, these wonderful writers examine the allure, magic, curse, thrills, and sorrows of hair." Overview: Ask a woman about her hair, and she just might tell you the story of her life. Ask a whole bunch of women about their hair, and you could get a history of the world. Surprising, insightful, frequently funny, and always forthright, the essays in Me, My Hair, and I are reflections and revelations about every aspect of women’s lives from family, race, religion, and motherhood to culture, health, politics, and sexuality. In this collection of essays, women talk about their hair-- and in doing so, offer up reflections and revelations about family, race, religion, ritual, culture, motherhood, politics, and celebrity. Layered into these essays you'll find surprises, insights, hilarity, and the resonance of common experience. Many things in life matter more than hair, but few bring as much pleasure as a really great hairdo.