Me, My Hair, and I

[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 Bebe 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.

“"Untangles the many truths about hair, and the lives we lead underneath it." -- Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing up B”

"Truth and wisdom do such a delightful dance throughout "Me, My Hair, And I" that you finish the essay collection wondering why we don't spend more time, not less, obsessing over our tresses. . . A deliciously enlightening read, equal parts fun and poignant." --Chicago Tribune

"This anthology of essays by women explores a surprising range of issues, including identity, relationships, vanity, femininity, aging, and society." --NYTimes.com

"Here, in a series of astonishingly good essays, writers wax eloquent about the emotions wrought by our locks: 'good hair' and 'bad hair' in African-American culture; envy of our follicly gifted siblings; the quest for delusional hairstyles; and much more."--People
"Women show their roots in 'Me, My Hair, and I.'" --Vanity Fair

"[T]hese twenty-seven essays are beautifully revelatory and deeply personal accounts of each woman's hair"--Bustle

"The long and the short of it is that one of the most intimate--and fraught--relationships women have is with their hair . . . it's that relationship that's explored in Me, My Hair, and I, a collection of essays from a diverse range of authors . . . These essays are by turns funny and poignant. They will spark a sense of recognition in any woman who has ever suffered a bad hair day." --BUST Magazine
"Benedict has a knack for zeroing in on subjects with far-reaching, often surprising implications and resonance. In her third invitational collection, she has definitely tapped a nerve . . . Women spend enormous amounts of money and time on their hair, agonizing over every decision. Variations on these themes are tackled with candor, wit, insight, and emotion by Benedict's 27 eloquently entertaining contributors . . . [An] irresistible, pithy, and right-on anthology." --Booklist

"[A] splendid collection . . . By turns wry, tender, pointed, and laugh-out-loud funny, the selections take us along on the contributors' tangled, complicated, and thoroughly engaging journeys."--Publishers Weekly

"This collection is not only unique for the subject matter it addresses. It also provides cultural commentary that is by turns insightful, humorous, and moving. . . Surprisingly engaging reading." --Kirkus Reviews

"We wear our hair every day, and this collection demonstrates--with great clarity and insight--the complexities of what that means for women of all backgrounds. An important conversation and worthy of note" --Library Journal

Elizabeth Benedict is a graduate of Barnard College and the author of five novels, including the bestseller Almost and the National Book Award finalist Slow Dancing. She is the editor of the anthologies What My Mother Gave Me, a New York Times bestseller, and Mentors, Muses & Monsters, and has written for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Esquire, and the Huffington Post, the Rumpus, and Tin House. Two of her essays have been selected for Best American Essays collections. She has taught widely and works as a writing coach and editor.

Hair matters. And these writers go to great lengths to help us understand why. Adriana Trigiani on trendy hair: "I figure when Madonna gets scared about changing her hair, something is about to blow again, like Vesuvius." Marita Golden on black hair: "Black women's hair is knotted and gnarled byissues of race, politics, history, and pride." Anne Kreamer on going gray: "Much to my surprise, when I stopped coloring my hair, time began to slow down, in a good way." Maria Hinojosa on curly hair: "As I came to accept and even love my wild hair, it became a way for me to feel power that I had never experienced." Alex Kuczynski on waxing: "'Very beautiful.' I will never forget those words. I associate them with shock and vulnerability--and chafing." Deborah Feldman on covering hair: "Eventually I threw away my wigs. I abandoned the community that had forced me to wear them." Suleika Jaouad on lost hair: "Chemotherapy is a take-no-prisoners stylist." Patricia Volk on products: "High-functioning hair obsessives rarely go it alone. We have a team. The products, the people." "Untangles the many truths about hair, and the lives we lead underneath it." --Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up B

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