Headstrong: Embracing Alopecia and Becoming Pañuelo Girl

by Christy Bailey, Susanna Donato (Editor)

Christy has a secret. While even her closest friends see the confident young professional rocking a blond ’90s perm, she privately battles an ever-growing patchwork of bald spots, enlisting stinging creams, painful injections, and clever camouflage, from comb-overs to berets. Then, after her brief marriage collapses, her eyebrows vanish, too.

At first, Christy manages her alopecia areata with wigs, creating a masterful façade of a woman with striking auburn tresses. She even runs marathons in a baseball cap adorned with sweaty strips of fake hair. When 26 miles isn’t enough distance from her secret, she quits her corporate job and joins the Peace Corps, embarking on a bold, sexy, and intentional journey of radical self-acceptance.

On a remote Honduran island, Christy embraces a new image, her bare scalp wrapped in the colorful headscarves—pañuelos—that earn her the nickname “Pañuelo Girl.” But she can’t run forever. Who will she be when she returns home to a society obsessed with beautiful hair?

Genres: Memoir

318 pages, Hardcover

Published April 28, 2025

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author had my heart for the very first page I've wanted to escape the insources of life, but the author is glaring aware of hers and she doesn't shy away from hard thing s. she is honest about her triumphs and pitfalls. no perfection for Christy though I feel sadness comes through the page when she craves it but with this this memoir, we find worthiness and cheered many times when I felt like the author is being herself. this is a memoir of acceptance despite hardships and pain and all though it laughs and crying this book is a winner in my eyes. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christy Bailey, a lively, very smart and pretty girl seems ready to take on the world. However, life has thrown a few obstacles. First, a bad marriage to a man who bounces checks including one to the IRS, thereby ruining his own, and her credit. Then Christy gets a diagnosis of alopecia, an auto-immune condition which leads to her losing all her beautiful blonde hair. In spite of these setbacks, she is determined to live a life of adventure, and giving back. She quits her corporate job and enters the Peace Corps. Christy is assigned to a small island off the coast of Honduras in sight of the Arenal volcano. Being bald, she learns to use wigs and scarves to fit in and gets to work on her assignment, which is to help the residents capitalize on the natural beauty of the area. Working with elected officials, and enjoying running herself, Christy settles on planning a triathlon, run-bike-swim. It is hoped that this event will attract athletes from around the world and raise money for the local cooperative.
This memoir is a gift. It brought me along with Christy as she met every challenge with grit, humor and dedication. Spoiler alert...she also finds romance.

[Lia Woodall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This page-turning memoir about complete hair loss in our hair obsessed culture will have you rooting for its hero, Christy Bailey. With honesty, heat, and humor, Christy takes us on her journey with alopecia areata—from her Farrah Fawcett, blond bombshell days, through every-increasing bald spots, painful treatments, and the lengths she goes to hide her secret with her arsenal of barrettes and berets, combovers and cheap wigs. Still, nothing feels authentic and lasting—even the expensive wig she calls her Fancy Hair. But Christy is not one to lose hope. She seeks out new adventures instead—she travels, she participates in marathons and triathlons, and she eventually leaves her corporate job to join the Peace Corps on a remote Honduran island. Find out who she becomes as she wraps her bald head with colorful headscarves for the first time and earns the nickname "Pañuelo Girl." An inspiring story. Readers won't be disappointed!!

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one day. It’s a gripping, funny story about what it is to be a young woman who goes bald, in a world where she’s built her identity around her meticulously styled blond curls.

Christy goes through the gamut of hair loss solutions—doctors and medications (burning purple cream!), a wig that mats up, berets. In the meantime she finds her inner athlete and starts running, completing marathons and triathlons.

Then she joins the Peace Corps and heads to Honduras with no wig — just bandanas (the pañuelos in the title) tied around her head. There, she organizes a triathlon, her island’s first — a story that is hilarious and jaw-dropping.

The ending is beautiful and I wanted more.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved being taken along for Christy's journey of self-acceptance. Christy's specific story is about hair loss, but of course like any great memoir her arc applies to many of us in a myriad of ways. I also enjoyed reading about her time in Honduras. The closing chapters are beautiful and relatable - also completely heartbreaking knowing what was coming. I only met Christy a few times before she died ten years ago, but she left on an imprint on me. I'm thankful for the people who helped bring this memoir to full fruition (Susanna, good on you!) It's a gift to us readers and also to the legacy she left in this world.

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally! A story about alopecia and a women’s journey to acceptance in a world where hair is highly valued. Filled with humor as she finds her way without hair! Love!!

[Amy Armitage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Christy's story more than I thought I would, and at times I didn't want to put the book down, wanting to find out what happened next.

Hair is such a big part of every woman's appearance, and I can only imagine how someone with luscious, thick locks - like Christy - must feel when discovering a bald spot or seeing chunks of hair fall. While I don't have alopecia, I wasn't blessed with thick hair - mine is thin and fine, barely covering my scalp, and I dread the thought that it's going to thin more as I get older and go through menopause, but Christy's story has given me hope ... If I do end up with hardly any hair in the future, it's okay. Why women are made to feel shameful about their hair (and/or bodies) is beyond me. We should all be able to be like Christy and unburden ourselves from often unrealistic images that society holds women up to. She should not have had to feel such shame about losing her hair or wearing a wig - it wasn't her fault - she did nothing wrong, Alopecia Areata is a medical condition.

This empowering story has a few funny moments mixed in with her shame, and the journey ends with a beautiful conclusion of hope, self-reflection, and encouragement to be true to our selves.

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd known Christy. She was funny, independent, adventurous and yet, also authentic. My friend, A, developed alopecia after college (after I knew her with hair). She rocks the bald look fearlessly now. My friend, E, was already hairless when we met. She's also confident while being bald, wearing a wig, panuelo, or cap. Both friends are beautiful inside and out. Because of my experiences with them, I never gave much thought to what they must have went through when their hair first started falling out. They seem so confident and unfazed by the hair loss now. But Christy's story showed me how difficult that change to one's appearance and identity truly is. Fortunately, there's more awareness of alopecia these days. But women still take pride, and feel a sense of power, in their hair. Going bald is life-altering.

I also enjoyed learning about Bailey's Peace Corps experiences in Honduras. I spent a week in Tegucigalpa in the early 1990s as part of a college journalism class. I can't imagine spending 2 years there or achieving what Christy did.

Christy's story is inspiring, funny and heartbreaking. I'm glad I got to know her through her memoir. Kudos to my friend Susanna Donato who helped bring this story to readers like me after Christy's passing.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bailey's memoir is an easy, entertaining read and addresses a core issue that affects most of us - SHAME! Even while being brave and strong enough to run marathons, relocate multiple times, and even join the Peace Corps in her forties, she has extreme shame around admitting she has alopecia and is bald! Her story reminds me of how powerful our desire to fit in, to look attractive, to seem "normal" is, and how detrimental it is toward mental health. The memoir is an enjoyable read and serves as an inspiration to anyone struggling with self-acceptance and dealing with societal judgments!

[Melanie Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this story about a young woman who unburdens herself from the undeserved shame she experienced after losing her hair to alopecia areata and replaces it with bold self-acceptance. The story was poignant and empowering, with several laugh-out-loud funny moments. It's a great read that makes you reflect on what holds us back from being our true selves.

[Lisa Wagner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Headstrong is Christy Bailey's bold (and often hilarious) journey to embrace alopecia and ultimately herself, as is.

I highly recommend this riveting page-turner filled with unflinching honesty and hope!

[Kathy Maness · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed, I cried, I loved it! Highly recommend. I also appreciated the opportunity to learn more about alopecia. What a wonderful, inspiring memoir.

[Jacqueline Maness · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are simply too many things that I love about this story… it’s witty, compelling, relatable and entirely authentic to Christy’s unique self and story. I was constantly kept on my toes and either giggling or shedding tears through her narration. This is such a powerful story about Christy’s journey and the impact she had on so many others lives. Definitely give this a read if you have the chance, I still think about it at least once or twice a week!!