NBtM Tour + #Giveaway: I Am More Than My Hair by Alyscia Cunningham @alyscia_c @GoddessFish

I Am More Than My Hair

by Alyscia Cunningham

GENRE: Women's Issues; Photography

BLURB:

From the time we are young, girls are pressured into a set belief of beauty standards. Hair is certainly high on the list and is often labeled as our "crown and glory." Where does this notion fit for a girl with alopecia (the partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows; baldness)? This new coffee table book should bring light to the issue.

I Am More Than My Hair: My Outward Appearance Does Not Define Me, is a two-part project, documentary film and coffee table book. The newly published book features 138 portraits of 46 women and the stories of their experience with hair loss, as well as women who cut their hair in solidarity of a loved one.

Excerpt:

Debbie, 31

Pull-Quote:

My friends and family supported me

Story:

On May 24, 2011, I discovered a large mass in my left breast while I was doing my self-check. Later that day, I went to the National Cancer Prevention Institute in Lagos for a breast screening. A nurse screened both my breasts and my cervix and referred me for sonography, which was done at a local scanning center. On June 3, 2011, I had a Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology procedure at Me Cure Health Care Limited to diagnose my condition. I was told that the breast lump was benign and that the left auxiliary lymph node was negative for malignant cells. On June 11, 2011, I had my first lumpectomy at a local medical center.

Barely four months later, I discovered another lump slightly above the previous operation site and had surgery at the same hospital. But this time, I insisted on further medical investigation to know why the cancer recurred. That’s when I was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. By April 2012, I was diagnosed with Stage IV carcinoma.

I had withheld the news from my dad because he was hospitalized for paralysis, but with the latest diagnosis, I couldn’t hold the news any longer. I told my dad about it on July 31, 2012 hoping he had gained enough strength to handle the news but, unfortunately for me, he passed on to glory the following day, which was my birthday, August 1, 2012.

My friends and family supported me and, before I knew what was happening, all my friends joined a campaign for me on Twitter tagged “walk against cancer, #savedebbie.” I got the exact amount of money I needed for my treatment in the United States ($55,000), but I had to start chemotherapy right away in Nigeria.

I arrived in the United States in October 2012 and started treatment at Howard University Hospital. I had chemotherapy for 10 months followed by a bilateral mastectomy in October 2013. To the glory of God, I survived Stage IV breast cancer, but I am still fighting bone and liver cancer.

Rest in peace, Debbie: August 1, 1984 – April 1, 2016.

Interview with Author Alyscia Cunningham

Can you tell us a little bit about your next books or what you 

have planned for the future? 

I'm working on the documentary film for ​ I Am More Than My Hair​. The soon to be released documentary features interviews of females, their experience with alopecia 

(hair loss) and the connection of their emotions to the media's standards of beauty. 

I also have another photography book as well as a children's book idea in the works but 

decided to hold off on sharing until the details are finalized.  

How long would you say it takes you to write a book?  

I've published 2 photography books so far and it took me an average of 3 years each to 

complete.  

What is your favorite childhood book? 

To be honest, I wasn't a big reader as a kid. Although I enjoyed biographies, I 

read because I had to not because I enjoyed it. Sometime during my 10th grade 

year I read the novel ​ Fly Girl​, and fel  in love with reading stories. 

What made you want to become a writer? 

Since I was a young child I real y enjoyed creating stories and expressing myself 

through journaling. I always knew I would be an author but also felt 

authorship wouldn't be the only path in my career. 

How long have you been writing? 

My love for writing started at the age of 10 years old. 

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your 

book? 

The idea came to me after receiving a numerous amount of criticism for cutting off my hair. I heard sayings like “a woman's hair is her crown and glory” and “your hair is your beauty”. I was honestly fed up of the judgement about why a woman should have long 

hair. Or hair period. To prove my point that a woman should not be defined by her hair, I came up with the idea for “I Am More Than My Hair: My Outward Appearance Does Not 

Define”.  

For those interested in exploring the subject or theme of your 

book, where should they start? 

Visit my website and read more on my “Books/Film” tab - www.Alyscia.com 

Just for fun 

(a Favorite song: Wow, I have so many. If I have to pick only one I 

would say - Sam Cooke, ​ A Change Is Gonna Come. 

(b Favorite book: ​ The Coldest Winter Ever 

(c Favorite movie: ​ The Negotiator 

(d Favorite tv show: ​ The Cosby's 

(e Favorite Food: Roti and curry shrimp  

(f Favorite drink: Guinness (alcoholic); spinach, kale, mango and 

pineapple  shake (non-alcoholic) 

(g Favorite website: ​www.Alyscia.com​ (mine of course :) 

Thanks so much for visiting with us today! 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Alyscia Cunningham is an entrepreneur, author, filmmaker and photographer who has contributed to the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and AOL. In September 2013 Alyscia self-published Feminine Transitions, a photography book encompassed with portraits of raw feminine beauty. Her recently published photography book and upcoming documentary film, I Am More Than My Hair, features 138 portraits of 46 females and the stories of their experience with hair loss as well as females who cut their hair in solidarity of a loved one. Alyscia creates these, and future projects, with the consideration of art for social-change.


Alyscia specializes in promoting our natural beauty because she believes the media does a good job of focusing on our insecurities by bombarding us with ads proclaiming that their appearance without enhancements is inadequate or faulty. Her portraits are unaltered by Photoshop and reveal women as they are naturally, without the façade they put on for others.


Her work has been featured on Fox5 News, The Huffington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Washington Post, APlus, and Proud2BMe. To learn more about Alyscia and her work, visit Alyscia.com.


Alyscia also invites you to view her video introductions to Feminine Transitions, and I Am More Than My Hair.

I Am More Than My Hair book is now available on Amazon and at these retailers: 
Bluestockings Bookstore (New York, NY)
BookWoman (Austin, TX)
East City Bookshop (Washington, DC)
Politics and Prose (Washington, DC)
Sandy Spring Museum (Ashton, MD)
Vroman's Bookstores (Pasadena, CA)
Women's Museum of California (San Diego, CA)

Social media pages:

Twitter - @alyscia_c

Instagram - @Alyscia Cunningham

Facebook - @Alyscia Cunningham Images

and @I Am More Than My Hair.

Giveaway:

A limited edition 2019 calendar for "I Am More Than My Hair" (US only) GC 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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