Hi lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Alyscia Cunningham and her new book, “I Am More Than My Hair”! For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a limited edition 2019 calendar!! Also, come back daily to interact with Alyscia
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Please note that this
giveaway is only available to US residents.
Sorry INTL – please check out other giveaways on this blog.
I Am More Than My Hair
by Alyscia Cunningham
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GENRE: Women's Issues; Photography
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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.
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EXCERPT TWO:
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.
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VIDEO INTRO –
FEMININE TRANSITIONS:
Alyscia
also invites you to view her video introductions to Feminine Transitions.
Check
out more info here:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I Am More Than My Hair - Trailer from Alyscia Cunningham on Vimeo.
5.) You support a female
author. How powerful is that!
Alyscia will be awarding a limited edition 2019
calendar for "I Am More Than My Hair" (US only) to a randomly drawn
winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
VIDEO INTRO – I
AM MORE THAN MY HAIR:
Alyscia
also invites you to view her video introductions to I Am More Than My Hair.
I Am More Than My Hair - Trailer from Alyscia Cunningham on Vimeo.
Check
out more info here:
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GUEST POST:
Five Reasons You Should Read My Book
1.) I Am More Than My Hair is a book with collection of personal
stories of 46 females who experienced hair loss. I learned something new
through each person I met. I guarantee you will as well.
2.) Although the subject is focused around hair loss, it's deeper
than that. As you read each essay, you'll relate to one, if not several
stories.
3.) You'll gain a better understanding of alopecia (the partial or
complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows;
baldness) and the reasons why a woman may experience it. Baldness doesn't
always represent a cancer diagnosis. It can be but it's not always the case.
4.) It's an empowering read whether you've experienced hair loss or
not. We're more than our outward appearance.
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AUTHOR BIO:
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.
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CONNECT WITH ALYSCIA:
Website:
Blog:
Newsletter:
Author’s About Me Page:
Email:
info@Alyscia.com
Facebook Page #1:
Facebook Page #2:
Facebook Page #3:
Twitter:
Pinterest:
Instagram:
YouTube:
Vimeo:
LinkedIn:
Flickr:
Goodreads Author Page:
Goodreads Book Page:
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AMAZON BOOK BUY
LINK & ALSO AVAIL AT BOOK STORE INFO:
Amazon Hardcover:
I Am More Than My Hair
book is also available at:
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).
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Alyscia ~ Hi! Welcome! It is an honor to have you here! I think it's wonderful what you're doing! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ally, thank you for your kind words. I appreciate you hosting my book tour. All the best to you
DeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDelete