Me, My Hair and I is a compilation of essays written by twenty-seven women from almost as many ethnic backgrounds, about the physical topic of hair and the social hair-raising issues it can invoke. The essays are edited by Elizabeth Benedict and in her introduction, she says, "the hair choices we make for ourselves and others reveal who we are, the worlds we live in and how we want to be perceived." While Benedict herself only contributes a single essay to the collection, much of the writings affirm her statement, that hair is personal and reflects priorities and care but also bigger issues like self image and mental health. Remember when Britney Spears shaved her head and the world knew she needed to take some time off her pop-icon status. Hair can be is its own gesture and political statement. When the Beatles shook their blonde locks on stage and sent teen girls into a tizzy. When a woman is undergoing cancer treatment and shaves her head and her spouse shaves his in solidarity, hair can be its own gesture of love.
The essays are written in a very conversational tone and I enjoyed the subject and presentation but after a while, some of the essays were a little repetitive.
For a brief look at the book, I'll share my thoughts on the first two contributions:
The first essay is entitled Rapunzel Complex and was written by a Jewish writer and philosophy professor who shared how the different women in her life relate to her hair - she mentions her overworked mother who cut her daughters' hair short to simplify the grooming chores; the daughter who asked her fo chained her hairstyle so she would fit one; the other daughter who asked her to change so she could stand out; and her own Orthodox sister who refused to cover her own tresses. A lot of what she shares in these lines probably echo many of the relationships we have and so makes this first essay very relatable. 
The second essay is Hair Interrupted, written by a mixed woman of Swiss and Tunisian descent who develops leukemia at age 22 and loses her hair during the treatment. Her story at once evolves from the classic immigrant story of a social misfit trying desperately to fit into the American landscape of peanut butter sandwiches and candy and instead takes on a more emotionally charged of life and death. In this essay, the author's relationship with her hair is the evidence of how she deals with her illness, plucking out the few remaining strands when the chemotherapy takes effect, as a demonstration of her plucky courage to fight the disease with everything she has. 
Read the book for more stories like these. I enjoyed some of the essays more than others but I recommend this compilation, especially for women who might think that their own hair woes are unique. If there is one thing this collection accomplishes, is to reinforce the idea that hair pride and insecurities plague women of all backgrounds.

A book that focuses on something that mostly affects women and each woman has good moments and not so good moments with it - HAIR! There are good hair days and bad hair days and maybe even bad hair months or years! Each woman has a relationship with their own head of hair and through our lifetime we make changes for different moments in our lives and they tell a lot about ourselves and the people we are.

Like in all short story collections, there were a few stories I enjoyed less than others. BUT there were some stories that I completely adored. I loved the stories that made me think about women with different hair and background as I do and how that defines them.

I loved the stories that stepped me outside of my comfort zone. There were many things I didn't know about different cultures and the way they approached hair both in childhood and adulthood. It was so interesting to read about how hair is approached and how going against what your culture dictates can be a big deal.

The story that sticks out the most to me is the cancer survivor that was in between treatments and had grown a bit of hair. Knowing she was going to lose it again she went in to a barber for a shave and he did "hair tattoos" and through social media he now does them for cancer patients and survivors and how meaningful a purposeful hairdo can affect someone completely.

I adored this collection and would love to find another collection in the same vain that takes a concept and looks at it through multiple lenses. Anyone have suggestions of what other collections like this?