hi friend.

Thanks, Steph, for the compliments on my wig and happy birthday!
The wig is a custom made European hair wig that I had made through my wig person extraordinaire, Brenda Kay, here in Portland. She does the measurements and we pick out the hair, then she sends everything out. It comes back for one or two fittings, and then when all is perfect I get to wear it -- usually it takes about 3 months.
Hugs!

Hi Stephanie,
The easiest way to get my book is online. There is a link to my author site at the end of my page, a link to Amazon on the right sidebar of Alopecia World (go to page 3), or go to any online bookstore (www.Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, etc). If you would rather get it from a regular bookstore, you will have to order it. If enough people order it from their local stores, they will start carrying it. Let me know how you like it, and if I can help you!
xoxoxxoxoLeslieAnn

thanks for the friend request. Im going to look you up on myspace....

Stephanie --

I started to lose my hair when I was 43. As it got worse I became more and more self-conscious about it. In the middle of it all, my husband of 20 years suddenly died and I had to deal with paralizing bouts of depression. Well, after five years of rebuilding my life, dealing with my clinical depression (acutally manic depressive illness as it turns out), and coping with being in my late 40's and single -- I finally feel really, really good about myself! In fact, I think I'm more attractive now than I've ever been (true or not.) To be honest, however, I'd love to wake up just one morning NOT thinking about my hair, but I'd also like to wake up NOT thinking about the stock market, my deepening marionette lines, and my uncertain future --- but that's just life, I guess! I met a guy a couple of years after my husand died, when my hair loss was just starting to get bad (and yes, I do think stress has a lot to do with this condition). I was having a hard time hiding all of the thin/bare spots. Sometimes I would run an hour late because I'd freaked out when I was getting ready and couldn't seem to cover all of my thin/bald patches. I'd cry and scream!!! Once when my guy was standing behind me in a line, I found him gently arranging the curls on the back of my head to cover my scalp. That's when I decided that I was fed up with the whole thing and I was going to do something about it. At first, when I told my guy that I was going to get a wig or hair piece he was SOOO supportive. He got really excited and actually starting sending me photos of wigs he saw online. He was not involved in the actual process of choosing a hair piece, but I felt really comfortable because he was so accepting of my decision to do something about it.

So, I got a human hair top piece (sort of like a woman's toupee!). Some salons/hair replacement centers tried to convince me that I should shave the top of my head and attach it with adhesive, but I wasn't ready for that. I decided to just attach mine with little clips to the hair I did have. People told me that the clips would give me traction alopecia (yeah, like that would upset me!!!) I've attached it that way for two years. When I first got it, I was almost as self-conscious wearing it as I was with the initial problem it was supposed to fix. Now, I never go out of the house without it. And, I finally believe what everyone has been telling me -- it really does look great! I'd love to have a custom suction wig, but I just can't afford one. Sure, I've had to figure out ways to be confident about my hair while sailing (which I do regularly), skiiing (every weekend in winter), and snorkeling.

My point is that I finally dealt with the situation in a postitive, diffinitive way: I stopped wishing for a cure, I stopped trying to cover up what could not be covered up, and I decided to treat hair as a fashion accessory! I have a lot of fun with it now and am in the process of buying my first full wig; I want to be able to change my style more and have something that's easier to take care of. If the full wig thing works out as well as the top piece has, then I'm absolutely going to shave my head: When the wig is off, a shaved head is much, much edgier than patches and thin spots!

Keep the faith. Take control -- of everything!!

Marie

Thanks for the nice comment....it is with my wig....if you cannot tELL!