Bearded Lady: When You’re a Woman with a Beard, Your Secret Is Written All Over Your Face

The beard was never far from my mind. Twice daily, I shaved. I blended foundation into my skin with a practiced touch. I hoped for the miracle that never showed its face: smooth skin instead of the prickly surface I felt every time I ran my hand across my chin and down my cheeks. It took years of struggle, of ducking and diving, to finally obtain a diagnosis and treatment. It took love to pull myself from the shadows and into the sun. Bearded Lady is a tale of hiding and revealing, of secrets and salvation, of how what we believe sets us apart actually unites us. It’s the story of what happens when you can no longer push down your deepest humiliation and instead must truly face the world.

Allison Landa, whose work has been featured in Business Insider, Parents Magazine, The Guardian US, The Washington Post, and HuffPost Personal among other venues, wrote Bearded Lady as an account of life with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia. Landa teaches at The Writing Salon in San Francisco, has been a member of the San Francisco Writers Grotto, and earned her MFA in fiction writing from St. Mary’s College of California. She lives in Berkeley, CA, where she works as a writing teacher and coach.