Hey Lani, very clever and very funny. What a wonderful storyteller you are. I had long hair for many years, it is so thick that when finally went short in my 40s it was a relief. I never comb it now, just run my fingers through it, and can hear my mother laughing from the other side, “you look like nobody owns you.” (She would say that when l was in senior high school 🤣), to which l would reply, “and nobody does”. I had the full image of your different hair dos, thank you for reading, so much fun. 🙏🏼💖😂
I love that you have found freedom from your long thick hair. I tried super long locks in my twenties ~ it went all they way down to my waist, but it was too much weight and it got caught on the back of chairs 😵 No thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Simone. Thanks for the love and support! 🥰😍😘
Wonderful piece, Lani! Chocolate Cherry is definitely a porn star name.
Ahhh I have fine hair and so it sits flat on my head. And with any humidity in the air (like most of the time in HK), it sits flatter still. In other words, I can't do much with it.
Good luck with the book proposal - looking forward to hearing how the process goes :)
What an incredible piece, Lani! I love how you have woven the Rapunzel fairy-tale (a version I have never heard before, and I've been an avid fairy-tale reader) or rather braided together with your own 'hairy autobiography'. Absolutely stunning. xxx
Thanks, Veronika. I must have, as it’s been years, heard the term ‘braided essay’ and decided to take it literally. 🪮💈I’m glad it came together. And yes, I did research on the Rapunzel tale and there were different versions. Always, right? 🙂
Lani, this essay does something difficult and beautiful: it treats hair as both artifact and autobiography. The retelling of Rapunzel works because it never feels pasted onto the memoir; instead, the fairy tale becomes a thread connecting childhood, identity, family, beauty, aging, and reinvention. I was especially struck by the observation that dramatic haircuts marked turning points in your life. That simple admission transforms hair from a cosmetic detail into a language of transition, a way of saying, “I’ve changed,” long before you might have had words for what was changing inside. Thank you for sharing a piece that recognizes how something as ordinary as hair can become a record of who we have been, who we hoped to be, and who we are still becoming.
Thank you, Reverend. I love the way you put it ~ both an artifact and autobiography. One of the reasons why I enjoy Substack is because it's filled with literary folks, people who have this great ability to see what you cannot see in your own writing. I might have to quote you on this! --> "sharing a piece that recognizes how something as ordinary as hair can become a record of who we have been, who we hoped to be, and who we are still becoming." 🙏🌞
Lani, that is one of the gifts of good writing: sometimes the author provides the story, and readers help illuminate patterns that were present all along. The more I sit with your essay, the more that image of hair as a record of passage stays with me, because every chapter you shared carried both continuity and change. I’m honored that the phrase resonated with you, and even more grateful for the essay that inspired it. Thank you for giving readers a story that feels deeply personal while still inviting them to reflect on their own transformations.
Oh Lani, this is ab-soul-utely brilliant! Your trademark mix of tenderness and humour is such a joy to listen too. I love, love, love the way you've braided this tale of Rapunzel with all those moments in life when your hair became a turning point ... the identities it hid, revealed and transformed. The retellings of old stories and myths is currently my favourite genre and you do it with such wit and emotional precision.
Hair really does become a kind of autobiography, doesn’t it? A record of who we were, who we’re becoming and who we refuse to be anymore. I kept thinking of Frida Kahlo cutting off her hair as I read this post ... how after her heartbreak, that fierce, symbolic act of reclaiming herself. Your stories echo that same truth ... how a single snip can mark a sacred threshold, a shift, a whole new chapter.
Well, I loved every moment of this! The fairy‑tale mischief, the childhood memories, the tenderness toward your mother, the honesty about aging. Thanks so much for posting one of your old stories this morning and making something as ordinary as hair feel extraordinary! Fantastic last line too ... yep, age "always" wins! 🙏💖✂️
💝As always, Deborah, I appreciate your insights! And the Frida Kahlo reference! Her self portraits are what stay with me, so I suppose it seems natural that she'd have a pair of scissors in her hand! Because hair is very much part of our identity. [Just realized this 🤔which I suppose is why folks are so tied to theirs]
And yes, I was just telling the Reverend that I never thought of it as a "record", but that's exactly what it is, which is interesting considering people who never change their hair. 🪮I'm ever so grateful the essay resonated. Thanks, Deborah! 🙏
Deborah, the connection to Frida Kahlo adds such a thoughtful layer to what Lani was exploring. Hair is rarely just hair in stories like these; it often becomes a visible marker of identity, grief, freedom, rebellion, or renewal. I especially appreciated your observation that a haircut can function as a threshold, because Lani’s essay is filled with those moments where outward changes quietly reflect deeper internal transitions. The way you recognized both the playfulness and the emotional depth of the piece helps illuminate why the braid of fairy tale and memoir works so well.
Gotta love kids. 😅 Yes, the menopausal hair thing caught me by surprise. No one ever talks about this! But I definitely took my locks for granted because I didn’t know that it would change. Thanks, Moorea!
Geraldine, I think part of what makes the essay so charming is that it never treats the fairy tale as something separate from everyday life. Rapunzel sits comfortably alongside feathered haircuts, box dye, awkward salon visits, and conversations about aging. That blend of whimsy and lived experience gives the piece its warmth, while the humor keeps it from becoming overly sentimental. Lani has a gift for finding meaning in ordinary moments and making readers smile while they're reflecting on something deeper.
That popcorn and licorice… eating during a haircut… 🤔
Lovely! I grew up on those shows and feathered hairstyles too, Lani.
Miss those more innocent times. Thanks, Robin. 🌞
Oh, I love this one so much Lani! I like how you braided the two stories with the hair theme AND Lani-style humor! That was a gem❣️
Thanks, Yi. I took the essay style and format literally 😆 Glad you appreciated it! xo
Hey Lani, very clever and very funny. What a wonderful storyteller you are. I had long hair for many years, it is so thick that when finally went short in my 40s it was a relief. I never comb it now, just run my fingers through it, and can hear my mother laughing from the other side, “you look like nobody owns you.” (She would say that when l was in senior high school 🤣), to which l would reply, “and nobody does”. I had the full image of your different hair dos, thank you for reading, so much fun. 🙏🏼💖😂
I love that you have found freedom from your long thick hair. I tried super long locks in my twenties ~ it went all they way down to my waist, but it was too much weight and it got caught on the back of chairs 😵 No thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Simone. Thanks for the love and support! 🥰😍😘
And thank you Lani, with love, laughter and so much gratitude 🙏💖😊
Beautiful use of the (re-worked) fairy tale, Lani!
Thanks, Jeffrey. 🙏😁
Wonderful piece, Lani! Chocolate Cherry is definitely a porn star name.
Ahhh I have fine hair and so it sits flat on my head. And with any humidity in the air (like most of the time in HK), it sits flatter still. In other words, I can't do much with it.
Good luck with the book proposal - looking forward to hearing how the process goes :)
Thanks, Sarah, for the well wishes. I have an idea with the book proposal and that’s as far as I’ve taken it.
Yeah, it’s pretty dang humid over here too, but doesn’t affect my hair, just my sanity. 😆
Yours, Chocolate Cherry 🍒
ok, love how you braided (haha) the story of Rapunzel with your own. I wonder if us menopausal cried, would our tears turn our hair youthful again?
🤣 Unfortunately not. It would probably speed up the process. 😭 Thanks, Sarah!
What an incredible piece, Lani! I love how you have woven the Rapunzel fairy-tale (a version I have never heard before, and I've been an avid fairy-tale reader) or rather braided together with your own 'hairy autobiography'. Absolutely stunning. xxx
Thanks, Veronika. I must have, as it’s been years, heard the term ‘braided essay’ and decided to take it literally. 🪮💈I’m glad it came together. And yes, I did research on the Rapunzel tale and there were different versions. Always, right? 🙂
Wow I love this story Lani and how you weaved your own in. Beautiful imagery and wonderful writing. 💫
Thanks, Jamie, I’m glad you liked it. 🙏
Lani, this essay does something difficult and beautiful: it treats hair as both artifact and autobiography. The retelling of Rapunzel works because it never feels pasted onto the memoir; instead, the fairy tale becomes a thread connecting childhood, identity, family, beauty, aging, and reinvention. I was especially struck by the observation that dramatic haircuts marked turning points in your life. That simple admission transforms hair from a cosmetic detail into a language of transition, a way of saying, “I’ve changed,” long before you might have had words for what was changing inside. Thank you for sharing a piece that recognizes how something as ordinary as hair can become a record of who we have been, who we hoped to be, and who we are still becoming.
Thank you, Reverend. I love the way you put it ~ both an artifact and autobiography. One of the reasons why I enjoy Substack is because it's filled with literary folks, people who have this great ability to see what you cannot see in your own writing. I might have to quote you on this! --> "sharing a piece that recognizes how something as ordinary as hair can become a record of who we have been, who we hoped to be, and who we are still becoming." 🙏🌞
Lani, that is one of the gifts of good writing: sometimes the author provides the story, and readers help illuminate patterns that were present all along. The more I sit with your essay, the more that image of hair as a record of passage stays with me, because every chapter you shared carried both continuity and change. I’m honored that the phrase resonated with you, and even more grateful for the essay that inspired it. Thank you for giving readers a story that feels deeply personal while still inviting them to reflect on their own transformations.
😍🥰
Oh Lani, this is ab-soul-utely brilliant! Your trademark mix of tenderness and humour is such a joy to listen too. I love, love, love the way you've braided this tale of Rapunzel with all those moments in life when your hair became a turning point ... the identities it hid, revealed and transformed. The retellings of old stories and myths is currently my favourite genre and you do it with such wit and emotional precision.
Hair really does become a kind of autobiography, doesn’t it? A record of who we were, who we’re becoming and who we refuse to be anymore. I kept thinking of Frida Kahlo cutting off her hair as I read this post ... how after her heartbreak, that fierce, symbolic act of reclaiming herself. Your stories echo that same truth ... how a single snip can mark a sacred threshold, a shift, a whole new chapter.
Well, I loved every moment of this! The fairy‑tale mischief, the childhood memories, the tenderness toward your mother, the honesty about aging. Thanks so much for posting one of your old stories this morning and making something as ordinary as hair feel extraordinary! Fantastic last line too ... yep, age "always" wins! 🙏💖✂️
💝As always, Deborah, I appreciate your insights! And the Frida Kahlo reference! Her self portraits are what stay with me, so I suppose it seems natural that she'd have a pair of scissors in her hand! Because hair is very much part of our identity. [Just realized this 🤔which I suppose is why folks are so tied to theirs]
And yes, I was just telling the Reverend that I never thought of it as a "record", but that's exactly what it is, which is interesting considering people who never change their hair. 🪮I'm ever so grateful the essay resonated. Thanks, Deborah! 🙏
Deborah, the connection to Frida Kahlo adds such a thoughtful layer to what Lani was exploring. Hair is rarely just hair in stories like these; it often becomes a visible marker of identity, grief, freedom, rebellion, or renewal. I especially appreciated your observation that a haircut can function as a threshold, because Lani’s essay is filled with those moments where outward changes quietly reflect deeper internal transitions. The way you recognized both the playfulness and the emotional depth of the piece helps illuminate why the braid of fairy tale and memoir works so well.
Love your writing and your voice. You are such a great storyteller!
Thanks for listening. I had fun with the voices 😆
Your voice is so lovely, Lani (also familiar, since I grew up in California).
Ughh, perimenopause has robbed me of at least half of my hair. 😫
When I taught 8th grade, one of my students told me the natural color of my hair was perfect; all I needed to do was straighten it. 😆
Gotta love kids. 😅 Yes, the menopausal hair thing caught me by surprise. No one ever talks about this! But I definitely took my locks for granted because I didn’t know that it would change. Thanks, Moorea!
Super charming Lani, I love it 🥰
Geraldine, I think part of what makes the essay so charming is that it never treats the fairy tale as something separate from everyday life. Rapunzel sits comfortably alongside feathered haircuts, box dye, awkward salon visits, and conversations about aging. That blend of whimsy and lived experience gives the piece its warmth, while the humor keeps it from becoming overly sentimental. Lani has a gift for finding meaning in ordinary moments and making readers smile while they're reflecting on something deeper.
Absolutely true, Rev. Taylor, Lani is a seasoned storyteller and wise woman and teacher. Have a wonderful day, Sir. Geraldine
🌞🙏
Thanks so much, Reverend! I'm glad the humor came though.
Thanks, Geraldine. I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙏😇
You are welcome Lani!
Lani, I really, really like this (and I also believe you have an unfair amount of creative talent). I’m green with envy🐸
Ha, ha. You've complimented in the best way. I pride myself on being a creative. 🐸😍🥰 Thanks so much, Sodak!