General News
6 March, 2025
Tough questions answered
Hair is so much a part of our identity, and to lose it is a difficult thing to face but the engaging picture book by Horsham author Eleanor Fenwick takes the reader through the journey of hair loss due to cancer with candour and honesty underpinned with love and compassion.
"We have all been touched by someone we know who has had cancer or had it themselves, and one of the most difficult conversations is about the hair loss that often occurs due to treatment," she said.
"I wanted people to have a tool to share that journey with family and friends that was simple, loving and kind but would help us and those around us know that while our hair is so much a part of our identity, without it, I am still me."
Ms Fenwich has written several books that have yet to be published, all done in the quieter times of the COVID-10 pandemic.
Still, a pandemic gave her the time and silence, plus 13 days of long-service leave over five weeks, to bring Where Oh Where is My Glorious Hair, to fruition.
With no intention of any recognition for herself, she dedicated those days to the book.
With a 6am start and inspiration from the fictional character Anne of Green Gables, another aspiring author, she finalised the layout in 13 days.
Of the 13 days, six were spent learning how to get the pencil-drawn illustrations onto the layout through online tutorials, and the remaining seven were dedicated to the actual manuscript.
"On the 12th day of my leave, I had secured a publisher," she said.
Launched on November 17 2024, she watched eagerly as the first online sale was made in the United Kingdom and the second in Germany.
"It was mind-blowing," she said. "Overwhelming."
And she will always treasure holding the first hardcover book, too.
"I had printed off the manuscript and held that, but holding the hard copy of the publication was another joy entirely," she said.
She says the response to her project has been humbling:
"I never intended to have any part of this come back to me, but a good intention can become so much more, and this is what has happened with Where Oh Where is my Glorious Hair," she said.
"I hoped the book would not only make it easier for families to discuss hair loss through cancer, but the essence of the story would walk side by side with them through one of the most challenging periods of their life, and they would know they were not alone."
Dreams of her book being in every home are fast becoming a reality with the endorsement of the World's Greatest Shave and discussions that Where Oh Where is My Glorious Hair will be included in the Leukenia Foundations' care packs around Australia.
"I just want it to go to people who need it most," she said.
"Families are so important, and I see this book being used by families over and over, but in saying that, if it can help one family, I have achieved my goal of writing and publishing this book."
Thoughts about the writing of this engaging book swirled around in her head for three years, but once the idea had germinated into a script, it took less than 15 minutes to put it on paper. But every success story has a beginning.
After a conversation between the author and her aunty, who identified the need for such a book for the emerging reader; a desire to have a book that would start a conversation and make that conversation easier for families was born.
The idea was followed by a walk along the Wimmera River, where the idea became a script.
"I just went home and wrote my thoughts; now they are in print," she said.
However, writing the script was one thing, and illustrating it was another.
That is until a young student asked the author, "When will your book be finished?"
"He looked surprised when I told him I couldn't find an illustrator. But your drawings are okay; you should do it, he said."
"So with that advice, I took out my pencils and paper and illustrated the book."
Of course, even when I completed the illustrations, I had doubts because my most ardent critics were five-year-olds, and I wondered if my illustrations would suit book sales.
Still, I realised that the emerging reader and the broader community were my target audience, so I trusted their advice.
All money raised through the sale of Where Oh Where is My Glorious Hair will bedonated to cancer facilities in Victoria.
Ms Fenwich hasn't received any funds from the book.
"The process has been a project of love, a tool to help friends and families share kindness and understanding, a kind, caring conversation than what I have done in my small way and build a base of support during cancer."
Her teenage children are proud, as are her extended family and are eager to see what is next for the local author.
Where Oh Where is My Glorious Hair? It is available at Collins Book Store in Ballarat and online.