Kim Talks with Barbara Caplan-Bennett a Writer of Novels, Essays & Other Nonfiction
16 years ago when we were designing our logo for Hello Gorgeous!, our graphic designer decided to omit the nose on the face that has become the trademark of Hello Gorgeous! When I asked him "Why?" he stated that it didn’t define race.
I have looked at the face without a nose for years and thought " I cannot imagine not having a nose."
Barbara is an amazing woman that is living with that reality. The treatment for cancer that she was diagnosed with included the removal of her nose.
Barbara's story and her enthusiastic attitude are inspirational.
Barbara has worn many hats in her life. She was a legal assistant for over 20 years, then a closet designer for over 15 years. But in addition to her "day jobs," she has first and always been a writer. After completing 3 novels (one of which was published), Barbara realized her real strength was in writing nonfiction - essays, opinion pieces, personal stories, informational articles, etc. She has been published in several magazines, most recently 2 different pieces were published by the Huffington Post. However, she is most proud of her book, "Noseworthy," published last year, which relays the story of how she lost her entire nose to melanoma and managed to come through the trauma of facial disfigurement to live a very normal, happy life with her husband, Paul, and their brood of animals. Since "Noseworthy" came out, Barbara has received messages from other cancer survivors around the world who found inspiration and hope in her book. For Barbara, this was the dream - that sharing her experience in an honest, and sometimes funny way, would help others get through their own traumas - cancer-related and otherwise.
Take a listen to my interview with Barbara to hear more of her story.
