I think of this hair,

Of the place it has come from, the journey it has made

And the journey it will make now.

A long road, I know.

One I will never see, shut up here in my workshop.

But that doesn’t matter.

The journey is mine, too.

I dedicate my work to these women,

Bound by strands of hair,

Like a great net of souls.

To women who love, and give birth, and hope,

And fall and get back on their feet, a thousand times,

Who bend but never break.

I know their struggles.

I share their tears and their joy.

Each of them is a part of me.

I am one small link,

A hyphen connecting their lives,

A tenuous thread,

Thin as a strand of hair.

Invisible to the world, to the human eye.

Tomorrow I shall set to work once again.

Other stories are waiting.

Other lives.

Other pages.

Footnote

* Cesare Pavese, You, Wind of March, trans. Duncan Bush

THANKS

To Juliette Joste, for her enthusiasm and confidence.

To my husband Oudy for his indefatigable support.

To my mother, my very first reader, from childhood.

To Sarah Kaminsky, who encouraged me at every stage of the writing of this book.

To Hugo Boris, for his invaluable help.

To Françoise at L’Atelier Capilaria in Paris, for opening the doors of her workshop to me, and explaining her trade.

To Nicole Gex and Bertrand Chalais for their wise counsel.

To the librarians at the Inathèque, who assisted me in my research.

And lastly, to my French teachers, throughout my school life and ever since, for giving me my love of writing.

About the Translator

Louise Rogers Lalaurie translates literary and genre fiction from French. Her work has been shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association International Dagger (2014), the Best Translated Book Award (2016) and the Jan Michalski Prize for Literature (2018).

About the Author

Laetitia Colombani comes from the world of film, where she worked as a screenwriter-director, and as an actress. She also writes for the stage. The international bestseller The Braid is her first novel.