An Anthology of One: Why I Broke the Rule On Purpose

Traditionally, an anthology is a collection of works by different authors. In my book, those "different authors" are the different versions of me. Each chapter or "phase" is written from the perspective of the woman I was during a particular stage of my journey with vitiligo.

The voice of fear is not the same as the voice of shame. The woman who writes from anger is not the same woman who eventually writes from acceptance and hope. Although my name appears on every page, emotionally, each section is written by a different "her."

So, the subtitle isn't a mistake, it's part of the story. It reflects the central message of the book: that we are all made up of many versions of ourselves, and each deserves to be seen, heard, and accepted.

When people hear the word anthology, they usually think of a collection of works written by multiple authors.

So why did I subtitle my book Faced with Vitiligo: An Anthology of Spoken Word Poetry when every poem was written by me?

Because every poem wasn't written by the same me.

Each chapter of this book was written by a different version of "her."

There is the woman who first noticed the white patches and wondered what was happening to her body. There is the woman consumed by fear, the woman who hid, the woman who questioned her worth, the woman who grew angry, and eventually, the woman who found acceptance. They all carry my name, but they do not share the same voice.

To call this book merely a collection of poems felt incomplete.

It is an anthology, not of different people, but of different selves.

Some may see the subtitle as unconventional. I see it as intentional.

Vitiligo taught me that not everything meaningful has to fit neatly into society's definition of "normal" or beauty standards. By calling it an anthology, I intentionally broke with publishing convention in the same way my book invites readers to rethink conventional ideas about beauty, identity, and self-worth. I wanted the title to reflect that truth. It is, in its own way, perfectly imperfect.

My hope is that readers recognize themselves in these pages. We all become different versions of ourselves as we move through life's experiences. This book simply gives each of those voices permission to speak.