“Shampoo Commercial Dreams” with Bethany Zoe

Writing PromptsBody
Written By April Stearns

What happens when something as simple—and as vital—as hair becomes a lifeline in the storm of cancer? In this deeply personal episode, Bethany Zoe shares her story “Shampoo Commercial Dreams,” first published in Wildfire’s 2025 “Hair” issue. With humor, vulnerability, and grit, Bethany traces her lifelong relationship with her thick auburn hair—from childhood teasing, to teenage mirror performances of Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” to the devastating threat of losing it during chemo.

For Bethany, her hair was never just hair. As she writes, “It was a huge part of who I was.” Cold capping became her way of holding on—not only to her hair, but to her identity. Alongside April Stearns, host of The Burn, Bethany reflects on resilience, the complexity of self-worth, and the paradoxes of survivorship. Their conversation also explores imposter syndrome, the healing power of writing, and the courage it takes to tell even the most tender parts of our stories.

This episode is for anyone who’s ever clung to something small that made them feel most like themselves, and for anyone who needs the reminder that, in survivorship, “There's no right way to do any type or part of cancer. There's only your way.”

Episode Links

Read a transcript of this episode.

Read Bethany’s essay here.

Purchase the "Hair” issue of Wildfire Journal.

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April Stearns https://wildfirecommunity.org
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