Uniquely Beautiful

Brenda Scott-Coleman was a healthy, ordinary baby until a minor traffic incident changed her life. While riding on her aunt’s lap on the way to her six-month-old checkup, slick roads and an unsteady driver threw Brenda forward where she hit her face on the car’s dashboard. The impact was so minor no one, not even the doctor, knew anything was wrong. But it pushed Brenda’s still-developing jawbone up alongside her skull, and her mouth formed a permanent clench.

The poor, small coal mining town where Brenda lived didn’t provide medical care and support. She grew up making accommodations for her facial differences. She ate the softest food, hid her face in public, and relied on her family and her faith in God to comfort her, especially when she was old enough to attend school.

In Uniquely Beautiful, she chronicles the challenges she faced with facial differences. Written as a letter based on her life learning to live with being different, her story serves to inspire girls who may be teased because of the way they look. Brenda hopes sharing her experiences will help improve others’ self-image and give them higher aspirations and expectations about themselves.