Blog of Awesome Women / Lizzie Velasquez: Brave Heart

Lizzie Velasquez was born prematurely, weighing in at less than three pounds, in 1989 in Austin, Texas, and was diagnosed with a genetic disorder that leaves her unable to gain weight. To this day she has never weighed in at more 64 pounds, despite frequent and carefully timed intake of food. She is also blind in her right eye and vision-impaired in her left eye. In 2006, when she was 17, Lizzie was named the “World’s Ugliest Woman”; ever since then, she has been a spokesperson against bullying. In January 2014 she gave a TED talk titled, “How Do YOU Define Yourself.” Her YouTube channel has garnered 54 million views. Lizzie has also self-published a book with her mother called Lizzie Beautiful: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, and has also written two other books that offer personal stories and advice to teenagers. A documentary film about her life called A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story premiered at SXSW in 2015 and later aired on Lifetime. Lizzie continues to be a motivational speaker and author.

This excerpt is from The Book of Awesome Women by Becca Anderson, which is available now through Amazon and Mango Media.

Original post here!