Wash Day Diaries

Product Information

It’s similar to something that I’ve experienced with my Latinx side of my family, but not in the same exact way. Wash Day Diaries is a short, beautifully illustrated graphic novel following four young, Black women and their lives, friendships, and gorgeous hair.

Wash Day Diaries” – The Library Ladies Kate’s Review: “Wash Day Diaries” – The Library Ladies

The book links five short stories that feature four friends in the Bronx, using hair care / wash day rituals to bind the stories together.it's really fun to see the friends all share the pages of the final chapter as they get together for kim's singing performance. This was a delight to read as the story touched me in places I have experienced personally and with my friends. The background imagery even created its own story with nods to various intertwined cultures and the gentrification that plagues the city. Wash Day Diaries continues the story from her award-winning mini-comic Wash Day (also co-created with Robyn Smith), published in 2018 by her indie publishing company Black Josei Press.

Jamila Rowser

she invites cookie over to do her hair, and cookie's endless warm energy is a change of pace, but cookie can't quite understand davene's situation. Being a Moth Keeper is a huge responsibility and a great honor, but what happens when the new Moth Keeper decides to take a break from the moon and see the sun for the first time? Jamila Rowser does a good job of showing the therapeutic process for Black women of just getting their hair done, the bonding that comes between the person getting their hair done and the person doing their hair; the sisterhood and intimacy behind the whole process. One of the most important aspects of this graphic novel is that the entire story is set against the backdrop of loving and appreciating black hair. Depicting the friendships as a bulwark against the messiness of the outside world keeps the mood of Wash Day Diaries low key.My jam is fewer words in most graphic novels, let the images tell the story, so I was happily surprised to see this happen! When I was younger, I would always wear ribbons in my hair and it’s one of my favorite ways to wear my hair when it’s longer.

Wash Day Diaries | Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith Wash Day Diaries | Jamila Rowser and Robyn Smith

All of the stories are short, and they have varying degrees of action to them, but they all paint a clear portrait of modern day Black womanhood for these four friends who are ride or die for each other. It’s a quick read that has a lot of heart, and I am very interested in seeing what Jamila Rowser does next. Overall I thought that this was a fun and incredibly charming collection of stories about four Black friends who are all dealing with various ups and downs in their lives as seen through their hair care days. Recently a white colleague said, “Well if you didn’t change your hair, we would’ve known who you were. For graduation, I want to get really nice ribbons made with notes about my journey over the past few years.

Some days you want to wear a wig knowing you’ll have less issues with a straight hairstyle as opposed to an afro. A 26-year-old NAACP President and graduate school student at the University of Minnesota, Myers says she has a mix of type four curls. The story starts with wash day which for most naturals is a whole story all unto itself (I literally felt the all day nature of wash day and getting my hair braided). I didn't really know what to expect going into this graphic novel, as I haven't read that many in recent years but I was pleasantly surprised.