Wash Day Diaries is a graphic novel focused around four best friends in five connected short story comics. We follow Kim, Tanisha, Davene, and Cookie, each having their own story within the novel. We get quick glimpses into their lives in the Bronx. The novel depicts their life experiences but also shows their different washday routines amid estranged family relationships, love triangles, and complicated ex-drama. We go through days with these four friends together and separately.
While reading this novel, it’s important to note that they are short comics, while this novel tackles important topics of being a black woman, it’s going to be as much about what is said but also what is shown by the illustrator. I enjoyed this book and held a constant smile on my face while reading it. It was the epitome of authentic life as a black woman, getting up early for washday, the different stages of managing my curls, complete with twisting and drying and styling. Each woman has a different approach, as do we all with how we manage and style our hair. The illustrator used the unspoken to depict these things while we learned of the women’s lives through texts, conversations, and flashbacks. There was also a moment that resonated with me most with Davene’s short story. This story had some of telltale signs of mental health issues. There were subtle signs in the illustrations that spoke volumes of a messy house, avoiding work, missing appointments, and declining invites with friends before the character that she was dealing with depression even spoke it. There was also a moment with a friend that truly played upon the stigma surrounding therapy and depression.
The moment was short-lived and as a short story it wasn’t completely dealt with, but later in the story, support was shown and unspoken understanding that essentially spoke volumes and counteracted the reaction in earlier panels. Each woman has a story of turmoil and strength, and this book is also a celebration of friendship. It’s a reassuring tale that despite it all, friends are always there to support each other. It has black woman magic on each page – spoken and unspoken.
I was glad to read Wash Day Diaries as an ARC from NetGalley.