Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Exploring "hairitage" with a gorgeous book by Zenda M. Walker

 

HALLIE EPHRON: A few weeks ago I gave a talk at the (amazing, fabulous… and IN PERSON) Writers Digest annual conference in Manhattan. Among the people who came up to me after was Zenda M. Walker, a charming writer who showed me her children’s picture book, ZARA'S WASH DAY.

It's a gorgeous book that
celebrates hairstyles of the African Diaspora through the story of little Zara on “wash day” when her mother washes her hair and tells Zara about the cultural history of hairstyles with corn rows and mini-buns, artful twists and braids.

Such a sweet mother-daughter story and an absolutely gorgeous book! If I could have walked off with it, I would have. Instead, I invited Zenda to share her book with us on Jungle Red (and went right home and ordered myself a copy).


I knew my granddaughter would adore it, probably try out the different braids and buns. Because she, like the little girl in Zenda’s book, is obsessed with her hair. One day she braids it, another day it's in a topknot with red streaks from a hair crayon. Another day she irons it flat and wears it Veronica Lake style, over one eye.

When Zenda told me the book is self-published it, I was bowled over. Visually it’s knock-down-dead gorgeous--the drawings are the work of a self-taught illustrator from Nigeria, Princess Karibo (www.princesskayart.com). I was not surprised to hear that in 2021 it won the Writer's Digest 2021 Self-Published Award Grand Prize.

With a big win in her pocket, Zenda wasted no time finding a publisher, negotiating a two-book deal with Running Press Kids who will relaunch ZARA'S WASH DAY in June 2024 and a second book in the series, ZION'S CROWN, in September 2024.

Of course I invited Zenda to join us on Jungle Red and tell us how she came to write ZARA'S WASH DAY.

ZENDA M. WALKER: Picture it. Los Angeles, March 2020. It was the start the COVID Pandemic. The entire world was on lock- down and my daughter Zara and I were suddenly thrust into a world of Zoom meetings, face masks, home schooling, and a ton of uncertainty.

My job as a leader in the beauty industry was demanding, and I was in no danger of winning the “homeschooling mom of the year award.” However, forced isolation gave me and Zara the quality time we yearned for. We broke old rules and ate ice-cream for breakfast, rode our bikes during lunch breaks, and started our dance parties early on Fridays.

Our hair wash days evolved into more grandiose self-care missions as the civil unrest intensified.

I spent more time gently massaging Zara’s scalp during shampoos, practiced compassion when detangling each coil, served mango smoothies and painted her toenails while she sat under the hooded hair dryer. We even read historical texts about the origins of the braided and beaded hairstyles.

The more we learned about our hair ancestry during our curated wash days, the more grounded and confident we became. Zara seemed more socially and emotionally prepared to deal with our new normal. That summer we continued to isolate, and I revisited my personal journal to release additional stress.

Zara and I documented our hair journey through fun social media videos, and I attracted a tribe of new followers with my educational shares.

Before I knew it, I had a solid manuscript and got serious about the self-publishing process. Zara and I closed out 2020 publishing Zara’s Wash Day through Ingram Spark, and by November 2021, I won my first literary award-the 2021 Writer’s Digest Self- Published Award Grand Prize.

Developing the Zara’s Wash Day story in 2020 is significant because it was essentially a love letter to all children who were suffering from isolation and needed to know that their story matters. I built an entire consulting business around concepts from the book, and my company, Know Your Hairitage, helps bring communities together under the universal topic of hair. We all have a hairitage story!

The best part about my author journey was finding my voice. I learned that I could be humble and still proudly share my work. I also learned to carry copies of my book everywhere.

It paid off in the Summer of 2022, when I was able to hand a copy of my book to a C-suite executive at Hachette Group during James Patterson’s Westport Library book signing. Four weeks later I was presenting my Know Your Hairitage goals to executives at Running Press Kids. In February 2023 I announced my two-book deal in Publishers Marketplace, detailing the relaunch of Zara’s Wash Day (June 2024) and debut of Zion’s Crown (September 2024).

I look forward to broadening Know Your Hairitage series by collaborating with other authors with diverse backgrounds. Hair wash days will never be the same!

HALLIE: Sounds like a bit of a Cinderella story, but there's nothing magical about it. Zenda made it happen with her own combination of talent, artistry, entrepreneurship and business smarts, along with a dollop of pure chutzpah and mother love.

What’s your “hairitage”? For me I’m afraid it’s utterly pedestrian: At Zara's age I was all about pony tails and braids and (anyone remember) duck tails. But when I go searching for hairstyles from my family's part of the world (Russia and thereabouts) what comes back is the "Russian Braid" -- a very long down-the-middle-of-the-back affair, so maybe that explains it.

50 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Zenda, on your success with "Zara's Wash Day" . . . I'm definitely scooping up a copy for my youngest granddaughter [who is also obsessed with her hair] . . . .
    When I was Zara's age? I always wanted my hair long, always wished for curls, but straight hair was [and still is] determined to remain straight . . . .

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    1. So interesting - how often we want what we've not got. I had straight and wanted curls... now I have curls and wish I could have straight.

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  2. Funny to read about Joan wishing for curly hair, since during my young teen years in the late Sixties, all I yearned for was the long, board-straight hair of Michelle Phillips (the Mamas and the Papas) and countless Haight Ashbury hippies. Instead, I had a headful of curls that could only be worn short if they were to be kept under control. By my twenties, I was very grateful for my curls, but not before. Zenda and Hallie, thanks for reminding me of those days. Your book looks lovely and sounds like lots of fun to read. I'm so glad for you that a second one's coming out, too.

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    1. I remember ironing my hair in the sixties. Getting a curling iron in the 70s. Deep-sixing my bonnet hairdryer long ago.

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    2. Hallie, I received a bonnet hairdryer for Christmas when I was in seventh grade. I thought I died and went to Heaven! I used it for years, even taking it to college with me. Other girls frequently borrowed it from me. I think I got rid of it in a move somewhere along the line.(Or it might be in a box in the basement…)

      DebRo

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  3. Zara's Wash Day sounds like a lovely book. Congratulations on first the award and now the publication by Running Press. And it sounds like Zenda and Zara made such good use of the isolation to get closer and make the time enjoyable.

    When I was growing up, my complaint was just the opposite of Joan's: I had naturally curly hair (actually wavy-to-curly) and I always wanted straight hair. All the glamorous hairdos seemed to be straight and sleek, sometimes with bangs, and my hair wouldn't cooperate with any of that.

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  4. Zenda, what a tender story of getting close to your daughter and making by far the best out of a terrible situation. I'm going to pick up a copy of this book right away for my biracial great goddaughter.

    I am of a relatively boring Celtic ethnic background, but I always had very sensitive hair roots, still do, and my mother kept my hair in a short pixie until I demanded a change. She couldn't stand the screams when she combed my hair. And I was the third of four, so there was really no time for that long gentle hair combing at least in my memory.

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    1. You're reminding me of the drama of after-shampoo time. Ouch!

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    2. Edith, your phrase "boring Celtic heritage" made me laugh. I was talking to my 8th cousin (DNA) who was surprised to find that her father had some Jewish heritage. They live in England. They said they were very happy that their DNA was not all "boring Celtic heritage".

      Diana

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  5. What a wonderful story about the story, making me want to read the story.

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  6. ZENDA: Thanks for sharing the pandemic experiences with your daughter, writing journey & publication success.

    My childhood hair story is more like Joan's above. I had plenty of hair but it was stubbornly straight. If you can remember country singer Crystal Gayle's long straight hair running down her back, my hair was like that until my teens. I desperately wanted some body or curl in my hair and got a disastrously bad perm at Supercuts. The perm chemicals made my hair so frizzy and badly damaged, it looked like an afro. After that, I gave up trying to perm my hair until my (late) mom started going to a Japanese hair stylist. She used perm solution chemicals from Japan, and it worked wonders for my hair. I had a Japanese body hair perms for about 5 years in my 30s & loved it.

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    1. Japanese body hair perms? Who knew?!?

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    2. Yup, Japanese body hair perms gave my stick-straight hair a natural wavy texture & more body. Now, I get that naturally, thanks to hormonal changes & menopause!

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    3. GRACE: Wow! I am reminded of a discovery some years ago. I saw "Japanese straightening" on the list at hair salons. Some people want straight hair. Some people want curly hair.

      Diana

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  7. Zenda: What a wonderful story about how your idea became an award-winning book. Congratulations!

    I have always liked my hair and wish only that the red colour of my youth would still be as vibrant now in my sixties as it was then. Sadly, my 'red' is Anglo Saxon not Scandinavian, so the colour has been fading for years now...

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    1. Hair COLOR... that's another dimension. Mine was black like my dad's. Truly black. Now, of course, not so much.

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  8. Zenda, I love your story and think my grandsons would like it, too. So, I looked for your book and it is not easy to find. Then I returned to your essay and realized the pub dates are next year.

    Congratulations on your award and everything that went into the process of creating this story. I am wow-ed!

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    1. Judy, you can order a signed copy here! https://knowyourhairitage.com/books-shop-know-your-hairitage/?v=2d6cc7a9af05

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    2. Hi Judy, I googled it and it seems you can order it on Amazon now. It was self published but next summer it will be republished by a company. I don't know all the details. The best idea sounds like Edith's suggestion to order it here and get a signed copy. Good luck. It looks like a wonderful book.

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    3. Ooo, thank you

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  9. Congratulations Zenda, on your great idea and perseverance! I would love to hear more about how you found the artist and worked with her!

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    1. Congrats Zenda, I would love to hear more about the artist and how you found and worked with her too. The art makes the stories come alive. Thanks so much - you are so creative.

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    2. Zenda shared a bit with me about how she found the artist - SO Talented! And I'm wondering if she'll be illustrating the books TO BE published, too.

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  10. Congratulations! Something good came from the pandemic. Love the illustrations, too.

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  11. Zenda, I love how your beautiful parenting of your daughter led to this success! You had a great idea and you turned it into a book.

    I have thick hair with a little bit of a wave when it's long, now mostly gray. Because it's thick and heavy, I never could do much with it; just pony tails and the occasional braid. It's short now and easy to deal with.

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  12. Zenda, just wow! Congrats on so many levels--I'm also intrigued by how you connected with the artist--the illustrations are gorgeous! And you are so right--'hairitage' is everywhere if you stop to think about it. My 'hairitage' was straight, long, no curl even if you tried (poor Mom).

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  13. Congratulations, Zenda. How wonderful that you and Zara were able to do this - the book is gorgeous.

    I'm afraid I don't have much "hairitage." My hair has always been straight as a stick, wouldn't hold a curl if you paid it. And I tried, believe me. Now that I'm 50 it's developed a bit of a wave, but that's about it.

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  14. What a wonderful way to navigate the isolation of pandemic, Zendra, and to connect in such a deep way with Zara. I love every bit of this, including the self-publishing that led to a traditionally published book. Your artist did an exceptional job, too.

    When we were in Kenya over this past Christmas we were driven from Watamu to Mombasa through lots of small neighborhoods. Three times we passed women sitting under a shade tree having their hair braided, in time for the new year.

    Having raised three daughters I could write my own book about hair. I've always liked my own, as it would hold a curl or a wave, or it could be straight, as long as no water was involved. And now that it's turning silver I'm grateful that A) it took so long to do so, and B) that it is a nice, soft weathering of my original rich brown. Sort of like old barn siding.

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    1. Autocorrect turned your name into Zendra, Zenda. My apologies!

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    2. Karen, when we lived in Burkina Faso for a year, a block from our house was a traditional hair salon, and women would sit on the front veranda braiding. I finally got up my nerve and walked over there. It was the most luscious women-centered experience, sitting there for more than an hour with their expert hands transforming my mostly straight, not-very-thick hair, at the time hanging below my shoulders, into thirty braids with little beads. They gave me a banana and we tried to chat a bit.

      But because I don't have tons of hair, my pitiful white scalp showed through, and I didn't like the pull on it. A week later my sons helped me try to take the braids out. We finally cut the beads off, and my husband at the time helped even off the ends (I had brought hair-cutting scissors). I still treasure that memory.

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    3. Edith: What a story you have there. Lovely memory.

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    4. Love this, Edith. Yes, it's a woman-centric time, spending hours together chatting and caring for one another. Which is what Zara's story appears to be about, as well, with the added loveliness of a mother-daughter relationship.

      And it reminds me of when my oldest daughter, who has luxuriously thick hair, her natural red at the time, would plunk herself down on the floor in front of me, saying, "French braid my hair, Mom." It was always a sweet time for us.

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    5. Aw, I French-braided my daughter's hair. Lovely times. I think I've forgotten how now.

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    6. French braids defeat me. Feels like I need a third hand. My daughter french-braids her daughter 10-year-old Franny's hair.

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  15. Congratulations - what an awesome story!

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  16. Thanks so much for sharing this amazing story.

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  17. Laughing. We're never satisfied with our hair, are we? Mom wanted my hair one way, I wanted another. Zenda's book looks so very happy, story and illustrations!

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  18. So great to meet you at WD! Yes, it was a great event, and I adored teaching there. But wow, your book--I remember you showing it to me--made my heart so full. It, and you, are fantastic in every way. Congratulations! I am so delighted Hallie invited you--brilliant!
    Oh, hair, what a thing. There was the day I decided ot cut my own Sassoon--I cut one side of my long heair up over my ear. ANd left the other side long. My mother almost fainted. Truly. (I have two grandsons, and even their hair is...interesting. Never the same every time we see them!)

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  19. Zenda, congratulations on your self publishing journey leading you to winning an award and finding a traditional publisher. You found a creative solution out of trying circumstances (the pandemic and lockdown). I'm sure your daughter is chuffed to see her name on your book. This is a wonderful memory to share with her future children and grandchildren.

    Hallie, interesting about your hairitage. I love that coined word.

    There was a time in my life when I would ask the hairstylist to cut my hair the same way as the photo of a straight haired model. It took me a while to learn that some hair styles do not work for my wavy hair. Before perimenopause, I would ask for a cut that worked well with my wavy hair.

    My hairitage is interesting. I noticed that my hair is "straighter" when my hair is long. I noticed that when my hair was shorter, it had more "curls". My hair is a combination of thin and thick. My hairline has very fine hair.

    When I read about the hairstyles of women in 1500s England, I learned that they would pluck the hairs out of their hairlines. I wondered if my 10x great grandmothers plucked their hairlines, which may account for why my hairline has fine hairs? I am not a scientist so who knows?

    Do hair cells have cell memories from hundreds of years ago?

    Now with perimenopause, my hair is changing. The good news is with my new vitamin regimen, my hot flashes have disappeared. I stopped gaining weight. I am not shedding as much hair.

    Great topic today!
    Diana

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  20. Zenda, welcome, and thanks for sharing with us today. I absolutely must have your book for my granddaughter--and for me, as I have a little girl in my books who has untameable hair!

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  21. Zenda,
    It’s so nice to meet you here. Your story of how you and your daughter got through the pandemic will surely be a happy memory she tells to her children and grandchildren! I rush you the best with your writing career! I think your book will be a nice gift for my niece’s little girl!

    I’m the oldest of five, and three of my siblings are female. The four of us each have different hair issues. The youngest had hair that became wavy when she was a toddler, as it got longer. My mom always kept it short, though. When she was a teenager and young adult, she wore it long, and it had a nice wave to it. It was always quite thick. The rest of us have poker straight hair. My mom kept me in braids until the summer before I started third grade. I hated the braids (kids at school kept pulling them) and couldn’t wait to have it cut. My last day of braids was probably my last “good” hair day. I have so many cowlicks around my forehead and the sides of my face. I now know why Mom always kept my hair braided! I’m constantly experimenting with different ways to tame the cowlicks. The rest of my hair is still poker straight. In my twenties, thirties, and early forties I frequently had my hair permed but I gave that up when a hairdresser made some sort of mistake that “fried” my hair. I still have it colored and probably will not give that up. My hair went gray when I was quite young. I started having it colored when I was in my early forties, after years of receiving senior discounts! My hairdresser told me a couple of years ago (I’m now 74) that it’s now totally white, in case I wanted to let it grow out. I don’t.

    I’ll be looking for your books.

    DebRo

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  22. Oh, I love this! What a perfect gift!

    My hairstory? Well, child of the 60s that I was, hair needed to be long and straight. Mine was thick and curly. That meant wrapping the top around an empty Awake Juice can (they were the biggest, much bigger than any roller made at the time) and wrapping the balance of your hair around your head secured by alligator clips. Then going to bed where you were too uncomfortable to sleep, so you read all night. In the morning the alligator clips left tiny waves that eventually brushed out, the Awake can provided a long, straight, swath. The humidity when you walked out the door undid it all!

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  23. What an amazing story - in both senses of the word! Zenda's doing A+ mothering as well as writing/publishing/marketing, and I know how hard that is!

    My own hairitage is in what used to be my color, before I went gray: my family is very Scots, and I, like my mother before me, had lots of red in my hair.

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  24. Thank you Jungle Red Writers! I appreciate all the love. Thanks for opening up and sharing your hair stories. I truly believe that "Everyone has a hairitage." While our hair beliefs, traditions, and practices can be make us unique, I love seeing how unifying the topic is. Thanks for the feature Hallie. It means so much.

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  25. I love this story so much. As a former children's librarian, I am shouting YES!!! to this much needed and valuable resource for our kiddos. Bravo, Zenda! I'm looking forward to recommending this book to every librarian I know. Woo hoo! My hairitage involves an ill conceived bleached fauxhawk so we'll leave it there. :)

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  26. My hair is naturally very straight which of course is the opposite of what I want. I do like the color, a rich dark brown with little hints of chestnut. I was a teenager in the big hair era so that meant perms & loads of hair spray. After that was the spiral perm era til it simply became too expensive for my long hair. These days it’s about mid back length & almost always up in a clip/bun because I’m baking. My mom trims it straight across the bottom when it starts getting too long.

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  27. Oh, my! I'm very late to the party, but can't pass up the opportunity to comment on these amazing stories (the personal one and the book). I'll be buying several copies for Christmas donations to local organizations and as personal gifts. Thank you for this brilliant, loving book, Ms. Walker.

    My hair has always been straight, without much body. When I was a young child I was a blonde, and my family nicknamed me Strawhead. Charming. My mom desperately wanted me to have curls, and gave me Toni Home Perms for a few years until I rebelled. Eventually my color changed to brown with reddish highlights, now I have silver highlights. In my 60s I tired of trying to find a style I was happy with and got a buzz cut. Best hairstyle I've ever had. A dear friend told me I look "cute and badass" at the same time. Not bad for a 73 year old. :)) ~Lynda



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  28. Congratulations! I used to try to straighten my short wavy hair when I was a teen. Once I let it grow longer in my 40's, I realized it was curly. I wear it naturally curly every day now.

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