A girl sitting on the couch with her laptop.

DEAR DAD: GROWING UP WITH A PARENT IN PRISON–AND HOW WE STAYED CONNECTED, written by Jay Jay Patton and illustrated by Markia Jenai

Jay Jay Patton’s graphic memoir, DEAR DAD: GROWING UP WITH A PARENT IN PRISON —AND HOW WE STAYED CONNECTED, begins by recounting her years spent without her father who is serving time in prison. Even though her mother praises his intelligence and stresses how Jay Jay reminds her of her father, they’ve only kept in touch by letters which are sometimes slow to arrive. There are bound to be changes when he’s released, but she doesn’t have to expect to move, face a new group of peers who don’t know about her background, or to start an incredible project with her father, establishing Photo Patch, an application that will change the lives of children with incarcerated parents. Illustrations by Markia Jenai bring across the power of this father-daughter bond. Find more information about the book in the purchase link below.