Good Girls Go to Hell
Tohar Sherman-Friedman, translated by Margaret Morrison
“A serious and sparkling coming-of-age tale.”
This was the last day I prayed.
A coming-of-age graphic memoir set in the West Bank, Good Girls Go to Hell depicts the reality of growing up in a region split by religious tensions—and sometimes violent conflict.
From political protests to personal struggles with school, body image, and relationships with family and friends, Tohar Sherman-Friedman’s life is an inspiring story of conflicting convictions, rebellion, and personal growth. Tohar recounts her experience as the youngest of seven children in a conservative Jewish family, navigating a life buffeted by high expectations for school performance and religious adherence at home and tense conflict in the world outside. With utter sincerity and through detailed panel-style drawing, she relates what it’s like to be on a journey that ultimately takes her far from how she was taught to think and what she was expected to believe.
“A serious and sparkling coming-of-age tale.”
“A delicate coming of age tale illuminating contemporary Israeli society. A powerful graphic novel that masterfully tackles the major conflicts of our time, including religion versus atheism, conservatism versus liberalism, and occupied territories versus the big city. Through her unparalleled talent and mastery of the comics form, Tohar Sherman-Friedman proves herself to be one of the most important voices in graphic literature today.”
“A charged memoir of political and religious transformation that’s just right for young readers questioning such things.”
Tohar Sherman-Friedman is an author, illustrator, and tattoo artist with a degree from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art. Originally from a settlement in the West Bank called Kedoumim, she currently resides in Tel Aviv with her husband, Daniel. Her work has been published in many children’s books and most recently in the magazine Nashim.