The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

Fantastic read and a true story. This book, and Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, inspired me to be a lifelong James McBride fan. Powerful, intimate, and truthful, McBride reveals the lives of black and white people in a sympathetic yet realistic manner. He’s a writer I always recommend.

I don’t remember if this book was mentioned in a book I recently read or if somebody mentioned it in the Goodreads Society Facebook page, but whatever it was, I am very glad I threw this book in my Amazon Wishlist, and read it, because it was an amazing read. James McBride is a black man, his mother is a white Jewish woman, and his father was also a black man. Back to his mother for a minute, her father was an Orthodox Rabbi. His marriage to wife was arranged, and the family kept Kosher. James’s mother eventually left the Jewish side at age 19 and turned to God and Christianity and fell in love with a black man. Now, let me tell this happened in 1940. She had 12 children; 8 from first husband and 4 from second husband; both were black. Despite them not having a lot of money, all the children have been very successful and have college educations; some of graduate degrees and others even have PHD’s. James’s mother didn’t care about what people thought of her as she lugged her kids around. She and her first husband founded a Church in Brooklyn. The story itself is presented wonderfully, as James writes about his mother’s life and his life.

I’m not a huge reader, normally it would take me over a month to finish any book. My usual feeling of trekking through the pages of a book was not, yes I said not, found in The Color of Water by James Mcbride. This book is universally relatable on so many different levels. Within most of the chapters there was something that emotionally impacted me on a certain level. This book is a roller coaster, it has it’s ups and it has it’s downs . This is why I decided to give my book 4 stars. James Mcbride is one of twelve mixed race siblings, with a white, single, jewish mom, during the 1940’s. During that time, there was a lot of racial discrimination, along with the holocaust occurring. Throughout his memoir James not only shares his life story, but Ruth's (his mom) as well. This makes for an even more impactful story because we are seeing how Ruth grew up, and learning about the different events that has happened in her life. Knowing her background while reading the story, allows us to understand the way she has raised her children and how she handles different situations with life and/or her kids. I’m not a mom, but I know raising 12 kids is an arduous effort. Ruth wasn’t able to keep everyone in check all the time, no matter how hard she tried. When James step-father passed away, James started to head down a bad path. His grades slipped like a man on ice, along with his behavior. He started getting involved with drugs and petty theft. When Ruth learned that James grades were slipping, and that he also was skipping school she sent him to his sister’s house down in Louisville, Kentucky. James was a mad as a bull. James ended up spending 3 consecutive summers down there. While he was down there he met a man named Chicken Man. Chicken Man played a very influential part in James life, they first met on the “corner” where a lot of the druggies or drunks could be found. While James and Chicken Man were standing on the corner, he explained to James that “everybody on this corner is smart, you ain’t no smarter than anybody here”(Mcbride 150). The Chicken Man shakes James belief that his knowledge makes him smarter than someone else. The Chicken Man shows James that all people are smart, it’s just what they do with their knowledge individualizes them. This part of the book impacted me the me the most because i’ve started to head down bad paths in life simply because I didn’t know how to deal with the pain or emotion. During these times, my two coaches, along with my parents, are the ones that helped get me back on track. They showed me what could happen if I continued to head down the path I was on. Everyone should have a role model in their life, for James that was chicken man or his mom, and for me; my parents, along with my coaches. This book changed my view on life and how no matter how hard times get you still need to keep going. Life is a mountain that we must continue to climb, no matter how many times we slip.It covered racial discrimination, how you can go from a bad situation and turn things around, how far religion can take you, and what you can accomplish with perseverance. James mom came from a dad who had molested her, but she didn’t let that hold her back. She went on to be married 2 times, and have 12 mixed race kids during the 1940s. She kept most of the kids in check ¾ of the time, and was able to provide for them all. Ruth, “wipes her memory instantly and with purpose” (271).She allows the bad to roll right off because she knows she has responsibilities to her kids. She is formidable, she is knowledgeable, she is unexpendable. The way Ruth raised her kids, and dealt with her own life is impeccable. Thank you James Mcbride for giving me a new perspective on how I few things, along with having a new genre of books to read.

In his book, The Color of Water, James McBride tells the story of his mother's life and the story of his own search for identity. It is the remarkably moving story of a young woman who is compelled to leave her home, her family, and her Orthodox Jewish faith and heritage behind her. Rachel Shilsky moves from Virginia to Harlem and marries Dennis McBride, a Christian black man. When her family learns what she has done, the entire family (collateral relatives included) declare Rachel dead and sit shiva. At that point, Rachel realizes that all ties to her past are severed. She becomes a Christian, changes her name to Ruth, and wholeheartedly throws herself into her new life without a backward glance. She founds the New Brown Christian Church in the Red Hook projects in Harlem, and raises twelve outstanding and highly accomplished children. Ruth's path in life is filled with crises, obstacles and painful situations. But Ruth's journey is one that is driven by love, compassion and determination. Fortunately, Ruth is equipped with a strong will and an amazing insight. When one son asks her the color of God's skin, her response is "God is the color of water". Like everyone else in this world, Ruth makes mistakes and has to deal with personality flaws. This woman does so with grace. James McBride shares his personal struggles as well. Throughout the majority of the book, young James grapples with racial identity issues, anger and anxiety. When James loses his stepfather in his early teens, his grief is so profound that he becomes unmoored for a few years. I am mixed race and was raised in a household of conflicting ideologies. I have to say that James McBride puts my feelings about my mixed upbringing into words -- and he gets it right. I alternately cried and laughed as I worked my way through the final five chapters of the book, its epilogue and afterword (I even cried and laughed through McBride's acknowledgements). I identified with virtually every sentence. This book has my highest recommendations.

An amazing lady, an amazing story, an amazing family. Oh, by the way, it is well written. I stumbled in it by mistake.

I read many different types of books – history, psychology, mythology, philosophy, and novels, literature from all periods of time. When I read a novel, I ask for two things – that the book be written well and that it have heart. If it makes me cry, all the better. James McBride certainly writes well. And he has heart, lots of heart. This book made me cry and I couldn’t stop reading it. After this experience, I’m going to read as many of his other books as I can. Wonderful author. And clearly, I also read memoirs. This memoir read like a novel at times. It was beautiful and honest and sad and happy. After I posted my review, it hit me that this was NOT a novel. But now I'm committed to reading his novels as well. Sigh. It's a good book, period!

The foundation of our lives is enmeshed in our personal history. James McBride enriched his sense of self by gaining a full understanding of “Mommy’s” life.

By reading the summary on the back cover, The Color of Water sounds quite intriguing. However, when you start reading the book there are numerous questions which any reader canr aise and certainly plenty of biases especially on the part of the mother, Ruth. It certainly was nice that James McBride decided to trace his family roots. The prespective that he and his mother give to their growing up years are certainly similar. Both James and his mother sure had struggles growing up but truthfully I think James perservered a lot more than his Mom. James seemed to realize the positive values of the Jewish faith whereas his mom merely was annoyed by trying to keep Kosher and the struggles of the Jewish people. Her guilt shows up at many junctures of this book. What both Jews and Blacks both need to realize from this book is the similarities that each of them have in their cultures. Besides some annoying anti-semitism from the mother(Ruth), she still was obviously reluctant about going into greater detail about her experiences. Her neurotic behavior about always being on the move is completely abnormal. Her crazed desire to only date black men knowing that it would annoy her parents is also quite spiteful. And knowing times were hard, was it necessary to have twelve children and make it difficult on all of them? And what great things did she do to truly help her children succede? None of that is discussed here at all. This book is a decent learning tool as to what is both right and wrong in society today. Those reading it should view it with an open mind and avoid some of the biases and prejudices that takes place. It shows you what children of mixed race parents have to experience. Fortuantely, the author seems to have grown up into a fairly level headed person and is able to distinguish the beauty of Judiasm as well as being an African American. However, he should attribute his place in the wrold to his perserverance rather than the influence from his mother which is certainly pretty questionable.