Die Farbe von Wasser

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A vivid portrait of growing up, this work is a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical tribute from a son to his mother. Ruth McBride Jordan, a "light-skinned" woman who evades her ethnicity, fiercely loves her twelve black children. James McBride, a journalist and musician, delves into his mother's past and his own upbringing in a powerful debut. Growing up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the impoverished, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn, he reflects on his mother's fierce protection and determination. Ruth, with her "dark eyes full of pep and fire," took her children to cultural events and insisted they excel academically, despite McBride’s initial embarrassment and confusion about her life. Ruth, born Rachel Shilsky in Poland in 1921, fled to America with her family to escape pogroms, settling in a racially tense Virginia. She recounts her parents' loveless marriage and her painful childhood before moving to New York City at seventeen. There, she married a black minister and founded the New Brown Memorial Baptist Church. Ruth taught her children that "God is the color of water," believing in values that transcend race. Twice widowed and facing adversity, she ensured her children received college educations, earning her own degree at 65. Interspersed with McBride’s reflections on his mixed-race childhood, this narrative resonates deeply, exploring themes of race, identity, and m