"I thought it would be easier if we were just one color, black or white. I didn't want to be white. My siblings had already instilled the notion of black pride in me. I would have preferred that Mommy were black. Now, as a grown man, I feel privileged to have come from two worlds."

James McBride's The Color of Water:

A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

Chapters 19-25, Epilogue, Afterword to the 10th Anniversary Edition, 

Thanks and Acknowledgments, About James McBride, 
About Ruth McBride Jordan 

In the closing portion of this coming-of-age memoir about race relations, Ruth begins by dictating her first stages of romance with McBride's father, Dennis of North Carolina. When she met Dennis's family, they were shocked (as anyone would be) of her opposite race but immediately welcomed her with open arms. Soon Mameh, Ruth's mother, becomes ill. Meanwhile, her father, Tateh, is having an affair! Scandalous for such a strict Jew, huh? Tateh leaves the store to his wife and children for long periods of time. Not long after his excursions with his mistress (a neighbor the family knew well, I might add!), Tateh asks Mameh for a divorce. But she refuses. This is what gained my respect for Mameh. I was also impressed with her generosity towards Ruth in her earlier years when she fled to live with her aunts. Eventually, Tateh gets his divorce in Reno, Nevada.

In Chapter 20, McBride takes a roadtrip to the South (Suffolk, Virginia) to visit his mother's past. At this point in McBride's life, he is at a point of indecision in his career. In turn, he faces confusion with his racial identity. In his journey to Suffolk, he sought to uncover the origins of his mother so that he could, in part, understand his own.

Ruth's tensions with her family become very apparent in Chapter 21 when her father basically tells her not to return home if she wishes to marry a colored man. Although I'm objective to interracial marriage (because I have no first-hand knowledge/experience or ties to the issue), it's sad to see the issue deteriorate a family bond. Ruth's mother dies in the Bronx hospital shortly after Ruth takes off. Guilt-stricken, Ruth feels remorse in abandoning her Mameh. Nevertheless, Ruth found strength in her love, Dennis, and her newfound affinity with Christianity.

Back to McBride: He locates the synagogue where Ruth and her family attended. There, McBride comes to terms with his Jewish roots. Loneliness enveloped as McBride walked the Nansemond River. The burden of his past was upon him, but he desired to embrace life and humanity all the same.

Harassment endured as Dennis and Ruth, an interracial couple, lived in 1940s Harlem. After living together for awhile, the couple attended the local baptist church and were soon married. Living in one room with four children for nine years, the couple grew closer and closer with each passing day. Times were tough. Money was tight. But love flourished. They soon established the New Brown Memorial Church in 1953. But in '57, Dennis became ill, leaving Ruth pregnant with their eighth child ---- James! Dennis died of lung cancer months later. Emotionally and financially unstable, Ruth looked to her generous community for help. She then married Hunter who promised to take care of her all the days of their lives. This portion of the book was bittersweet to me. As I watched the characters grow, I was in awe as I watched their lives grow spiritually. 

On several occasions, Ruth attests to the power of the word of God. If only women were as strong-willed and focused on Christ, right?! We could have many more amazing mothers in this country, raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Although mixed race kept haunting McBride which brought upon him identity crisis, McBride conveyed Ruth's upbringing of her children as her definition - her crowning accomplishment.

In the Epilogue, Ruth enters a synagogue for the first time since her childhood. Hesitant, Ruth soon realizes that Judaism has been a significant component of her heritage and she values it as she comes to terms with this virtue of her life.

I honestly thought --- this book is so not my thing. I'm too conservative to read about interracial marriages and what not. But I opened my mind and thoroughly enjoyed McBride's captivating tale of a black man's tribute to his white mother. 

"There's such a big difference between being dead and alive. I told myself, the greatest gift that anyone can give anyone else is life. And the greatest sin a person can do to another is to take away that life. Next to that, all the rules and religions in the world are secondary; mere words and beliefs that people choose to believe and kill and hate by. My life won't be lived that way, and neither, I hope, will my children's."

James McBride's The Color of Water:

A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

Chapters 10-18

In the middle 'chunk' of this novel, McBride grows from boy to man physically, mentally, emotionally, and especially spiritually. In Chapter 10, the kids begin questioning their mother's past more and more. Reluctant, Ruth holds back her childhood and rather tells of their father's family life instead. The children, James especially, are curious of their mother's Judaism decent. Ruth's attitude, to me, reflects her children's upbringing. She teaches values and the importance of education --- nothing more, nothing less.

McBride begins to discover his love for jazz --- it's his clutch to the imaginative world, rather than facing the painful realities that ensue because of his race. The racial ridicule increases as his classmates make him feel inferior. He almost wishes his family were just one color. This sparks his real investigation of his mother's past.

In the next chapter, Ruth opens up about her secret love affair with Peter...and she's having his baby! That was a definite surprise to me! I was even more surprised that her mother was compassionate, kept her affair a secret, and sent her to live with her aunts in New York. Although Ruth builds strong bonds with Aunt Betsy, working in the leather factory became tiresome. BUT --- she met McBride's father, Dennis, there. Problems with her aunts arise, and she moves out. But before meeting Dennis, Ruth headed 'home' to complete her education...meeting back up with Peter who was to marry the black mother of his soon-to-be child. She has pitfalls along the way when her father argues with her about her education...this is how she ends up back in NY with Dennis. 

But Dennis (the biological father) was not the important Dad to McBride. In Chapter 12, McBride recounts his intimate final moments with his stepfather before his death of a stroke. He promises his stepfather that he will take care of Ruth and the family.

Unable to cope, McBride slacks off in school, begins skipping classes, turns to drugs, and even begins to do some petty stealing. All out of anger, it was sad to see McBride's quick turn for the worse. His mother sent him to spend the summer with his sister in Kentucky. There, he learned to educate himself and work hard in life. This is where I really saw McBride form into a man --- realizing the importance of his life. 

McBride turns to God for compassion, comfort, and guidance at this point in the novel...this is where I really saw him grow morally and spiritually. He takes deep consideration to changing his previous behavior. 

At the close of this portion of the book, the family packs up and heads to Delaware...for New York is far too expensive! I really enjoyed reading McBride's love of jazz grow and grow. He went to Europe with the Dawson's and got into Oberlin College! Can't wait to see what's in store for McBride. 

"Her oddness, her complete nonawareness of what the world thought of her, a nonchalance in the face of what I perceived to be imminent danger from blacks and whites who disliked her for being a white person in a black world. She saw none of it."

James McBride's The Color of Water:

A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

Chapters 1-9

Although I really enjoyed reading On Writing, it's definitely nice to begin a new book! So far, this tribute has been easy to follow, historically eye-opening, and captivating to uncover. To be honest, I've never been interested in the Civil Rights Movement. I'm totally for it and how it's molded our great nation -- but it just never caught my eye like Pearl Harbor or the Holocaust did in my history classes. Even though I've only begun the book, it's changing my mind completely. Hearing McBride's words through his Jewish mother's experiences is incredibly interesting.

James McBride, born in 1957, tells the story of growing up with a white Jewish mother, 11 siblings and their two black fathers in Brooklyn’s Red Hook projects.

In this memoir, he shares a mix between his mother’s telling of her life – one that she had once refused to share with her children – blended into his own upbringing.

This first page hooked me in...authors, of course, know you have to get the reader's attention at this point. Nevertheless, on his first page, McBride writes,

 “As a boy, I never knew where my mother was from – where she was born, who her parents were. When I asked she’d say, ‘God made me.’ When I asked if she was white, she’d say, ‘I’m light-skinned,’ and change the subject. She raised twelve black children and sent us all to college and in most cases graduate school…yet none of us knew her maiden name until we were grown.”

And he continues in saying:

“Here is her life as she told it to me, and betwixt and between the pages of her life you will find mine as well.”

That's pretty powerful. His (and her) stories thus far may seem common and of little importance. But throughout the pages, I'm beginning to see the other side of racism, controversy, and strife. Maybe more of us should see ourselves as "the color of water" instead of getting caught up in the actual color of our skin that separate so many different peoples of the world we live in.



 

Stephen King believes a writer should write a lot to be successful. Throughout his life, King has always written.

Final Response to Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Throughout his life, Stephen King has demonstrated his dedication to the art of writing. From a young boy, eager to learn the meaning of new words to a 63 year old autobiographer, King has lived his motto: read a lot and, more importantly, write a lot. King's passion for writing, displayed in the memoir, encourages amateur and aspiring writers, dedicated to the craft. King uses several personal experiences and advice as specific examples to show good writing. Unique examples include his early writing years, his time of addiction, and his relationship with his wife.

In his first years of writing, King could've been discouraged enough to give up writing completely. Rejection slip after rejection slip, King strived to become a published writer. In his C.V., King states: "Don't bother trying to read between the lines, and don't look for a through-line. There are no lines -- only snapshots, most out of focus." He uses metaphors like this example to show how simple good writing can be and is for a good author. In his childhood, King moved often with his mother and brother. One thing that never changed (contrary to his fast-paced life) was writing. In his early years, King developed the theme and genre he loved to write about. He realized fiction was suited for him and even wrote for newspapers. To write well, knowing early in life what you love to write about and share with others is key.

As his career progressed, King developed an addiction to alcohol and other drugs. And while some of his best works were written under the influence, King regrets not remembering his "glory" days of writing. Throughout his intervention, King showed true leadership in good writing by overcoming personal obstacles. As King had to battle his personal downfalls and strife, he had to form himself into the writer he is today. He says "Words create sentences; sentences creates paragraphs; and sometimes paragraphs quicken and begin to breathe." Like the structure of good writing, King had to develop the mentality of a good writer. In this portion of the novel, King portrays overcoming his darkest hour and rising triumphantly out of the pit of despair.

A writer herself, King's wife is an encourager, but more importantly, a realist. As his Ideal Reader, Tabitha King has a relationship with King beyond that of a bonded marriage. King uses her for advice on all of his works -- whether good or bad. When King is unsure of a piece he's begun, Tabitha is there to give him the absolute truth. When writing Carrie, King threw away his draft. Tabitha was immediately there to scoop it out of the wastebasket and put her mind to the work -- and a bestselling novel was born. In expressing his relationship with his Ideal Reader, King shows the importance of writing...good writing, that is.  He defines writing the best: "Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well."

Writing and reading a lot are a given in King's opinion. Beyond this, King uses several specific examples to develop good writers. Throughout his life, King has always written, and he charges others to do the same in this memoir.