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

The Color of Water 10th Anniversary Edition

James McBride

I just finished reading my book club's April selection, The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride.

I started the book thinking I wasn't going to like it because in all honesty, I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction.  But I read it through even though it took me two extra weeks.  Others in the book club flew through it.  They found it to be the sort of book they couldn't put down.  While I didn't find it that, I did find it to be an incredibly touching story.

I think I was supposed to get a sense of history, a sense of racial and religious divide out it.  To a point I think I did.  But more than that, it was a touching testament to the power of family.  How you take the good with the bad and you do the best you can.  And it doesn't matter who you come from but who you choose to go with.

To me, more than anything, it was a story about growth.  Proof that we are the masters of our own destiny.  In the end I'm glad I read it.  I'm glad I bought it because it's a book I'll likely read again.  Probably when I start to feel a little lost in my own life.  I think it will be there to help me remember to set my path.