The Color of Water
A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to Cart failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Please try again
Unfollow podcast failed
Please try again
Get 30 days of Standard free
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Buy for $15.75
-
Narrated by:
-
JD Jackson
-
Susan Denaker
-
By:
-
James McBride
Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her twelve black children. James McBride, journalist, musician, and son, explores his mother's past, as well as his own upbringing and heritage, in a poignant and powerful debut, The Color Of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother.
The son of a black minister and a woman who would not admit she was white, James McBride grew up in "orchestrated chaos" with his eleven siblings in the poor, all-black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn. "Mommy," a fiercely protective woman with "dark eyes full of pep and fire," herded her brood to Manhattan's free cultural events, sent them off on buses to the best (and mainly Jewish) schools, demanded good grades, and commanded respect. As a young man, McBride saw his mother as a source of embarrassment, worry, and confusion—and reached thirty before he began to discover the truth about her early life and long-buried pain.
In The Color of Water, McBride retraces his mother's footsteps and, through her searing and spirited voice, recreates her remarkable story. The daughter of a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi, she was born Rachel Shilsky (actually Ruchel Dwara Zylska) in Poland on April 1, 1921. Fleeing pogroms, her family emigrated to America and ultimately settled in Suffolk, Virginia, a small town where anti-Semitism and racial tensions ran high. With candor and immediacy, Ruth describes her parents' loveless marriage; her fragile, handicapped mother; her cruel, sexually-abusive father; and the rest of the family and life she abandoned.
At seventeen, after fleeing Virginia and settling in New York City, Ruth married a black minister and founded the all- black New Brown Memorial Baptist Church in her Red Hook living room. "God is the color of water," Ruth McBride taught her children, firmly convinced that life's blessings and life's values transcend race. Twice widowed, and continually confronting overwhelming adversity and racism, Ruth's determination, drive and discipline saw her dozen children through college—and most through graduate school. At age 65, she herself received a degree in social work from Temple University.
Interspersed throughout his mother's compelling narrative, McBride shares candid recollections of his own experiences as a mixed-race child of poverty, his flirtations with drugs and violence, and his eventual self- realization and professional success. The Color of Water touches readers of all colors as a vivid portrait of growing up, a haunting meditation on race and identity, and a lyrical valentine to a mother from her son.
Accolades & Awards
Memoir Essentials
Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"[A] triumph."—The New York Times Book Review
"As lively as a novel, a well-written, thoughtful contribution to the literature on race."—The Washington Post Book World
"Inspiring."—Glamour
"Vibrant."—The Boston Globe
"James McBride evokes his childhood trek across the great racial divide with the kind of power and grace that touches and uplifts all hearts."—Bebe Moore Campbell
"As lively as a novel, a well-written, thoughtful contribution to the literature on race."—The Washington Post Book World
"Inspiring."—Glamour
"Vibrant."—The Boston Globe
"James McBride evokes his childhood trek across the great racial divide with the kind of power and grace that touches and uplifts all hearts."—Bebe Moore Campbell
Featured Article: The top 100 memoirs of all time
Featured Article: The top 100 memoirs of all time
All genres considered, the memoir is among the most difficult and complex for a writer to pull off. After all, giving voice to your own lived experience and recounting deeply painful or uncomfortable memories in a way that still engages and entertains is a remarkable feat. These autobiographies, often narrated by the authors themselves, shine with raw, unfiltered emotion sure to resonate with any listener. But don't just take our word for it—queue up any one of these listens, and you'll hear exactly what we mean.
People who viewed this also viewed...
Ruth, as she was known, was Jewish, the daughter of Jewish immigrants who were in an arranged, loveless marriage. Because of polio, her mother was handicapped, but worked hard nonetheless. Her father was a sometime thing. But Ruth was able to find deep love with her first husband, a black man who died when she was pregnant with her eighth child. The difficulties of a mixed marriage were not easy to deal with, and the children, born of two races that were not treated very well in the mid 1900s had a difficult time as well. Ruth’s family never accepted her husband, so she was basically on her own. After the death of her first husband, she again found love with a black man with whom she had four more children.
This is a compelling story of true grit. I admire Ruth for her ability to make something out of very little. It makes me realize I have nothing to complain about. (But I still do it. . . )
The narrators were spot on. A very enjoyable listen!
What is the color of water?
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great audible
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Significant Read
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Spectacular.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
returning
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.