The Color of Water

A son explores his mother's past and his own upbringing and heritage in a powerful debut, touching on themes of race, identity and growing up. The daughter of a failed Orthodox rabbi, Ruth McBride Jordan grew up amidst anti-Semitism and racial tensions in Virginia. Ultimately settling in Red Hook, Brooklyn, she founded an all-black church and raised her twelve children with determination, drive, and discipline. Through his mother's compelling narrative and his own candid recollections, James McBride creates a vivid portrait of a family's journey through poverty, adversity, and institutional racism.