Wonderful Read!

James McBride describes growing up as one of twelve children of a white mother and black father. He talks about his mother's contributions to his life and coming to terms with his confusion over his own identity. Interwoven is Ruth’s story, born Rachel Shilsky, a Polish Jew, who felt more comfortable in the black community than with her own kind, who falls in love and marries, Dennis McBride, a black man in the 1940s. Raising 12 inter racial children is a super job for any mother. Add to that a husband who comes home only on weekends and no other family support and you really have a challenge.

This is a terrific book and I still can't get over how much this book touched me. It’s an incredibly moving memoir! It’s a true-life story of a family that succeeds in spite of many struggles and challenges. It interweaves the stories of both mother and son in a beautiful manner. I wanted to cry at times and at others I wanted to laugh reading this book. The alternating chapters have James and Ruth telling their story. Together they tell a story of triumph and hardship that brought their family from the projects to success. Ruth overcomes the difficulty of being an immigrant to this country; survives a childhood of poverty and physical abuse; grieves and trudges on after burying two husbands and even manages to get a degree at the age of 65.

Ruth is a strong woman who didn’t let things like racial barriers and poverty stop her from raising her children and providing educations for them despite her financial limitations and obstacles that came from her situation. This is a candid account of how one family deals with the issue of racial differences. James’ love for his mother is very obvious in this book. While he struggles with who he is, he learns to respect Ruth for the strong woman she is and the force she played in their lives.

I highly recommend this book! It’s well written and Ruth’s narrative seems to be speaking directly to the reader. To follow James and his mother through the stories and hardships of their lives was an inspirational and interesting journey.