The Color of Water

A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

By: James McBride

Narrated by: JD Jackson, Susan Denaker

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling story from the author of The Good Lord Bird, winner of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction.

Who is Ruth McBride Jordan? A self-declared "light-skinned" woman evasive about her ethnicity, yet steadfast in her love for her 12 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 11 siblings in the poor, all-Black projects of Red Hook, Brooklyn.

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. At 17, 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.

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 listeners 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.

©2014 James McBride (P)2014 Penguin Audio

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)

What is the color of water?

This woman was amazing. I don’t think many of us would want to emulate her parenting style, but the results she gets are hard to discredit. Every one of her 12 children earned college degrees and had successful careers, and all this under incredibly difficult circumstances.

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!

Great audible

I loved it and recommended it to many people and consider myself a connoisseur of audibles.

Significant Read

An amazing life that shows we are all human despite skin color or religious bent.

Spectacular.

A beautiful story, eloquently written, and makes the reader feel every possible human emotion. This is, hands down, my new favorite book.

returning

I read this book over ten years ago and it's been my favorite book ever since. I'm just happy to re-experience it in all its glory.

One of the best books I've ever read

I read this book twice and since my book club picked it, I thought I would try the Audible version this time around. it was nice to get the updates he added. McBride's mom is 1 year older than my mother. The secrecy, traumatic past, the gradual, reluctant willingness to discuss same is very familiar to me. However, this tale is so fantastic that I constantly have to remind myself that it is all true. Hearing it performed so well really brought it to life.

Outstanding memoir

I loved this book. I couldn’t stop listening. The writing is top notch. The performance was perfect listening.

Fabulous!!

I was entranced from the 1st chapter. A book I could not put down!

Wonderful stong

The up the down and downs of this family made them so strong. I loved this story. Life live and commitment.

Fascinating memoir

This memoir of James McBride’s mother’s life and somewhat his own is a fascinating listen. I wish I could have seen pictures of the entire family. What a wonderful gift of writing McBride has in choosing to honor his mother this way.