The Color of Water

After you finish The Color of Water by James McBride, you hardly want to pick up another book - you just want to sit and savor it. What a powerful book about family and the things you can accomplish with perseverance. James comes from parents from two ends of the spectrum - he is the son of a black man that founded a Baptist church in the South. His mother was raised by a Rabbi in the South but flees to Harlem. The two meet and live in Brooklyn's Red Hook projects and when his father and, later, step father both die, they leave Mrs. McBride with 12 children to raise all on her own. It is a moving story about the faith and strength this mother had and what she did to raise 12 children - all of whom completed college and went on to receive prestigious jobs. We are using this book in our book discussion group at our library this month - if you want to use it in a book club setting, there are discussion questions HERE.