The Color of Water

I am currently reading a book titled The Color of Water by James McBride.  It is a memoir told from the point of view of the author and his mother.  Every other chapter is written from the point of view of the author remembering his childhood.  The other chapters are the results of interviews that the author had with his mother telling the story of her own childhood.  This book is very interesting.  It is written by a black man about his white mother.  He never got to know his mother and her background as a child.  He was one of 14 kids and his only alone time with his mother was their daily walks to and from the bus stop.  Whenever he asked her about herself and her background she would give him some sort of vague answer.  Now that McBride is an adult he is finally learning things about his mother's past for the first time.  This true story really made me think about what it would be like to not really know much about the people closest to your life.  I don't want to give away anything about McBride's mother's background except to say that it is surprising and unusual especially given her decision to join the black community as an adult.  This book shows both McBride's and his mother's racial struggles, when as a young boy he recognizes that his mother is different from all the other mothers in the neighborhood.  The title of the book comes from a question that McBride asked his mother when he was a child.  On the way home from church one day he asked his mother what color God was.  She answered confidently, "God is the color of water."