The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother

Who was Ruth McBride Jordan? Not even her son knew the answer to that question until he embarked on a twelve-year journey that changed himself and his family forever. Born Rachel Deborah Shilsky, she began life as the daughter of an angry, failed orthodox Jewish rabbi in the South. To escape her unhappy childhood, Ruth ran awat to Harlem, married a black man, became Babtist and started an all-black church. Her son James tells of growing up with inner confusions, chaos, and financial hardships…