How can you really know someone until you take the time to see what they have gone through? The Color of Water: A Man’s Tribute to His White Mother was a fascinating, educational, heartwarming, remarkable, but eccentric book that was well written and fun to read. It was a marvelous book told by two points of view, both James McBride and his mother, Ruth McBride. With alternating chapters from childhood to adulthood. The Color of Water portrays the story of a Jewish white woman who married two black men and raised a successful however unique family in a black neighborhood.
               Ruth McBride had a bitter childhood and hated talking about her past and family. Ruth’s father was a Jewish rabbi who was racist, violent, and hypocritical. She converted from Judaism to Christianity and was disowned by her family when she fell in love with a black man. I don’t understand how someone can just turn their backs on someone in their family. Reading about her father’s inappropriate behavior was utterly depressing. Throughout everything, Ruth still managed to persevere and turn herself into a strong woman. One of Ruth’s conflicts was that she fell in love with a black man and ended up getting pregnant and the reoccurrence of her family’s separation which served as a painful memory.
                 The theme reflects on racial prejudice from both Ruth and James’s point of view. She endured ridicule. They faced many forms of prejudice. One of the biggest one was being related to one another, but not having the same skin colors.
                  In conclusion, The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride was a fascinating, educational, heartwarming, remarkable, but eccentric book that was well written and fun to read. I strongly recommend this book to teens and adults.