Books like

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

12 books with a reading profile close to The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. Inward-looking and contemplative; an easy read.

  1. 1 Wat ik nooit eerder heb gezegd

    Wat ik nooit eerder heb gezegd

    by Celeste Ng

    Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

    Set in 1970s Ohio, the narrative begins with the death of Lydia Lee, the favorite daughter of a mixed-race couple.

  2. 2 Moab Is My Washpot

    Moab Is My Washpot

    by Stephen Fry

    Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

    In this memoir, Stephen Fry recounts his first twenty years, focusing on his turbulent education at various English boarding schools and his eventual imprisonment.

  3. 3 Truth & Beauty

    Truth & Beauty

    by Ann Patchett

    Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

    Ann Patchett narrates the decades-long friendship between herself and the writer Lucy Grealy, beginning at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

  4. 4 When All Is Said

    When All Is Said

    by Anne Griffin

    Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

    Maurice Hannigan, an elderly Irish farmer, sits in a pub in a small town one evening and orders five drinks, one for each person who has been important in his life.

  5. 5 Just Kids

    Just Kids

    by Patti Smith

    Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

    Just Kids chronicles the relationship between Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, beginning with their chance meeting in Brooklyn in 1967.

  6. 6 The Tender Bar: A Memoir

    The Tender Bar: A Memoir

    by J.R. Moehringer

    Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

    J.R.

  7. 7 Stitches: A Memoir

    Stitches: A Memoir

    by David Small

    Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

    David Small’s graphic memoir recounts his childhood in 1950s Detroit, living in a household defined by emotional withdrawal and medical negligence.

  8. 8 The End of Eddy

    The End of Eddy

    by Édouard Louis

    Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

    Eddy Bellegueule grows up in a poor village in northern France, in a family where men are expected to be tough and unemployment and alcohol are common.

  9. 9 This Boy's Life

    This Boy's Life

    by Tobias Wolff

    Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

    Tobias Wolff’s memoir recounts his nomadic upbringing in the 1950s as he travels across the United States with his divorced mother to escape an abusive boyfriend.

  10. 10 Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

    Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

    by Alexandra Fuller

    Also inward-looking and contemplative · memoir, narrative

    Alexandra Fuller outlines her upbringing in 1970s and 80s Rhodesia, Malawi, and Zambia during a period of violent decolonization.

  11. 11 Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl

    Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl

    by Carrie Brownstein

    Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

    Carrie Brownstein chronicles her development from a fan in the Pacific Northwest underground music scene to the guitarist of Sleater-Kinney.

  12. 12 All Over But the Shoutin'

    All Over But the Shoutin'

    by Rick Bragg

    Also inward-looking · memoir, narrative

    Rick Bragg recounts his transition from the poverty of the rural Alabama foothills to his career as a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist at The New York Times.

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