Mark Whitaker is former editor of Newsweek. His parents were both college professors. His father, a much-lauded expert on African studies, esp. Nigerian politics, was African American. His mother, a professor of French literature, emigrated to the U.S. from France as a child during WW II. With a family background like that, the story couldn't help but be interesting. The first 2/3 of the book, in which Mark recounts his family's various stories, from his Whitaker grandparents' rise to prominence as black funeral directors to his Theis grandfather's heroic role in protecting Jews during WW II is absolutely gripping. Mark's parents have some very happy years but eventually divorce, in large part due to his father's alcoholism. The last third of the book is largely about Mark's struggle to develop an identity and a career largely on his own. While the book ends with the memoir's traditional platitude that "I finally understand my parents. My dad wasn't all bad and I really do owe my mom a lot" I was not very satisfied. Given Mark's incredibly privileged education, it seems to me he could have probed a little deeper into what led to the obvious "bully/victim" roles his parents fell into. I also wonder that he doesn't consider what role the patriarchal worlds of academics and also Nigerian politics in which his father was deeply invested played in his father's refusal to acknowledge his own faults. Overall, I guess I was just disappointed that there wasn't deeper cultural analysis here. ( )

First of all, I have to admit that I didn't know who journalist and news executive Mark Whitaker is, I just wanted to read this book because I like memoirs and I thought the story of a child born to a white mother and a black father during a time of blatant racism would be interesting. And it was.

Whitaker's parents were both caring, intelligent people who were both a bit dysfunctional in very different ways. This isn't a The Glass Castle or A Child Called It kind of dysfunctional, thank heavens. It is more about a very loving mother who perhaps was overwhelmed by her situation and her relationship with her husband. But mostly, it is about a father who needs to feel important but doesn't deal well with responsibility and too often takes the easy way out. And of course, about the children of that relationship. We see all this through the eyes of the author as it seemed to him as a child and then through his adult perspective.

I was surprised that there were not more reports of racism in the book. While it had to be very hard to be a biracial family in those times, extended family seemed loving and accepting. I loved the stories of international travel, and especially the stories of bravery during WWII. Early in the book, I had a problem with some pronouns, was not sure what person the author meant, but that lessened as I got used to the author's style. His style didn't always appeal to me, could have been both a little more interesting and have had fewer details in some areas, but that is probably more about me than it is about the author's style. All in all, this is a highly readable look at a successful person and how he came to be on that path.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me an advance reader's copy of the book. ( )