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Nishta J. Mehra
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Brown White Black: An American Family at the Intersection of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Religion Kindle Edition

by Nishta J. Mehra (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 out of 5 stars 42 ratings

Intimate and honest essays on motherhood, marriage, love, and acceptance

Brown White Black is a portrait of Nishta J. Mehra's family: her wife, who is white; her adopted child, Shiv, who is black; and their experiences dealing with America's rigid ideas of race, gender, and sexuality. Her clear-eyed and incisive writing on her family's daily struggle to make space for themselves amid racial intolerance and stereotypes personalizes some of America's most fraught issues. Mehra writes candidly about her efforts to protect and shelter Shiv from racial slurs on the playground and from intrusive questions by strangers while educating her child on the realities and dangers of being black in America. In other essays, she discusses growing up in the racially polarized city of Memphis; coming out as queer; being an adoptive mother who is brown; and what it's like to be constantly confronted by people's confusion, concern, and expectations about her child and her family. Above all, Mehra argues passionately for a more nuanced and compassionate understanding of identity and family.

Both poignant and challenging, Brown White Black is a remarkable portrait of a loving family on the front lines of some of the most highly charged conversations in our culture.

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  1. Print length
    224 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Picador
  4. Publication date
    February 5, 2019
  5. File size
    1.1 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This fantastic memoir is such a welcome change from the glut of motherhood narratives that have been overwhelming bookshelves lately. . . .The honesty and clarity with which Mehra lays out how the family traverses and makes decisions around race, gender, and social structures is so refreshing to read, even if you have no interest in parenthood yourself. Mehra and her wife are somehow able to be both pragmatic and idealistic about raising their gender-nonconforming black child as a mixed-race lesbian couple in America.” ―BuzzFeed

"For marginalized people, widening the understanding of identity is a path to freedom. ...These essays mine deep and distinct emotional terrain. Mehra delves unflinchingly into each of her identities and their sharp intersections. In this collection Mehra is unafraid to struggle for her own liberty. Readers may finish these pages a bit freer themselves." ―Camille Acker, The New York Times Book Review

"A stirring portrait...Touching on issues of race, gender, sexuality, parenthood, marriage, and love, [Brown White Black is] a timely book of essays that challenges readers to examine their own understanding of identity and family." ―Bustle

"Mehra, a teacher, reflects on her experience as a lesbian daughter of Indian immigrants with an interracial family in this thoughtful memoir-in-essays...This insightful, searching book will appeal to anyone contemplating race, family, or growing into oneself." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Mehra’s nuanced and thought-provoking work resonates on multiple levels― from the immigrant experience and race relations to accepting one’s sexuality, adoption, parenthood, and more. Excellent for readers interested in family and issues of identity in America.” ―Library Journal (starred review)

"Mehra makes a strong statement about the importance of moving beyond gender and racial barriers toward a more inclusive view of family life. Full of a wide range of insight and emotion, these essays effectively show the difficulties of being a mixed-race, same-sex family in America." ―Kirkus Reviews

"An insightful, moving look at what it’s like to navigate a world that doesn’t always understand you." ―BookRiot

About the Author

NISHTA J. MEHRA was raised among a tight-knit network of Indian immigrants in Memphis, Tennessee. She is the proud graduate of St. Mary's Episcopal School and holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Rice University and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. An English teacher with over a decade of experience in middle and high school classrooms, she lives with her wife, Jill, and their child, Shiv, in Phoenix. She is the author of The Pomegranate King, a collection of essays.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07FMFLNRK
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador (February 5, 2019)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 5, 2019
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.1 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 42 ratings

About the author

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Nishta J. Mehra

Nishta J. Mehra

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NISHTA MEHRA was raised among a tight-knit network of Indian immigrants in Memphis, Tennessee. She is the proud graduate of St. Mary's Episcopal School and holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from Rice University and an M.F.A in Creative Writing from the University of Arizona. An English teacher with over a decade of experience in middle and high school classrooms, she lives with her wife, Jill, and their six-year-old, Shiv, in Phoenix. She is a fan of bourbon and old-school Tex-Mex (though not necessarily together) and makes a very fine buttermilk biscuit.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
42 global ratings

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What Makes a Family?
5 out of 5 stars
What Makes a Family?
I was blown away by this very honest and loving book written by a mom about her family. Nishta J. Mehra writes so beautifully about the complications and rewards of her "different" family. If you are in the LGBTQ community or a member of the Adoption Triad or a Person of Color or a person involved in the Social Justice movement or in a "Mixed Marriage" - this book is a Must Read. If you are a person who enjoys a good book - this book is a Must Read.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Sc1reader
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking Essay Collection
    Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Mehra's essays are loud, confident, self-aware, and passionate. In these essays, she carves out new space for herself. In this way, she redefines what it means to be feminine, and strongly represents herself as a woman essayist.
    She challenges easy binaries and helped me broaden my definition of identity to become more nuanced and compassionate. To be honest, the book really challenged me. I don’t agree with all of Mehra’s ideas. Despite this, I can see the importance of her perspective and the value in her experiences. I came away from the book being better able to question my own biases, and embrace a more nuanced definition of family and identity. This is a great book and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a frank discussion of important issues of identity.
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  • Isaias S. Torres
    5.0 out of 5 stars So refreshingly honest
    Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This book has been so illuminating to me for reasons that I didn't expect. What I mostly took away from it was the beauty of living an authentic life of one's own creation. Nishta perfectly describes the struggles and uncertainties of growing up and creating a family when there are no models to follow. This book is never pedantic - it just honestly speaks about what it really is like to grow up bicultural and then what it is like to start a family that doesn't easily fit into people's mindsets. I can't wait to buy some copies for my friends.
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  • Joyce M. Steensrud
    5.0 out of 5 stars What Makes a Family?
    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I was blown away by this very honest and loving book written by a mom about her family. Nishta J. Mehra writes so beautifully about the complications and rewards of her "different" family. If you are in the LGBTQ community or a member of the Adoption Triad or a Person of Color or a person involved in the Social Justice movement or in a "Mixed Marriage" - this book is a Must Read. If you are a person who enjoys a good book - this book is a Must Read.
    Customer image
    Joyce M. Steensrud
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    What Makes a Family?

    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2019
    I was blown away by this very honest and loving book written by a mom about her family. Nishta J. Mehra writes so beautifully about the complications and rewards of her "different" family. If you are in the LGBTQ community or a member of the Adoption Triad or a Person of Color or a person involved in the Social Justice movement or in a "Mixed Marriage" - this book is a Must Read. If you are a person who enjoys a good book - this book is a Must Read.
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    5 people found this helpful
    Helpful
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  • calvin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding work of great revelation
    Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A truly moving exploration of the roles that expectations and being an outlier can impose and dispose is to as we live complicated not so ordinary lives. I have been a fan of the author's work since the publication of an earlier set of essays. The challenges she and her family face with courage and honesty are valuable to all whose lives seem a bit out of the ordinary to others.
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  • Valerie
    5.0 out of 5 stars Important and wonderful collection of essays
    Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    This is a beautifully written but also highly accessible glimpse into the life of a modern American family that doesn't quite fit the definition of what many think an "American family" should look like and act like. It is important reading for anyone who wants an understanding of the daily questions, topics, and issues that family's like Mehra's must address as they navigate life, friendships, and parenting.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • S Sheth
    5.0 out of 5 stars Timely
    Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Everyone should read this book. A timely discussion of the issues facing society today based on experience. We would be a better society if we were more aware, sensitive, respectful of others and realize the value each individual brings regardless of any physical expression of self.
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  • Becca
    5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it.
    Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A gift. But it. Read it. You will fall in love with Nishta and her family.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Seana A from Brooklyn
    5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing
    Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2021
    My family mirrors the author's - multi racial, religious, generational, genderqueer. As the white Christian pansexual woman, I appreciated how Nishta helped me see how others saw and behaved towards us and why it made me so angry. It also encouraged me to be proud and grateful to be an example of a loving extended family outside the box. This is an exciting, challenging and hopeful time. Thank you, Nishta, for your bravery in pushing for the utopia of all of us Free To Be US!
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