James McBride

Not much is known about his personal life except for the fact that he is married and has three children. He lives between New York City and Lambertville, New Jersey.

James McBride was born to Rev. Andrew D. McBride and Ruth McBride in New York City, New York. While his father was an African American, his mother was a Jewish immigrant from Poland.

Even before his birth, his father passed away due to cancer. Young James was the eight and the last child of the couple. His mother later remarried Hunter Jordan with whom she had four more children.

At the age of 14, his stepfather passed away. This caused a major emotional stress for both him and his mother. In th realm of his grief, he indulged in erroneous activities like shoplifting, using drugs, drinking alcohol and so on.

Unlike his brothers, Dennis and Billy who attained doctorate degree in medicine, he was not interested in the same and instead enrolled at the Oberlin College to receive an undergraduate degree in music composition in 1979. It was there that he eventually regained his original self.

Post completing his graduate studies, he studied at the Columbia School of Journalism to attain a master’s degree in journalism.

Upon concluding his formal studies, he took up the position of a staff writer in well-known and established publication houses including, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, the Wilmington News Journal and People Magazine.

Furthermore, he started writing pieces for Rolling Stone magazine, Essence and The New York Times. He also contributed writing materials to the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer and US magazines.

It was while pursuing his journalist career that he came up with a memoir, ‘The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to his White Mother’ which was published in 1996. The book provided detailed information about his life in an African-American household and his effort to come to terms with the biracial identity.

The memoir was widely accepted and became a bestseller. What’s more, it remained on the New York Times Bestseller List for two years and has been translated in more than sixteen languages with record sales of 2.5 million copies. The book has become an American classic and is widely read in schools, colleges and universities.

Post the raving success of his debut venture, in 2002, he turned to fiction and came up with his first fictional novel, ‘Miracle at St Anna’. With World War II as the backdrop, the novel provided a detailed account of the history of the African-American 92nd Infantry Division in the Italian campaign

Over his lifetime, he has received numerous awards for both a career in writing and music. Some of them include the American Arts and Letters Richard Rogers Award, the ASCAP Richard Rodgers Horizons Award, and the American Music Festival's Stephen Sondheim Award. Other than these, he has several honorary doctorates.

In 2013, his comic literary venture, ‘The Good Lord Bird’ won him a National Book Award.