Aug 16, 2009
The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White (Paperback)
From Publishers Weekly
“All America is in me,” writes the author, whose heritage combines black, white and Indian forebears. Her effort to untangle her family history makes for an absorbing, if sometimes convoluted, American saga. Although Haizlip, who was born in 1937, grew up comfortably in Connecticut as the daughter of a Baptist minister, her mother’s rejection by her own white father left an enduring wound on both mother and daughter. The author uses a rich mixture of records, interviews and memory to trace her family tree and along the way offers vignettes that illustrate America’s historic racial divide: one white-looking relative became the first Washington, D.C., black police officer, albeit unbeknownst to the police department; an aunt living as a black denied her blood tie to her white-skinned niece to spare the young woman difficulties. Haizlip’s own story includes satisfying, if isolated, years studying at Wellesley, her marriage to Harvard graduate student Ha (more…)
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating
This author tells the story of her own family, spanning many generations. She did this mostly for her mother Margaret Morris Taylor who had suffered the sting of abandonment from…
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well written, but surprisingly racist
The Sweeter the Juice clearly demonstrates that racism is equally prevelent on both sides of the color line.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Only book Oprah recomended actually worth reading
I am not an Oprah fan but one day with nothing to do I actually spent a rare session in front of television flipping channels.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A first rate piece of writing
The author, Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, is of mixed race parentage, her father more dark skinned black than her mother.
5.0 out of 5 stars
An enthralling story of one American family
Haizlip is a good detective, writer and storyteller. This is evident as she successfully tracks down the missing part of her family and writes a fascinating genealogical…
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blood is Thicker Than Water.
I really enjoyed reading “The Sweeter the Juice.” Ms. Haizlip’s story of her mother’s family passing for white was fascinating and disturbing all at once.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Too many characters, too much confusion
This book had the potential to be a great one due to it’s unique and rarely tackled subject matter, but unfortunately the names and stories run together in one big blur.
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book was a poorly written and a confused mess to read.
I was chosen to do a report in my history class. The guidlines of the essay were simple; find a book, read it and report on it.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Starts out strong, but peters out in a rambling tirade.
“The Sweeter the Juice” is personal history at its best when it focuses on the nominal subject: the search for missing relatives who “passed” into the white…
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerful and important book
In the United States, people are often judged by their skin color. Shirley Haizlip’s book reveals the complexity of the issue by searching for her family’s roots.