Mixed: My Life in Black and White

By Angela Nissel

Book Overview

"Tell anyone who asks that you're half-black and half-white, just like David Hasselhoff from Knight Rider."-Angela's mother

"Love has no color," insist Angela Nissel' s parents, but does it have a clue? In this candid, funny, and poignant memoir, Angela recounts growing up biracial in Philadelphia-moving back and forth between black inner-city schools and white prep schools-where her racial ambiguity and doomed attempts to blend in dog her teen years. Once in college, Angela experiments with black activism (hoping to find clarity in extremism), capitalizes on her "exotic" look at a strip club, and ends up with a major case of the blues (aka, a racial identity problem). Yet Angela is never down for the count. After moving to Los Angeles, she discovers that being multiracial is anything but simple, especially in terms of dating and romance.

By turns a comedy of errors and a moving coming-of-age chronicle, Mixed traces one woman's unforgettable journey to self-acceptance and belonging.

Praise for Mixed

"Mixed is a hilarious must-read for anyone searching for the enchanting path to self-discovery. Angela Nissel's precise account of living the mixed race experience not only hit home with me, but the journey is deliciously enlightening and heart-rending at the same time. It's a journey well worth taking."­--Halle Berry

"I love Angela Nissel's writing. Reading Mixed was like getting a letter from a best friend I forgot I had. How ironic that a book written by someone who felt like no one "got" her will surely be one of those rare books everyone gets- black, white, both, neither. Hilarious, sweet, and honest, Mixed is the perfect read if you've ever felt like the one standing on the outside­--and let's face it, who hasn't?"­--Jill Soloway, author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants

"If David Sedaris was a straight biracial female, this is the book he'd write. This book is so funny I've already started telling people I helped Angela write it."­--Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs

"Nissel is humorous, poignant, and proud yet also empathetic and generous as she recounts her constant struggle to answer the perennial question persons of mixed race seem required to ask of themselves in our society-where do I fit in?.... All readers stand to learn from her account."--Booklist

"Colorful anecdotes, marvelous dialogue and a thoughtful narrative make this memoir a delight."­--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345481143
• ISBN13: 9780345481146
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Wonderful insight into the minds of us mixed folk.

I am so glad Ms. Nissel wrote this book. Being mixed Black and White myself, I have had similar experiences. So many people fought and cried against our very existence. Shoot, a hundred years of Jim Crow laws went into preventing it.But here we are - mixed and proud - maybe a little difficult to understand - but we're workin' on it. Not all mixed people are alike, but one by one - as we tell our stories, we are beginning to come into ourselves as members of our own group. Angela does a great job of representing both herself and the rest of us in a responsible, balanced, respectful and humorous way. You will soooo laugh. She has a knack for comedic timing and writing - and boy can she weave a story! Her Broke Diaries book is hilarious as well. Please pick these up when you get a chance. I need to get a couple more copies myself, as all of my family members keep passing them around.

Humorous and Honest

I was originally introduced to Angela Nissel through her earlier journal "Broke Diaries," which I read through in a few mere hours, laughing all the way. It was that book, in fact, that turned me on to blogging in 2004. Being involved in an interracial marriage and expecting a child, I purchased this book to read of Nissel's point of view of being racially mixed in the U.S. While she infuses the same self-deprecating sense of humor seen in her earlier book, she is able to do so while earnesty discussing the pain of prejudice and rejection. Nissel's humor was easily translatable to both myself and my white husband and we enjoyed the book equally.

No mixed feelings about this book - it's a winner!

I'm going to go get her other one tomorrow. Finally, a FUNNY memoir about growing up in America being black and white! I was on the subway laughing like a maniac while reading this. I know many of us grew up around mixed children and especially as children, we can be not very kind. This book is written in a comical format with serious undertones and sheds a lot of light on how it feels to grow up as one. I was never one of the cruel kids but know many who were and feel for the author but am especially proud of her many successes. WERK, Angela!

Funny - only book about race that didn't make me mad!

I am not biracial; I'm not sure I even know anyone who is biracial but Angela Nissel has a way of writing that makes me feel like everything I'm reading is happening to me. This isn't a "It is so hard to be mixed and black in America" book; it's almost like an good episode of All in the Family: strong topics, laughs, but never enough drama to start a fight while watching (or in this case, reading.) What I appreciate most is that Nissel doesn't hit you over the head with her views nor does she claim to be speaking for anyone other than herself. My favorite essay was Nissel's experience as an "ethnically-vague stripper". Only a gifted writer can write about topless dancing and make me laugh until I choked on a crowded subway car!

HILARIOUS AND COMPELLING MEMOIR! A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!

What an amazing story this woman has to tell. It will make you laugh, cry, scream and embrace yourself all at the same time. It's that book that you can't put down. I won't tell go into detail about the short stories, but I will say this, no matter what your race is, we have all felt the emotional mishaps and pleasures of this author. Looking forward to the next book!