One Drop

Anatole Broyard - a New York Times book critic- was dying of cancer. He told his children his secret. He was black. He had been "passing" for white for decades. How do you handle this kind of family secret? Does it destroy you? Do you put the information away in the recesses of you mind - never to bring it out again? Or do you explore your family's background and your father's decision? In the book, One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life - A Story of Race and Family Secrets, Bliss Broyard, Anatole's daughter, starts looking at her father's Creole origins in New Orleans.

This is a book about discovery. Bliss discovers more about her father and herself in the process of her search for answers. She delves deeply into the history of Creoles in New Orleans and how their story and lives changed throughout the centuries. And she reveals how New Orleans and its culture was a very unique place in America before the Civil War.

Although it may be a bit slow in places, the story of the Creoles of New Orleans is fascinating. And this book makes you think about the question of race and what would you do if faced with the same situation : to pass or not? A good read.