ALSO BY NISHTA J. MEHRA
The Pomegranate King: Essays
About the Author
NISHTA J. MEHRA was raised among a tight-knit network of Indian immigrants in Memphis, Tennessee. She is a proud graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal School and holds a BA in religious studies from Rice University and an MFA in creative writing from the University of Arizona. An English teacher with more than a decade of experience in middle and high school classrooms, she lives with her wife, Jill, and their six-year-old, Shiv, in Phoenix. Connect with her via her website, nishtajmehra.com, and on Twitter and Instagram at @nishtajmehra, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
DEDICATION
ALL-AMERICAN ETHNIC GIRL
BLACK IS THE COLOR OF MY TRUE LOVE’S HAIR
WORKING THE TRAP
VOLUNTARILY BALD
WRESTLING WITH GHOSTS
CULT OF MOTHERHOOD
THE SIN OF OUR SECURITY
RAISING SHIV
MAKING SPACE
PRETENDING TO BE WHITE
(NOT) PASSING
THIS IS WHAT A FAMILY LOOKS LIKE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ALSO BY NISHTA J. MEHRA
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
COPYRIGHT
The names and identifying characteristics of some persons described in this book have been changed, as have dates, places, and other details of events in the book.
BROWN WHITE BLACK. Copyright © 2019 by Nishta J. Mehra. All rights reserved. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Mehra, Nishta, author.
Title: Brown white black: an American family at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, and religion / Nishta Mehra.
Description: First edition. | New York: Picador, [2019]
Identifiers: LCCN 2018024338 | ISBN 9781250133557 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250133564 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Mehra, Nishta. | Lesbian mothers—United States—Biography. | Racially mixed families—United States—Biography. | Interfaith families—United States—Biography. | United States—Race relations.
Classification: LCC HQ75.53 .M44 2019 | DDC 305.800973—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018024338
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First Edition: February 2019
Brown White Black Page 21