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mishacoleman 's review for:
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance
by Barack Obama
I was looking for a memoir about mixed race families and identity by an insightful, perceptive author and this delivered. It was published in 1995, well before Obama ran for his first office. The fact that he became president later is pure coincidence.
Like Obama I am biracial and so much of this story resonated with me – it's always satisfying to read about a topic I care about from a writer more eloquent than myself. I found the earlier chapters most compelling, through his college years. As a young man he drifts, a bit aimless, and his narrative focus drifts too. He was raised by his white family and didn't meet his Black father until he was 10. His white family encourages him to explore his racial identity, which he does on his own, with friends, and ultimately in Kenya where he meets his father's family.
Like Obama I am biracial and so much of this story resonated with me – it's always satisfying to read about a topic I care about from a writer more eloquent than myself. I found the earlier chapters most compelling, through his college years. As a young man he drifts, a bit aimless, and his narrative focus drifts too. He was raised by his white family and didn't meet his Black father until he was 10. His white family encourages him to explore his racial identity, which he does on his own, with friends, and ultimately in Kenya where he meets his father's family.