The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging

Kym Ragusa's stunningly beautiful, brilliant black mother constantly turned heads as she strolled the streets of West Harlem. Ragusa's working-class white father, who grew up only a few streets (and an entire world) away in Italian East Harlem, had never seen anyone like her. At home their families despaired at the match, while in the streets the couple faced taunting threats from a city still racially divided--but they were mesmerized by the differences between them.

From their volatile, short-lived pairing came a sensitive child with a filmmaker's observant eye. Her two powerful grandmothers gave her the love and stability to grow into her own skin. Eventually, their shared care for their granddaughter forced them to overcome their prejudices. Rent parties and religious feste, baked yams and baked ziti--Ragusa's sensuous memories are a reader's delight, as they bring to life the joy, pain, and inexhaustible richness of a racially and culturally mixed heritage.

"Documentary filmmaker Ragusa, now 40, discusses her 'complex heritage' — her mother is African-American, Native American, Chinese and German; her father is Italian-American — in a memoir that's refreshingly intent on creating compelling portraits and contextualizing family history rather than rehashing a personal, emotional journey. While there is talk of Ragusa's coming to terms with 'in-between skin' and growing up 'biracial' in color-divided 1960s and '70s New York City, this contemporary account of trying to fit in glints with vibrant portrayals of runaway slaves, turn-of-the-century Italian immigrants, interracial flappers, '60s civil rights activists, '70s 'black is beautiful' models and '80s suburb seekers. Ragusa writes with a confident, curious narrative voice prone to poetic visual images; readers meet 'honey-colored' children, see 'blocks of burned-out, boarded-up buildings' and visit neighborhoods with 'steam like hot hangover breath hissing from manhole covers.' She links the various accounts by a central meditation on how 'the stigma of skin color' interacts with ideas of beauty and belonging. The recurring discussion sometimes lacks structure and cohesion, but its modesty ensures that it always comes across as fresh, honest and important." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

A writer and documentary filmmaker, Ragusa (1966- ) is the child of an African American mother and Italian American father. She shares her personal story of growing up as a biracial and bicultural child in New York City, and the significant roles played in her life by both her maternal and paternal grandmothers. No subject index. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

A memoir of astonishing delicacy and strength about race and physical beauty.

From the volatile, short-lived pairing of a West Harlem beauty and an Italian from East Harlem came a sensitive child with a filmmaker's observant eye. Ragusa's sensuous memories are a reader's delight, as they bring to life the joy, pain, and inexhaustible richness of a racially and culturally mixed heritage.

Kym Ragusa is a writer and documentary filmmaker. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.