Ask a Bookseller: 'The Racism of People Who Love You'

Andrea King of Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Mo., recommends the nonfiction read “The Racism of People Who Love You: Essays on Mixed Race Belonging” by Samira K. Mehta. Part memoir, part cultural criticism, with a dash of theory, these essays draw on Mehta's experience growing up with one white and one South Asian parent.“I really loved this book,” said King. “It kind of put into words a lot of experiences, thoughts and feelings that I've had being a biracial person, [that I] didn't really know how to articulate or didn't really know if they were like, valid. So it made me feel really seen and then also kind of, like, analyze my close relationships with people.”King says that Mehta's essays are a valuable conversation starter that thread a difficult line: they examine complicated issues with understanding and generosity, aimed at growing continued relationships with loved ones.“I'm not going to say that it's an easy read," added King. "I will say that it's a read that's really thought provoking. And I think [it's] really important, if people seek to either feel seen by this book or want to have more insight [in]to what it feels like for their family and friends to make up a biracial identity.”