Pearl's Secret: A Black Man's Search for His White Family (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Laura Brumley, a young, educated mulatto ex-slave entered into a "loving" involvement with A.J. Beaumont, a white overseer on a plantation in Louisiana. A photo of Beaumont, his crinkled newspaper obituary and his deathbed note acknowledging his mixed-race daughter, Pearl, were passed down as heirlooms on the African-American side of the family. These fragile links were the end of the story until Brumley's great-great grandson Henry, associate professor of journalism at U.C.-Berkeley, used his investigative skills to try to locate his white relations. The more Henry searched, the more he examined his own troubled life as a black man, which he retells in a stream-of-consciousness style that is exasperatingly repetitious. But buried in the flashbacks and flash-forwards are some gems. For example, he recalls his mother telling him about reciting "I pledge allegiance to the rag," a common utterance among African-American schoolchildren during the days of Jim Crow that's rarely been mentioned in other memoirs. Henry's recollections of his Princeton days of being alienated from both the preppy Beach Boys culture and the lingo-speaking fans of the O'Jays are quite moving. He piques further interest by briefly mentioning his grandmother's 1920s trip to the Soviet Union, where she had heard blacks were treated as well as whites. In the end, Henry succeeds in his mission, but the emotional insights this memoir brings are the reward received, for both author and reader. Photos not seen by PW. Agent, Jill Kneerim. (May) Forecast: Readers who enjoyed James McBride's The Color of Water may find Henry's tale equally compelling. Additionally, his journalistic connections (the book mentions many Washington Post writers, and the jacket has a plug from Bob Woodward), may help the book garner high-profile media attention.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Henry's (journalism, Univ. of California, Berkeley) family biography is an engaging, emotional, genealogical adventure into ethnicity and self-acceptance. The author, who is black, is a former reporter for the Washington Post, and he uses his investigative instincts to create an intriguing "back to the future" page-turner as he searches for the white branch of his family tree. What sets this biography apart from other family biographies, like Alex Haley's Queen (Morrow, 1993), is Henry's riveting personal narratives of his genealogical research and childhood accounts. His trials and tribulations in researching provide the book with its protagonist and antagonist. Henry's tell-it-like-it-is approach will provide a clear picture into the origins of human nature and ethnicity. Fascinating and compelling, this book will have a place in public and academic libraries. Veronica Davis, Henrico Cty. P.L., Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 321 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520227301
• ISBN-13: 978-0520227309
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #442,751 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A 'Secret' Worth Revealing, October 2, 2001

By	Ellen Brown (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pearl's Secret: A Black Man's Search for His White Family (Hardcover)

Neil Henry took this journey for himself and his family. That he chose to share it through 'Pearl's Secret' is a gift to us all. This work is an excellent addition to the body of literature about race relations in America. This book chronicles Henry's often exasperating research into the history of his white ancestors and their descendents. Through years of diligent, tedious searching, Henry managed to find his present-day white kin and visited with them in the hope of having his burning questions answered and sharing collective lore and memories. His writing style and candor in describing his curiosity, anger and dissapointments made for more engaging reading than I had anticiapted from a book which I had mistakenly believed was only about genealogy.
The conculsion that Henry's 20th century black family raised in Seattle was far better off than his distant white relations living in the south is a testament to the home enviornment in which he was raised by loving parents who truly understood the importance of instilling pride, self worth and confidence in their children--no matter the odds stacked against them.
Overall, I found the book to be uplifting and positive. I would recommend it highly.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From An Old Seattle Friend, November 9, 2001

By	Jerry Fugami (Kobe, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pearl's Secret: A Black Man's Search for His White Family (Hardcover)

I was shocked when Neil jumped up and angrily walked away from me saying that I was a racist. It was 1970 and Neil Henry and I were sitting with a group of friends in Franklin High School's library before the start of school. We often were together whether we were in math. class, playing chess, or basketball. Neil Henry is an old friend of mine who I haven't seen since high school, and reading his book brought back many memories. This one memory of him depicts the struggles that he must have felt about his own identity. "Pearl's Secret" tells an incredible and spiritually uplifting story of his victory to gain a hidden truth of his family that was his own identity. His life tells of a extremely capable young man who wanders through the world in search of something he isn't completely aware of himself. It is a story that many of us spend our lives dealing with in our own ways. Neil's strength and courage is his reward. That morning over thirty years ago when I felt I had hurt a good friend is now brought to light for me. I'm sorry Neil, and thank you.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Touching and Powerful, June 11, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Pearl's Secret: A Black Man's Search for His White Family (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed following Neil Henry on his search for "the other side" of his family tree. This book has a real suspenseful edge to it as well as profound, touching and painful aspects.There is so much here. History lesson,sociological study,detective story,love story ...it's all here, and very well done.