Raceless: In Search of Family, Identity, and the Truth About Where I Belong

Journalist Lawton explores questions of belonging, racial identity, and family secrets in her shattering debut. Throughout grade school and her teen years, her friends questioned why she, the daughter of white parents, had brown skin and kinky hair, yet her mother refused to discuss the truth about her paternity. Following her father’s death, Lawton bought a DNA test, the results of which led her to uncover her mother’s infidelity with a Black man, which she revealed in a shocking confession and caused a falling-out between them. The heart of the book chronicles the aftermath, as Lawton, with the help of friends and therapists, blossoms emotionally and professionally despite her psychological struggles, in time becoming a Guardian columnist and traveling across the world. Lawton builds a strong story around her attainment of emotional balance and her quest for identity and belonging. At turns revelatory and profound, this memoir sings. (Feb.)