Mixed: My Life in Black and White

"Tell anyone who asks that you're half-black and half-white, just like David Hasselhoff from Knight Rider."-Angela's mother

"Love has no color," insist Angela Nissel' s parents, but does it have a clue? In this candid, funny, and poignant memoir, Angela recounts growing up biracial in Philadelphia-moving back and forth between black inner-city schools and white prep schools-where her racial ambiguity and doomed attempts to blend in dog her teen years. Once in college, Angela experiments with black activism (hoping to find clarity in extremism), capitalizes on her "exotic" look at a strip club, and ends up with a major case of the blues (aka, a racial identity problem). Yet Angela is never down for the count. After moving to Los Angeles, she discovers that being multiracial is anything but simple, especially in terms of dating and romance.

By turns a comedy of errors and a moving coming-of-age chronicle, Mixed traces one woman's unforgettable journey to self-acceptance and belonging.

Praise for Mixed

"Mixed is a hilarious must-read for anyone searching for the enchanting path to self-discovery. Angela Nissel's precise account of living the mixed race experience not only hit home with me, but the journey is deliciously enlightening and heart-rending at the same time. It's a journey well worth taking."­--Halle Berry

"I love Angela Nissel's writing. Reading Mixed was like getting a letter from a best friend I forgot I had. How ironic that a book written by someone who felt like no one "got" her will surely be one of those rare books everyone gets- black, white, both, neither. Hilarious, sweet, and honest, Mixed is the perfect read if you've ever felt like the one standing on the outside­--and let's face it, who hasn't?"­--Jill Soloway, author of Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants

"If David Sedaris was a straight biracial female, this is the book he'd write. This book is so funny I've already started telling people I helped Angela write it."­--Bill Lawrence, creator of Scrubs

"Nissel is humorous, poignant, and proud yet also empathetic and generous as she recounts her constant struggle to answer the perennial question persons of mixed race seem required to ask of themselves in our society-where do I fit in?.... All readers stand to learn from her account."--Booklist

"Colorful anecdotes, marvelous dialogue and a thoughtful narrative make this memoir a delight."­--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Author: Angela Nissel
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 01/30/2006
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.40lbs
Size: 8.04h x 5.20w x 0.53d
ISBN: 9780345481146

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 6.3
Point Value: 12
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 109942 / Mixed: My Life in Black and White


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2006 pg. 76
Publishers Weekly 01/30/2006 pg. 57
Entertainment Weekly 02/24/2006 pg. 67
Booklist 02/01/2006 pg. 22
School Library Journal 06/01/2006 pg. 194

About the Author
Angela Nissel is the author of the bestselling comedic memoir The Broke Diaries, about her financial struggles in college, and the critically acclaimed Mixed, which chronicles growing up in a mixed-race household in the 70s and 80s. She also has an extensive career as a television writer and producer, with credits including Scrubs, Tyler, the Creator's The Jellies, 'Til Death, The Boondocks, and The Last OG. She is currently part of the creative team behind ABC's groundbreaking Mixed-ish, the first network comedy to explore issues of mixed-race households.