Almost Brown

An unconventional, mixed-race, globe-trotting family’s journey to the heart of ethnicity and belonging.

Charlotte Gill’s father is Indian. Her mother is English. They meet in 1960s London when the world is not quite ready for interracial love. Their union results in a total meltdown of familial relations, a lot of immigration paperwork, and three children, all in varying shades of tan. Together they set off on a journey to Canada and the United States in an elusive pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness—a dream that eventually tears them apart.

Almost Brown is a funny, turbulent, and ultimately heartwarming book about the brilliant messiness of a mixed-race family and a search for answers to the question, What are you? Tender and incisive, it is both a deeply personal memoir and an excavation into ethnicity, ancestry, and race—a historical concept that still informs our beliefs about identity today.

“Relevant to anyone who has ever struggled to place themselves within their own lineage . . . Readers can expect to have their heartstrings tugged.”

—Publishers Weekly

“[This] magnetic memoir is written with brazen, open curiosity and — above all else — empathy.”

—Shondaland

“Written with an eye for detail and character, ALMOST BROWN is a moving examination of family, history, and the connections that endure.”

—Booklist