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

by Georgina Lawton

From The Guardian’s Georgina Lawton, a moving examination of how racial identity is constructed—through the author’s own journey grappling with secrets and stereotypes, having been raised by white parents with no explanation as to why she looked black.

Raised in sleepy English suburbia, Georgina Lawton was no stranger to homogeneity. Her parents were white; her friends were white; there was no reason for her to think she was any different. But over time her brown skin and dark, kinky hair frequently made her a target of prejudice. In Georgina’s insistently color-blind household, with no acknowledgement of her difference or access to black culture, she lacked the coordinates to make sense of who she was.

It was only after her father’s death that Georgina began to unravel the truth about her parentage—and the racial identity that she had been denied. She fled from England and the turmoil of her home-life to live in black communities around the globe—the US, the UK, Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, South Africa, and Morocco—and to explore her identity and what it meant to live in and navigate the world as a black woman. She spoke with psychologists, sociologists, experts in genetic testing, and other individuals whose experiences of racial identity have been fraught or questioned in the hopes of understanding how, exactly, we identify ourselves.

Raceless is an exploration of a fundamental question: what constitutes our sense of self? Drawing on her personal experiences and the stories of others, Lawton grapples with difficult questions about love, shame, grief, and prejudice, and reveals the nuanced and emotional journey of forming one’s identity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Race, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Family, Social Justice

304 pages, Paperback

First published February 23, 2021

Reviews

[Georgina Lawton · Rating 5 out of 5]

is it bad to rate your own book? anyway I have. and I think it's very good :)

[Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have so many thoughts, and I won’t do this powerful book justice, but I want you all to read it.

Georgina Lawton is raised in a white family and never told why she has dark skin. Growing up in suburban England, her racial identity formation is denied of her.

As an adult, Georgina travels the world living in Black communities and interviews psychologists and sociologists to uncover truths and understanding.

Raceless is a fascinating, engaging, and emotional story, and one we should be reading and talking about. I recommend it to all readers!

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raceless is a very interesting and informative memoir about a black woman that was raised white. Georgina didn’t find out until she took a DNA test as an adult that her dad was not her biological father and her biological father is actually a black man her mom slept with. Georgina gives a very interesting perspective of race, family and belonging. She explains how hard it was growing up and never fitting in. Even after learning her genealogy she was still confused where she belonged. Her ancestors came from a culture she knew nothing about. Georgina also discusses how her and her family dealt with her paternity and race. Georgina discusses other people with similar situations to hers. I was shocked that something like this would happen, but Raceless explains why people didn’t question it. Raceless gives an interesting perspective on race. I recommend Raceless to anyone interested in a memoir about race.

Thank you Harper Perennial for Raceless.

Full Review: https://justreadingjess.wordpress.com...

[Carly Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raceless is one of those books that I didn’t want to put down, but I also didn’t want it to end.

I was engrossed.

A memoir by British woman. Georgina Lawton, Raceless is about the identity crisis of being born Black into a white family. Georgina was raised white. Her blackness was never discussed - and it wasn’t until after her father died of cancer that she probed her racial history.

Georgina’s mother’s affair was never addressed until after her father’s death. Her father never questioned it, her mother never explained it, and her wider family never provoked the topic. Through counseling, she finally interrogated her mother - which revealed a great sense of shame and catholic guilt.

The book has a great insight into Black women’s hair, as well as the Vietnamese wig industry. It also explores the way ancestry websites take advantage of minority groups. It was also alarming to read just how many children are kept from knowing about their racial identity - and also the impacts it has on them. And the concept of micro aggressions was outlined so well.

I also related to the book a little. My mum is black and my dad is white. But I have a rare severe skin condition called ichthyosis - which makes my skin red. I look more like others with ichthyosis than I do my parents. I was raised in Australia, with some contact with my mum’s South African friends, but mostly exposed to white people.

Georgina wrote that she was “slightly overwhelmed to say the least, and very wary of appropriating an identity that was not mine to have.” - and I wrote about this very thing in both Say Hello and Growing Up African in Australia.
It’s only recently I’ve explored my race, because my skin condition took a lot of space in my mind. Georgina wrote of Chrissie who had vitiligo, and so his skin colour changed due to the skin condition, and he questioned his identity a lot. I found myself nodding along when reading much of the book.

Georgina wrote a lot about her mother’s shame - and the impact it had on her. She wrote that some British people have the tendency to avoid addressing difference - and I thought back to some of the ways I’ve been made to feel shame because my difference has not been addressed - due to people not seeing colour.

Raceless is a really important read - especially for people who are mixed raced, and for everyone else actively working on anti racism. It’s beautiful, vulnerable, truthful writing. I want to read everything Georgina has written.

I listened to the audiobook and she narrated it beautifully.

[Never Without a Book]

WOW! This book stressssssed me, Georgina, I am so so sorry you had to go through life fighting to figure out who you are. I mean her mom......Bro! ....smh

full review coming later.

[Bree Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously one of the best books centering ‘Identity’ that I’ve read in a long time. Georgina grew up surrounded by love and she knows that but she also grew up with two white parents and eventually a white brother and was very aware that she didn’t look like them. When she tried talking about it, it was always a subject change or dismissed. This book is about secrets and judgment and choosing not to have discussions. All the while, you have a black child who is confused as she navigates the world. It’s about Georgina throwing caution to the wind and going out into the world and surrounding herself with people who look like her after years of English suburbia. It’s about finally having this discussions. It’s about hundreds of dollars for DNA testing. It’s about piecing together who you are, finally having some answers. So good!

[Jerrika Rhone]

I just don't understand how she can't look in a mirror and see she's different. Her story is just so lame to me. Like, come on. She's not even racially ambiguous, she's all the way black. I don't buy what she's selling.

[sophia oommen]

I really appreciated this book & what she had to say! I found myself relating to some parts of her story, overall a good read :)!

[Charles Shires · Rating 5 out of 5]

Georgina’s search for her identity highlights what most of us take for granted - our undisputed sense of self and where we come from. Her journey is inspiring and you can’t help but feel attached to her progression from her teenage years to the present day. Whilst many of us may not be able to directly relate to the circumstances in which she grew up in, it is hard not to be energised by her vigour and perseverance, and in doing so be influenced to overcome challenges we may be facing in our own lives.

Her dad seems like he was a true gentleman and a credit to the person Georgina has become today, and she has a close knit group of friends with a bond like no other. We could all do with our very own Aisling and Emilia in our lives!

Lastly, I’d just like to say how much I would like to have been a fly on the wall for that confrontation in Balham - would have made for blockbuster viewing.

A solid 5 stars from me!

[Mikayla Oommen]

so so interesting and well written. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

I was surprised to relate to some of her story! She gave words to feelings and thoughts that I’ve never been able to express myself

[Bridget Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raceless is a very thought provoking, moving and interesting account of Georgina's quest to find out the truth of her identity. It is well written and engaging.

Georgina was born to white parents and brought up in a close and loving family not really understanding why she looked so different to them and to her brother.

It was only after her father’s death from cancer that she began to pursue the truth more actively with shocking results. Raceless details her journey. Very highly recommended.

[Dinanita · Rating 1 out of 5]

In MY opinion, this is not the story of a Black woman trying to find her identity. This is a failed attempt done so by a biracial woman still confused and conflicted about her place in this world. I can acknowledge her attempt of learning more about a side of herself that was HEAVILY repressed, but honestly that BARE minimum. She had written this book to early in her self discovery journey, and should have waited until she had years more of experience before even attempting to TOUCH this topic.

If you want further details on my perspective, keep reading:

I stopped reading this book at page 192, my level of annoyance grew too high to the point of wanting to "chuck the book across the room". Then, after a couple of weeks I decided to give it another go, big mistake. I wouldn't make it another five pages before I decided to completely DNF this book.

I, myself, am a 20-something African American female living in the United States. I was really interested in the premise of the book, and wanted to read about the author's travel experience interacting with the African diaspora. Open to discover what she learned, I read on. However, what I found was high levels of contradictory statements pertaining to the author's perspective on her idea of 'blackness', an unacknowledged White superiority complex, and the constant complaining of her childhood, topped off with an apologetic attitude towards her family's behavior against her African roots.


1. I understand that she had a "hard" childhood not feeling like she fitted in, but honestly from what she described, it didn't seem that bad. There were moments in her life where her race was brought into question, but this did not make up the total of her experience. Everyone has something they deal with in their adolescent years be it their weight, hair texture, accents, economic status, etc. I think that her discussing throughout the ENTIRE book (or at least the 192 pages I read) honestly comes off as whining. If she was being honest with herself, at the root of this, is her feeling rejected by the White European community to which she belonged. However, she refuses to fully admit this to herself or her readers. In my opinion, it is from being constantly rejected, that was the catalytic moment of this "Black identity" journey she found herself on.

2. Her using the fact that she wears her natural hair as a sign that she's "fully embraced her blackness" and is more "Black than other women" who choose to wear their hair in a straight style really just made me roll my eyes. It's the fact that she's accumulating ONE hairstyle to define "blackness" is really disturbing to me. Black people are not a monolith or caricature of what she thinks we should be. Additionally, she targeted this commentary towards Black women specifically, completely ignoring Black men's choices to predominately wear short, cropped/buzzed styles. Interesting. For so long, Black women have been told how to wear our hair, and now a woman who only RECENTLY discovered what kind of products to use on hers is going to tell other women what to do. It's the entitlement for me.

3. That segues perfectly into the White superiority complex that she has throughout the book. This truly made this book UNBEARABLE to get through, which is why I didn't. A person who didn't acknowledge their "blackness" until recently, goes galivanting around the globe taking bits of African diasporic culture through observation and assistant from other Black people, then in the same breath tries to explain the deep rooted turmoil happening within its communities. Really? Also, she mentions early on within the book, that she had deeply rooted negative feeling about people of African descent due to her family/community. Honestly, I think she still does. Throughout the book, she goes out of her way to acknowledge all the things wrong within the black community, and at no point acknowledged the good, of which there are many. Additionally, she focused much of this commentary towards Black women. Again, interesting.The Black community is not perfect, but knowing her previous thoughts on Black people makes this disturbing to read.

4. Lastly, the association with Black being "struggle", and mixed being "privileged". I think that this is the most nefarious thing that she does within this book, honestly. At every mention of some kind of "struggle" she's experienced within her life, it's because she's Black. When it's moments of privilege, usually when it comes to dating Black men or gaining access to certain opportunities, she states it's because of her mixed heritage. Her choosing to swing between identifying as "mixed" and "Black" is very interesting and perplexing to me, as she seems to choose during particular moments. This is insinuating to me that it is the "Whiteness" that she associates with beauty and ease. While the "Blackness" is ugly, and makes her life difficult.

In summation, the book title 'Raceless' is fitting as she is experiencing a noticeable level of cognitive dissonance as it pertains to her family, anti-black ideology, and cultural heritage. This book was produced way too early within her journey, and comes off as entitled with a disregard to Black people, and more specifically Black women's, experiences around the world. It takes more than simply being around Black people to identify as us, and that is something that she has yet to understand.

[Nnenna | notesbynnenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

This was such a fascinating story about race and identity. As the author described what it was like to grow up in a household where her race was never discussed or acknowledged, I was often thinking how very, very difficult that must have been.

I enjoyed the descriptions of her travels as she sought to immerse herself in Black culture in other countries. I also appreciated that she discussed the effects this huge family secret had on her mental health and how she turned to therapy for help during a period. And the stories of other people that she connected with over the years who had somewhat similar experiences to hers blew my mind as well.

I did struggle a little with the writing, mostly because I felt the tone was somewhat disjointed. It seemed to shift between a more formal and perhaps educational tone, and then there were times where the tone felt more casual, like she was talking to a friend. I preferred the more casual tone, but really I would have liked the overall writing style to be a bit more cohesive.

I definitely felt for the author as I was reading her story. Just imagine losing your father and then learning the truth about your identity at the same time! Ooof, it sounds extremely overwhelming and life shattering and I appreciated her willingness to share her experience with us. This was such an interesting book, and I also enjoyed getting a perspective from someone who is Black and British, as I feel like I’m often reading about race from an American perspective.

[Super Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Georgina Lawton claims she “cares about others struggling” with complex racial narratives yet has attacked multiple people online for having a mixed race identity that in her worldview didn’t have an acceptable explanation.

This book is atrocious. This is not so much a writer but a self centered woke pontif. It’s literally a rubbish bin of every tired anti-racist trope that’s been used on social media in the past three years. And now the blowback of this type of inept writing in synthetic politics is going to come back on people like myself who have unique and complex ancestral narratives.

I would never negate the emotional devastation and confusion of a truncated misinformation and narrative that she received because I have empathy from actually living it. What I don’t like is how she acts like she’s the mixed race whisperer in this book. It just reads like a magazine exclusive from Tescos were you get a free lippy.

[Yasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely inhaled this book. As a mixed race person, raised by a white single parent, this is the book that I didn’t know could exist. At times while reading I wanted to scream, cry, laugh, or all at the same time. Though our stories are different, the ways in which they are the same were validating to read. I cannot express my gratitude enough to Georgina for writing this book, and putting it out in the world.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story, which is just as much about the process of grief as it is about finding her racial identity, but I feel the author wrote this book too early. I believe there would have been more nuance and impact, had she taken more time to reflect on her journey and discoveries. It ended a bit abruptly.

[Erricka Hager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phenomenal memoir!

[Jessica Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a paperback copy of this one in an instagram giveaway hosted by a fellow reader.

Georgina Lawton was raised in the UK by two white parents. They never acknowledged race or how Georgina was apparently mixed race. They insisted she was her daughter and she had some throwback genetics that made darker hair show up from way back ancestors. After her father's death, Georgina finally got her mother to reveal that her birth father was not the man who raised her but didn't give her much in the way of additional info.

Raceless was a fascinating and personal exploration or race, identity and the secrets that some families keep. Georgina shares her inner turmoil growing up being the "other" in an otherwise Caucasian environment, whether it was her home or school. She went on the submit DNA via sites like Ancestory.com to try to figure out her heritage and find relatives. She wrote articles on the topic from the Guardian and had people reach out to her with similar stories. This book makes the case that a child's true racial identity be acknowledged while raising them.

What to listen to while reading...
Heard it All Before by Sunshine Anderson
Brand New Me by Alicia Keys
What Do you Mean? by Skepta
Pink + White by Frank Ocean
Formation by Beyonce
Bank Head by Kelela
Cranes in the Sky by Solange
New Apartment by Ari Lennox

[Kimberly Azpeitia]

I will always say this but I don’t like to rate non-fiction books specially memoirs. You just can’t rate someone’s life and the things they face. It’s their journey not yours. This story is beautifully written and very powerful. It talks about race, ethnicity, trying to find where you belong, growing up with a huge lie and many more important topics. It talks about learning her roots and how she learned to be 100% her. The author talks about racism, Black Lives Matter and her life growing up with white parents. This book was so gripping from start to finish. A book worth reading, listening and learning from ❤️

[Shannon Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading about Lawton's experience was fascinating and heartbreaking. She was born into a white family, grew up in the white suburbs of London, and no one ever explained to her why she looked Black. Her book is the story of how she took on that mystery herself and set out to uncover and understand her identity. I loved how she combined her experiences with those of others, along with research on "colorblind" parenting/relationships and how damaging they can be. She handled the telling of all her relationships and struggles beautifully. Although it was a small part of the book, I also really liked the discussion on "passing" of many kinds and the effect it can have on the psyche. I hope many people read this one!

[Zibby Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, the opening scene was suspenseful and felt like I was watching a movie. In "Raceless," the author talks about being biracial in an all-white family, with no explanation as to why she looked black. The author had fantastic parents and wonderful childhood, but her race was never addressed. This book is about the author's journey to find out who she is and how she grapples with secrets and stereotypes in being biracial.

After her beloved father’s death, Georgina began to unravel the truth about her parentage—and her racial identity that had been ignored in her family. This book investigates that age-old question around "nature versus nurture" and about whether where we come from does or does not matter. This fantastic book was fascinating on so many levels and was really a love story to her dad.

To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/geo...

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had read Lawton's original essay in the Guardian UK newspaper and was curious about how it would read as a book, what she would add, what she would say. It just so happened I had this book out as a library loan not long after Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, had a well-publicized interview where she talked about racism, mental health, etc.

Markle's story is not quite like Lawton's, but it seemed like this would be a timely and interesting read. For those who don't know, Lawton grew up not initially realizing she was any different from those around her until as she grew up she faced racism in the outside world while her family remained curiously silent as to why Lawton didn't quite look like her parents.

After her father's death Lawton begins to unravel the mystery of her parentage and how and why her parents and extended family chose to remain silent about it--about both her biological father as well as the difficult conversations about being "different" and the specific issues of racism, misogynoir and other uncomfortable topics. Her story ranges far both in physical terms as well as being difficult emotionally. It takes a while for Lawton to get the answers from her mom, while trying to navigate the world being who she is and finding others who also have similar experiences and stories.

I have to agree with the negative reviews. I thought it was more of a memoir, but it's a mix of that, social commentary, political observations, etc. Ultimately, I think the original essay was probably enough for me as a casual reader and it wasn't really necessary to read more as a book. Another reader, especially one with experiences similar to Lawton's, might find this more interesting.

As mentioned, a library borrow but I think it's also skippable if you've read her essay.

[Sally (whatsallyreadnext) · Rating 5 out of 5]

[ad pr product - book sent to me by @harperperennial] I was very excited to read Raceless and it's definitely a book that I would love to see featured more often on bookstagram.
It's a brilliantly honest and moving memoir from Georgina Lawton, who grew up in suburban England and was raised by white parents. As she gets older, she realises how different she looks compared to her parents with her brown skin and dark, kinky hair. However, whenever she questions them about her racial identity, she is given no explanation and is denied the truth. It's not until after her father's death that Georgina finally is able to discover the truth behind the racial identity that she had been denied of for so long.

This was easily a five-star read for me as Georgina has such a insightful and emotional story to tell and she wrote it so beautifully too. It's an incredibly interesting perspective on race which I hadn't read before, where she delves into the confusion around her race and not knowing where she belongs, along with her limited knowledge of a culture that her heritage is from. A definite must-read for anyone who wants to read more about race.

[Nikita (thebookelf_) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Absolutely WOWed by this book. I can’t even imagine living in the author’s shoes and taking a step without any clue about my racial identity. Whatever Georgina had to go through wasn’t easy AT ALL — Grappling with stereotypes while continuously trying to figure out why is she being raised by white parents!

Imagine NOT knowing where you belong? Not knowing your true identity?

I loved every bit of this book. It broke my heart reading about death, comforted me when Georgina made progress with the truth and made me furious when others hid the truth from her.

A question to ponder on — What constitutes our identity?

I was lucky to listen to Georgina at Harper Perennial's first ever Bookstagrammer Book Club! Such a refreshing memoir for anyone looking to explore this genre.

[Wayde Compton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Georgina Lawton adds a useful new term to the language of racial passing: In the case of children whose parents lie to them about their racial origins, and where the child is trained to believe and repeat that lie, she says these people are "passed off" as whatever race. Lawton argues we should not say they are "passing as" that race because that language implies an agency rendered impossible by the lie.

[Jess Witkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raceless is an exceptional memoir full of research as well as deep self awareness that can only have come from the very hard work the author writes about in her journey. With a premise that, at first, seems so shocking - a mixed-race daughter raised in a white family and told she was white up through her 20s (despite years of race-based questions and experiences from the world around her) discovers her father is not her biological father and that she is, in fact, half Black - the reader learns that this kind of family secret is more common than we think.

Georgina Lawton battles both grief and an identity crisis after DNA test results reveal she is mixed-race, half white, half Black. I can only imagine the kind of unraveling such a denial of one's own identity and lived experience would feel like for over 20 years, but Lawton has certainly shared her vulnerability, her hard won lessons, and her pursuit to undo her own implicit biases and begin to construct and reshape an identity that is of her full self. In her pursuit of this, she includes a wealth of research about racially driven social structures, microaggressions, genealogy for the African diaspora, pros and cons of DNA testing, and numerous other stories of people who've lived similar experiences.

There is much to be appreciated and learned in Lawton's book, but what really captured me as an American reader (Lawton lives in England) was the concept of 'sankofa,' a West African term that roughly translates to "we must go back to our roots in order to move forward.' It is an African concept that understands claiming your past in a way that Western culture hasn't yet achieved and Lawton uses it like a call for white folks, like her own mother and other families where such secrets were kept, to reconcile their history, their privilege and bias in order not to carry it forward time and time again where people of color are the ones suffering mentally and physically because of it. It is a kind of atonement.

Such an incredible book. I thank the author for writing it. And thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Molly Koeneman · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Raceless" was a breathless read. Lawton shares intimate details about her family and the way she was raised, and her honesty is striking. I especially enjoyed her travel writing and the way she explained and dealt the issues concerning her family and her identity while very clearly rooting the reader in her locations--Nicaragua, England, Vietnam, etc. By feeling myself in these foreign places with her I also felt more strongly rooted in her narrative and her feelings.

On a personal note, "Raceless" focuses on the prevailing narrative of need to know their birth parents and/or their heritage. This idea of "knowing where you've come from so you know where you're going" is a widely excepted trope in pop culture. I'm having a reverse crisis of family that I couldn't help line up against Lawton story for comparison. I grew up in a family that told me how close of a family we were, how good we were, how supportive we were. I've recently set up from boundaries for my mental health and the distance from my close family is giving me perspective. I recognize some of my family's tropes as gaslighting narratives that did more to restricted more than supported me to develope as an individual. While Lawton and others feel a need to unearth their biological background to affirm their identity, I feel the need to create distance with my biological family to affirm mine. There is no judgment in this statement; just revealing a note of interest.

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

An introspective tale of self-discovery and coming to terms with an identity that is entirely different from the one the author was raised with, this was an eye-opening investigation of the ways that race and its erasure can effect families and the self. Though interesting, I did find this work particularly disorganized. I also didn't necessarily agree with some of the author's conclusions as they seemed to be based more on emotion than any real evidence. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The memoir tackles so many topics, from the validity of DNA tests, identity denial, to societies' judgements of hairstyles using an introspective lens. Through the retelling of her journey of uncovering her family's secrets, Ms. Lawson attempts to shed light on the "nature versus nurture" debate and explains how Race and Ethnicity are social constructs. This is a memoir that will leave you questioning about your thoughts on Labels and the usuage of them in Society.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lawton was raised as a white Irishwoman, even though she clearly (to her) was biracial. Her parents consistently ignored that fact, which she found mind-boggling and is still processing.