The Color of Water Lesson Plan

How does the author feel about having asked his mother to dig into her painful memories for this book? Why do you think he found it important to include these feelings in the book itself?

Students might point to various instances where the author mentions that he refrained from exposing his mother to certain recorded interviews with people from Suffolk to spare her emotionally. They might also cite the following passage in Chapter 25: "Her reunion with her old friend is one of the small, beautiful side benefits of a book experience that Mommy was truly never interested in, exploring a past for her that in many ways is gone forever and is better left buried and...