“I am white. My parents, both white… White Americans of European ancestry. White, white, white, white, white, white… However, my dad, John Wolff, or as the guys in the neighborhood called him, “Wolfy,” truly believed he was a black man.”

I almost didn’t bring Mishna Wolff’s memoir into the store, but my publisher rep convinced me that, not only should I represent it on the shelf, but I should read it as well. Thank you!

Mishna Wolff grew up in the Rainier Valley (of Seattle) with a hippy father who believed he was black. They lived in a black neighborhood, went to an all black Baptist church, and hung out with their black neighbors and friends. Needless to say, Mishna stuck out. The only thing Mishna could do as well, or even better, than her friends and cohorts, was to ‘cap’ people -- that is, spit out smart-alecky put-downs.

I loved the photographs from Mishna’s childhood interspersed throughout the book although I frequently wondered at her father’s sanity and her mother’s tolerance. Funny and poignant, I’m Down provides an interesting perspective into one of our own neighborhoods during a transitional time in our country. ~Patti