Book cover of One Drop: My Father's Hidden Life - A Story of Race and Family Secrets

Book description

Two months before he died of cancer, renowned literary critic Anatole Broyard called his grown son and daughter to his side, intending to reveal a secret he'd kept all their lives and most of his own: he was black. But even as he lay dying, the truth was too diffi…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

2 authors picked One Drop as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I have bought multiple copies of One Drop as gifts for biracial family members, as well as friends.

Broyard is the daughter of Anatole Broyard, celebrated New York Times book critic in the 1960s and 70s. Only after his death did even his wealthy white wife and mixed children discover his Black heritage. The public—self included—was equally shocked.

Bliss Boyard researches his Louisiana roots, meets her Black cousins, and writes a fascinating, deeply personal story of “race,” showing its often bizarre contours as some family members may be classified as “white,” others “colored” or any number of other categorizations, from…

Bliss's father, New York Times book critic Anatole Broyard, revealed to his children two months before he died of cancer that he was black.

My father, Richard Gilman, and Anatole were old buddies and literary compatriots (check out Anatole's vibrant memoir of life in Bohemian New York City in the 1950s, Kafka Was The Rage, for more on their exploits together) and my father had actually known about Anatole's race before his children did! 

Bliss grew up in tony Westport, CT, living a life of what she considered to be WASP privilege. The shocking secret of her father's racial identity…

From Priscilla's list on loving and losing a complicated father.

If you love One Drop...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like One Drop?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like One Drop.

Browse books like One Drop

Book cover of The Vanishing Half
Book cover of The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother
Book cover of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like One Drop, you might also like...

Book cover of Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence

Need to Know by Nicholas Reynolds,

The authoritative but accessible history of the birth of modern American intelligence in World War II that treats not just one but all of the various disciplines: spies, codebreakers, saboteurs.

Told in a relatable style that focuses on actual people, it was a New Yorker "Best of 2022" selection and…

Book cover of Tsunami

Tsunami by LeeAnn Pickrell,

On the morning of December 26, 2004, an undersea earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean. The resulting tsunami killed an estimated 230,000 people across fourteen countries, from Indonesia to Sri Lanka to Thailand to the Maldives to India and all the way to East Africa.…

5 book lists we think you will like!