The subtitle A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother tells only a fraction of the remarkable story James McBride shares in his 2006 memoir, The Color of Water.

Heart Earth is not just a tender tribute to Berneta, but an insightful companion to his memoir of his Montana roots, This House of Sky both are poetic sagas of the challenges of wartime and nature in Montana's high country. Not until 1986, when Doig inherited the letters his uncle received from Berneta during World War II did the author have more than 'half-rememberings' of his mother. Twenty years ago, he wrote Heart Earth, a memoir of his mother, Berneta, who died on his sixth birthday. Ivan Doig's 10th Montana-set novel, The Bartender's Tale, was published this year. This brings to mind other writers whose memories of their moms became lovely, insightful books. With Will Schwalbe's recent The End of Your Life Book Club, he invited us to share the two years he had with his remarkable mother as she was dying of cancer. Mother's Day is a ways off, but honoring mothers is timeless.

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