Mixed Blessing - by Chandra Crane (Paperback)

About the Book

Chandra Crane explores what Scripture and history teach us about ethnicity and how we can bring all of ourselves to our sense of identity and calling.

Book Synopsis

Chandra Crane has keenly felt the otherness of having a mixed multiethnic and multicultural background. But those of us with a mixed heritage have the privilege and potential to serve the Lord through our unique experiences. Crane explores what Scripture and history teach us about ethnicity and how we can bring all of ourselves to our sense of identity and calling.

Review Quotes

"Mixed Blessing reminds us that people are not created for boxes but for God's glory. This book helps fill an inexcusable gap in our understanding of racial and ethnic dynamics. . . . Is Mixed Blessing an easy read? Certainly not. But it is an essential one."

"Mixed Blessing reminds us that people are not created for boxes but for God's glory. This book helps fill an inexcusable gap in our understanding of racial and ethnic dynamics. . . . Is Mixed Blessing an easy read? Certainly not. But it is an essential one."

"Building on her story as a Christian of mixed ethnicity, Chandra writes a deeply challenging book. There is no self-pity, even as she dissects what it is to be treated as other. Rather, the joy in her biblical studies is infectious as she writes of learning to image Jesus in all the complexity of personhood, and of the special place multiethnic believers can have in the modern church, showcasing God's present and future community. I warmly commend this gospel-focused book that will encourage those identifying as mixed race and inspire others (like me) to listen and learn afresh."

"Building on her story as a Christian of mixed ethnicity, Chandra writes a deeply challenging book. There is no self-pity, even as she dissects what it is to be treated as other. Rather, the joy in her biblical studies is infectious as she writes of learning to image Jesus in all the complexity of personhood, and of the special place multiethnic believers can have in the modern church, showcasing God's present and future community. I warmly commend this gospel-focused book that will encourage those identifying as mixed race and inspire others (like me) to listen and learn afresh."

"Chandra Crane takes a wonderfully multivalent approach at examining multiethnicity, exploring nuances (both seen as well as unseen) and their no-less-real ramifications. This book serves well-not only for multiethnic people to understand themselves better but also for those who do not inhabit such a world-to empower us all to love our neighbor better, for the good of God's kingdom. The author is direct with the lessons that would be helpful for the world to know, but at the same time she unpacks the beauty behind these sometimes-challenging complexities."

"I think about multiethnicity a lot. I have beloved family members who are multiethnic, and I pastor a diverse congregation. And yet, as Chandra's book makes plain, I still have so much to learn about the experiences--the pains and the joys--of those who don't neatly fit into monoethnic categories. With the sure footing of one who has lived the experience, Chandra invites those of us who haven't to listen carefully and to imagine ways of following Jesus together that are hospitable to everyone. Mixed Blessing is required reading for anyone who wants a glimpse of the complex and hopeful future of the church in this country."

"I think about multiethnicity a lot. I have beloved family members who are multiethnic, and I pastor a diverse congregation. And yet, as Chandra's book makes plain, I still have so much to learn about the experiences-the pains and the joys-of those who don't neatly fit into monoethnic categories. With the sure footing of one who has lived the experience, Chandra invites those of us who haven't to listen carefully and to imagine ways of following Jesus together that are hospitable to everyone. Mixed Blessing is required reading for anyone who wants a glimpse of the complex and hopeful future of the church in this country."

"Integrating biblical narratives, personal story, and a variety of individuals' experiences, Chandra address the complexity of multiracial identity with nuance and insight. This book is everything I needed for the 'mixed' students, neighbors, and family members in my life. Most importantly I found a framework I need to parent my own biracial sons."

"There is such a huge need for this book! I have often wondered who in the next generation would write about the mixed-race experience from a Christian perspective, and I am so glad it is Chandra Crane. At once reassuring and challenging, Chandra invites multiethnic people both to rest in the knowledge of being 'loved and lovely, ' and to rise up and take our rightful place in the Beloved Community, using our pain and privilege to do the work of creating welcoming spaces for all. I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to help heal our multiethnic selves and world."

"This book should become an instant classic--a moving, wise, knowing guide for those of biracial or multiethnic backgrounds who so often feel other. Chandra Crane gets it! But it is also necessary reading for all who need to hear more intimately the stories of our friends, coworkers, and neighbors, and thereby understand the sometimes perplexing new vocabularies we need if we are to honor the hopes and dreams of all of God's image bearers. Chandra Crane is painfully honest--her writing made us cry--yet Mixed Blessing is upbeat and interesting and full of gospel hope. We need this book now more than ever."

"This book should become an instant classic-a moving, wise, knowing guide for those of biracial or multiethnic backgrounds who so often feel other. Chandra Crane gets it! But it is also necessary reading for all who need to hear more intimately the stories of our friends, coworkers, and neighbors, and thereby understand the sometimes perplexing new vocabularies we need if we are to honor the hopes and dreams of all of God's image bearers. Chandra Crane is painfully honest-her writing made us cry-yet Mixed Blessing is upbeat and interesting and full of gospel hope. We need this book now more than ever."

"This is the book I've been waiting for! As a person of mixed ethnicity, I've long struggled to know who I am, where I belong, and how to faithfully embrace and engage both the privilege and burden of straddling multiple worlds. Chandra is a wise and compassionate guide for all of us who walk these winding paths or seek to love and serve those who do."

"Those of us who are of mixed ethnicity defy categories, stump those trying to pin us down, and can even stump ourselves while trying to figure out our own identities. Where do we belong? Where do we fit in? Will we ever feel at home? It is clear that in Mixed Blessing Chandra Crane has done her homework and has done the interior work to detail for the rest of us the complexity, beauty, and gift of being a multiethnic person. She also shares some real but hard truths about how we are 'othered' by others. In reading Mixed Blessing, I felt seen and understood. This a welcomed and needed resource!"

"Those of us who are of mixed ethnicity defy categories, stump those trying to pin us down, and can even stump ourselves while trying to figure out our own identities. Where do we belong? Where do we fit in? Will we ever feel at home? It is clear that in Mixed Blessing Chandra Crane has done her homework and has done the interior work to detail for the rest of us the complexity, beauty, and gift of being a multiethnic person. She also shares some real but hard truths about how we are 'othered' by others. In reading Mixed Blessing, I felt seen and understood. This a welcomed and needed resource!"

"We live in a society that values placing people into neat categories and tidy boxes. Chandra Crane's important book Mixed Blessing speaks a needed word about the complexities and blessings of embodying a multiethnic identity in a world that often overlooks these voices. As a White person, this book has opened my eyes and helped me begin to better understand the experience of multiethnic people, something that will help me better minister in my church and in my community."

"We live in a society that values placing people into neat categories and tidy boxes. Chandra Crane's important book Mixed Blessing speaks a needed word about the complexities and blessings of embodying a multiethnic identity in a world that often overlooks these voices. As a White person, this book has opened my eyes and helped me begin to better understand the experience of multiethnic people, something that will help me better minister in my church and in my community."

About the Author

Chandra Crane (MA, Reformed Theological Seminary) is the mixed ministry coordinator for the multiethnic initiatives department of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and has written for In All Things, The Well, and The Witness: A Black Christian Collective. Growing up in a multiethnic/multicultural family in the Southwest and now happily transplanted to the Deep South, Chandra is passionate about diversity and family and is a member of the multiethnic Redeemer Church in Jackson, Mississippi.

Jemar Tisby is the author of the New York Times bestselling book The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church's Complicity in Racism. His writing has been featured on CNN, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. He is the founder and president of The Witness--a Black Christian Collective and the cohost of the Pass the Mic podcast. He is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Mississippi.