Lost in Harlem and Lost in Delaware in The Color of Water by James McBride are very similar in many ways. In both chapters, Ruth becomes lost in her troubles, but ultimately comes out as a stronger person. In both chapters, Ruth gets a little dose of motivation that helps her to put an end to her denial of her past and to win a battle that is happening in her mind and in her heart.

In Lost in Harlem, Ruth is working hard at her aunt's factory where she first meets Dennis McBride...

" He was the kindest man I'd ever met to this day, and if I'd had any sense I would have snatched him up right away and married him. But I was young and trying to get away from my family and plus I had discovered Harlem. - Harlem was like magic-." - Ruth (171).

So...