Chapter 25, Finding Ruthie Summary and Analysis

In 1993 James forces his mother to put together her will, something she doesn't want to do. She doesn't want to be buried in New Jersey because nobody wants to be buried in New Jersey. She doesn't want to be buried in Virginia next to Hunter because she ran away from Virginia. She doesn't want to be buried in North Carolina next to Andrew because it was in the South. She doesn't want to be buried in New York because it was too crowded.

Doctors diagnose Ruth with skin cancer from a mole they removed from her face. Always running from the judgments of white people, she would die from a white person's disease.

James ruminates over the distinct issues of being mixed-race. He feels that he ran from himself for many years, that he couldn't commit to...