The In-Betweens

A Lyrical Memoir

Davon Loeb

"Utterly captivating and resonant." — Chicago Review of Books
"Gorgeously told." — Philadelphia Inquirer
"Resonant....Engagingly delivered, candid reflections on heritage and identity."— Kirkus Reviews The In-Betweens tells the story of a biracial boy becoming a man, all the while trying to find himself, trying to come to terms with his white family, and trying to find his place in American society. A rich narrative in the tradition of Justin Torres's We the Animals and Bryan Washington's Memorial, Davon Loeb's memoir is relevant to the country's current climate and is part of the necessary rewrite of the nation's narrative and identity.

The son of a Black mother with deep family roots in Alabama and a white Jewish man from Long Island, Loeb grows up in a Black family in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey as one of the few nonwhite children in their suburban neighborhood. Despite his many and ongoing efforts to fit in, Loeb acutely feels his difference—he is singled out in class during Black History Month; his hair doesn't conform to the latest fad; coaches and peers assume he is a talented athlete and dancer; and on the field trip to the Holocaust Museum, he is the Black Jew. But all is not struggle. In lyrical vignettes, Loeb vibrantly depicts the freedom, joys, and wonder of childhood; the awkwardness of teen years, first jobs, first passions. Loeb tells an individual story universally, and readers, regardless of subjectivity and relation, will see themselves throughout The In-Betweens.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• A Love Story
• On I-85 South
• My Mother’s Mother
• Bath Time
• The Reconstruction of a Slave
• At Church
• Like Gladiators
• Drinking a Colt 45
• Throw the Football
• A Roll of Duct Tape
• Summer Thunderstorms
• Aunt Sammy
• Alabama Fire Ants
• Don’t Open the Door
• The Settlers Inn
• To Be a Man
• Patricide and Boot Shines
• With My Dad
• Fighting for the Tree
• Weekend Weather
• O. J. and the Wax Museum
• Steve Urkel, Kick the Ball
• Before Cell Phones
• Between Walls at a Friend’s House
• But I Am Not Toby
• Thoughts on Hair
• The Angels of the Paint
• Suicide on the Triples
• Shopping with Kris
• The Jumps
• Not the Worst of Boys
• 5-Series BMW
• A Back Seat and a Fire Pit
• Morning Noise
• Quitting Meant Back to Babysitting
• After-School Basketball Game
• The Best Dancer
• The Black Jew
• Something about Love
• Visitations with My Father
• For My Brother
• Living in a Studio Apartment
• The Makings of a Gym Rat
• In-Between Sirens
• A Small Lesson on Loitering
• On the Confederate Flag
• Retirement
• Acknowledgments