The House of Black and White: My Life with and Search for Louise Johnson Morris is the memoir of a white boy who was so strongly influenced by a black woman — the family maid — that he begins searching for her three decades after she went missing. This compelling book begins in 1959 in suburban Washington, D.C., and ends in 2012. Author David Sherer was barely two years old when Louise Johnson Morris became the family maid in 1959. She grew close to the children, particularly David, and taught him many life lessons. During medical school in Boston, he discovered in 1981 that Louise had left the family. After unsuccessfully trying to learn why, he continued his life and career until late 2011, when during a mid-life crisis of sorts, he went looking for her. He eventually discovers that she is living back in her hometown of Macon, Georgia, and after a separation of 31 years, travels to Macon to reunite with his childhood friend. She died a mere three months later, at the age of 90. David was an honored guest at her funeral. This is the story of their lives together and his quest to find her. It’s both a memoir and an homage, set in a highly charged time of our country’s history.
