For exactly thirty years, this story lived only in my heart. When I was a
teenager growing up in a small town in New Hampshire, I often felt completely alone. I was treated poorly and labeled the “black sheep” of my family. Years later, I uncovered a painful truth: I was adopted, and the secrets kept from me were the reason I was treated differently.

During that hard time, I watched my dear friend Rita navigate her own path. Rita was Black, adopted by a white mother, and growing up in an all-white school. Her incredible strength, combined with my own heartache, inspired me to write this story in 1996.

I wanted to look closer at the phrase people used to cast me aside. Did you know that the idiom “black sheep” comes from old European farming? White wool could be dyed any color, so shepherds valued it more. When a lamb was born with black wool due to a natural biological quirk, its dark wool couldn’t be dyed. Shepherds wrongfully viewed these rare lambs as worthless or even bad luck. Over time, humans turned a beautiful, natural difference into a harsh metaphor for an
outcast.

It took three decades of revisions and growing up for this teenage dream to finally become the book in your hands. I wrote Cloud and Shadow to prove that what makes us different isn’t a flaw—it is exactly what makes us shine. I hope this story inspires you to celebrate your own unique colors and change how we look at and treat one another.