Mariah Cary was 12 years of age when she took in some extreme, — life illustrations

which are spread out in her new kids' book, The Christmas Princess.

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"That's when I learned I was definitely 'other,' she said

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she lived in n New York's Long Island with her mom, who is White, and her dad, who is Dark.

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"It would've been great to actually be a chameleon, but I didn't have the tools for it, meaning we didn't have money," she explains.

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"For people in the white neighborhoods where we lived, it was clear that I was mixed with something."

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she said, "I had, like, three shirts, and my hair was textured, honey."

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she tells people , "Oh, and I would've said, 'Please don't shave your eyebrows. It's never gonna look good on you.' "

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