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Reviews tagging 'Racism'
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Lara Love Hardin, Anthony Ray Hinton
24 reviews
mugsandmanuscripts's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
"When you are hanging at the end of your rope, does it really matter what color the hand is that reaches up to help you?"
If you want to be humbled, read this book. If you want to be angry, read this book. If you want to know what the resilience of the human spirit looks like, read this book. If you want to know how asinine and racist the Alabama state judicial system is, read this book (to date, almost a decade after Ray's release, Alabama still has not admitted wrongdoing nor offered a single penny of renumeration to the man from whom they stole 30 years).
Seriously, this book hits on a lot of themes. Injustice is probably the biggest, but it finds company with hope, healing, faith, and forgiveness. Ray shows us how humanity can live even in the most inhumane circumstances.
The heartwarming and heart-wrenching aspects of Hinton's story are juxtaposed seamlessly throughout this memoir. On the one hand, he tells us about how he "escapes" into different places within his mind (the celebrity marriages he has, the places he travels, illustrious sports careers, etc.) and how this gets him through his years on Death Row. On the other, if you have any background in trauma, it's hard to read that without recognizing the disassociation and PTSD. He talks about starting a prison book club and having discussions about race, violence, guilt, injustice, and many other topics with dozens of men on death row, but he also talks about how those same men all still end up walking to the death chamber.
In one of the depictions I find most moving, he describes how the whole floor of inmates bangs and yells and makes as much noise as they can from their cells when an inmate faces their execution so that the inmate will know he's not alone, that he mattered. It's a moving picture of solidarity, found family, and brotherhood even amongst men who could have been enemies. But he also describes the sounds of the generator and the lingering smell of burnt flesh following the execution. It's powerful.
I don't feel like I can add much to the conversation other than to say that anyone reflecting on the death penalty should have this on their reading list. For every 8-9 people executed in the US, another is exonerated. Roughly 4% of the people sentenced to death are innocent. That means that this is not an isolated incident. Even if one thinks that capital punishment is just, it'd be pretty difficult to argue that the death penalty is.
The only quip I have about this book is that I wish the very final section were longer; I wanted to hear more about his post-prison life. I wanted to see more of his acclimatization (or non-acclimatization) to the world outside. I don't think this man owes healing to anyone (except maybe himself), and given his extremely long and traumatic experience, I would expect that his adjustment has been difficult. I'd just like to hear more about that part of the journey.
If you want to be humbled, read this book. If you want to be angry, read this book. If you want to know what the resilience of the human spirit looks like, read this book. If you want to know how asinine and racist the Alabama state judicial system is, read this book (to date, almost a decade after Ray's release, Alabama still has not admitted wrongdoing nor offered a single penny of renumeration to the man from whom they stole 30 years).
Seriously, this book hits on a lot of themes. Injustice is probably the biggest, but it finds company with hope, healing, faith, and forgiveness. Ray shows us how humanity can live even in the most inhumane circumstances.
The heartwarming and heart-wrenching aspects of Hinton's story are juxtaposed seamlessly throughout this memoir. On the one hand, he tells us about how he "escapes" into different places within his mind (the celebrity marriages he has, the places he travels, illustrious sports careers, etc.) and how this gets him through his years on Death Row. On the other, if you have any background in trauma, it's hard to read that without recognizing the disassociation and PTSD. He talks about starting a prison book club and having discussions about race, violence, guilt, injustice, and many other topics with dozens of men on death row, but he also talks about how those same men all still end up walking to the death chamber.
In one of the depictions I find most moving, he describes how the whole floor of inmates bangs and yells and makes as much noise as they can from their cells when an inmate faces their execution so that the inmate will know he's not alone, that he mattered. It's a moving picture of solidarity, found family, and brotherhood even amongst men who could have been enemies. But he also describes the sounds of the generator and the lingering smell of burnt flesh following the execution. It's powerful.
I don't feel like I can add much to the conversation other than to say that anyone reflecting on the death penalty should have this on their reading list. For every 8-9 people executed in the US, another is exonerated. Roughly 4% of the people sentenced to death are innocent. That means that this is not an isolated incident. Even if one thinks that capital punishment is just, it'd be pretty difficult to argue that the death penalty is.
The only quip I have about this book is that I wish the very final section were longer; I wanted to hear more about his post-prison life. I wanted to see more of his acclimatization (or non-acclimatization) to the world outside. I don't think this man owes healing to anyone (except maybe himself), and given his extremely long and traumatic experience, I would expect that his adjustment has been difficult. I'd just like to hear more about that part of the journey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Murder
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Racial slurs
laurenleigh's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
4.0
My latest car buddy read with Ben! Not the cheeriest read, but uplifting and important. I for sure happy cried at the end. I was inspired to read this after reading Lara Love Hardin’s memoir (which I loved!). Hardin cowrote this with Hinton. I guess I expected a similar structure to her own book, but this was almost entirely about his time on death row. His life after release is basically just the afterword. As a reader, I felt just the tiniest hint of what impatience Hinton must have felt, as the court system failed him time and time again. The appeals system in particular seems insane and nonsensical to me. I kept thinking “now he’ll be released,” only for it to take SO much longer than it should have.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Racism
knkoch's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
The Sun Does Shine felt honest, introspective, and invigorating, both as a personal narrative and a polemic against the death penalty. Anthony Ray Hinton's voice comes through so clearly, and his skill lies in his ability to channel his history powerfully into what feels like spoken storytelling. He beautifully lays out his upbringing in a rural Alabama coal town, the unconditional love of his mother and childhood friend that surround him, and his early experiences in school and work as he lives within a racist, hierarchical culture that doesn't value him. He provides context that's almost never present in a trial narrative, often solely interested in the more immediate details of the crime being tried. The context is: he comes from people who love him, and he has value, even though the lawyers, prosecutors, and judges around him don't treat him as if he does.
Hinton comes to see the value in every other incarcerated person on death row, both innocent and guilty. The moral epiphanies and growth he undergoes in the near thirty years he spends incarcerated fascinated me, and truly proved that moral development can lie at complete odds with someone's position in life. Hinton finds more empathy and understanding than seems possible for the racist prosecutor and judge on his case, who both so abysmally failed to see any humanity in him. I look forward to hearing Hinton speak at a book event soon, and learning more about how this powerful book came to be.
Hinton comes to see the value in every other incarcerated person on death row, both innocent and guilty. The moral epiphanies and growth he undergoes in the near thirty years he spends incarcerated fascinated me, and truly proved that moral development can lie at complete odds with someone's position in life. Hinton finds more empathy and understanding than seems possible for the racist prosecutor and judge on his case, who both so abysmally failed to see any humanity in him. I look forward to hearing Hinton speak at a book event soon, and learning more about how this powerful book came to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
angreadseverything's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Confinement, Death, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Rape
tillie__'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Murder and Suicide
Minor: Death of parent
zafiro_o's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Death of parent and Cancer
lcg527's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
annamay1021's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Racism
cheaploaf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
Was an infuriating read. Appreciated the balance between Ray’s story/personal anecdotes and facts about the prison system/death row. Felt a little repetitive at times about how Ray was feeling but also just puts the emphasis on how you would feel stuck somewhere for 30 years.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Classism, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Grief
doomluz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.25
Anthony Ray Hinton's story is heartbreaking, horrific, and frustrating. This shows how inhumane the death penalty is and the fact that the criminal justice system is broken, which makes it hard to guarantee that only actually violent criminals are executed.
I'm not religious and I'm not necessarily for forgiving people who've wronged me, as Hinton is, but I can see how forgiveness and his religious beliefs were important for him during his time in prison and to help him move on with his life.
I'm not religious and I'm not necessarily for forgiving people who've wronged me, as Hinton is, but I can see how forgiveness and his religious beliefs were important for him during his time in prison and to help him move on with his life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Death, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Suicide and Cancer