Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Lara Love Hardin, Anthony Ray Hinton

8 reviews

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Grief, and Racism

Moderate: Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racism

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Classism, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Grief

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Racism, and Murder

triley's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Classism, Racism, and Confinement

Moderate: Death of parent, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Grief

Minor: Cancer

tindin's review

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Racial slurs, and Racism

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

A really important read for anyone who feels like they're pro-death penalty. The justice system makes too many mistakes.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Death, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

kitty03's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

annapox's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to better understand the effects of systemic racism and/or classism on the US criminal justice system. Hinton's story is eye-opening, and the book is very well-written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Racism

Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit