Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

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

12 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

angreadseverything's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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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

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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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Murder

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Death, Racism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Suicide and Cancer

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

courtney_g's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

I don’t like to give memoirs a rating, especially not something written in such a heavy and grueling focus. Anthony Ray Hinton was a real fighter in his life. He fought every single day of his 30 years behind bars, determined to get out alive and prove his innocence.

Even though I knew the eventual outcome of this story, Hinton’s recount of the events and his memories and the countless trials and rulings kept me on the edge of my seat. I also appreciate that, although he has a clear opinion in the death penalty, that was not the main focus in this memoir. His main focus, in my perception, was to show that you can persevere in the hardest of situations where truly all seems lost. 

This was a fantastically moving memoir. Everyone should read this at some point in their life, even if it is not the least relevant to their life.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, and Racism

Moderate: Violence, Death, Racial slurs, and Suicidal thoughts

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

maria1085's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced

5.0

“My only crime was being born black, or being born black in Alabama.”

Wow. This book is a must read. It’s a memoir of a man who spent almost 30 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. It’s emotional, raw, moving, powerful. It will make you angry, question the justice system, question your ideas on the death penalty, and be grateful for your freedom. 

The way he writes about his time in prison is both heartbreaking and humorous. The sheer fact that he kept his sense of humor through the whole time was incredible. He wrote about hope, forgiveness, and freedom even through experiencing the darkest days of his life. 

We read this for book club in April and we all loved this incredible story. I cannot recommend this book enough. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Racism, and Murder