Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Dehors, le soleil brille by Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin

34 reviews

pinkalpaca's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

5.0

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ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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kayleeslibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

“If you have hope, you have everything.”

“The Sun Does Shine” tells the story of Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent thirty years on death row in Alabama after being falsely convicted of murder. In 2015, Mr. Hinton was released with the help of civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson, author of “Just Mercy,” another heart-wrenching book I highly recommend. 

Ray Hinton highlights a social justice system that inherently works against the poor and against people of color. He reveals the simultaneous love and trauma in forging a family among men whose deaths he knew he’d witness and men who would kill him in the name of their jobs. 

Ray Hinton writes of waking up in the morning and making the choice to be hopeful and positive and to bring light into the places that he can. I wasn’t surprised that this story brought tears to my eyes. I expected that. But what did surprise me, in what I have come to see as true Ray Hinton fashion, is that this story made me laugh. From what he would spend his time day-dreaming about, to his banter with those around him, to his “even Scalia” comment, Ray Hinton weaves moments of laughter, joy, and growth into a story overwhelmed with despair, grief, and unfairness.

Anthony Ray Hinton is now an activist who speaks out against the death penalty. In his words, “The death penalty is broken, and you are either part of the Death Squad or you are banging on the bars.”
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courtney_g's review against another edition

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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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ashleycmms's review against another edition

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5.0

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triley's review against another edition

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4.0

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tindin's review against another edition

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5.0

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maria1085's review against another edition

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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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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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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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kitty03's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

3.75

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