I really appreciated this book. It was thought provoking and engaging. 

Lara Love Hardin is a fantastic writer/ storyteller; Her writing style is conversational and personal that it puts me in the moment; and, her writing is so fluid and flows so well. 

What I really enjoyed about Hinton’s story is how he takes you through his legal journey. Going into the book, you know you’re going to read about racial injustices in the legal system especially in the south, but he shared his experience on maneuvering through the whole system from the moment of arrest through the appellate process. He shared personal accounts of his time on death row, but I personally love that he shows us the workings of the legal system and how can be abused to suppress people. 

Just wow. Listening to Mr. Hinton’s story was heartbreaking. The fact that he held onto his faith and had the capacity to forgive the people who stole his life from him is amazing. This brings to light the issues that plague the American Criminal Justice System and it makes you think about it. It is an uncomfortable topic but it needs to be talked about and researched to see how we can make it better. Overall, this was a great book and it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

I finished this book in two days — it was riveting. Ray Hinton’s story is equal parts heartbreaking, terrifying, and hopeful. His outlook on life while serving time on death row as a wrongfully convicted man is awe-inspiring. But it is not without very dark moments and will cause you to really question the morality of the death penalty, especially when statistics show 1 in 10 people on death row is wrongfully convicted. 

A necessary and heart wrenching read. The last 20% was especially moving, especially as Hinton challenges the complicity of everyone wrapped up in the “justice” system. One of my favorite lines was when Hinton astutely points out that everyone is either part of the death squad or those banging on the bars. In other words, either you fight the death penalty or you are complicit in it. A much needed call to action. 

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.