Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Death'
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton
20 reviews
confusedteach33's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder
hesticht's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Racism
Minor: Racial slurs and Death of parent
ejsullivan's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racism
Minor: Suicide
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: Racial slurs and Suicidal thoughts
laurenleigh's review against another edition
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: Death, Racism, and Murder
knkoch's review against another edition
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: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
angreadseverything's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Rape
tillie__'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Racism
Moderate: Suicide and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
zafiro_o's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Murder
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer and Death of parent
cheaploaf's review against another edition
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, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Classism