Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

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

7 reviews

ejsullivan's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Racism

Minor: Suicide

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide

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: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

zafiro_o's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Murder

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

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

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

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cancer and Suicide

gabrielab's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Suicide

livforreading's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Racism, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide and Torture