A review by wahine2748
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
5.0
"The power of just mercy is that it belongs to the undeserving. It’s when mercy is least expected that it’s most potent—strong enough to break the cycle of victimization and victimhood, retribution and suffering. It has the power to heal the psychic harm and injuries that lead to aggression and violence, abuse of power, mass incarceration."
This book has been on my radar for almost as long as it's been out, and after watching the movie this year, I knew that I had to bump this up on my TBR list. If you liked the movie with Michael B. Jordan, this book will feel like the movie plus extras and behind-the-scenes content. Although Walter McMillian's wrongful conviction is at the center of the story like the movie, this book is about more than just one man and his lawyer fighting against an unjust system. Just Mercy provides so much context for this one case that makes the story even richer. Stevenson shares many more cases and injustices in this book, plus he dives into the systematic issues of racism and incarceration that led to these injustices he has dedicated his life to fighting.
I admire this man's life of service, and surprisingly he's just as good of a writer as he is a lawyer. His passion comes through in his words, and Stevenson is so open not only about his cases but about his own upbringing and struggles too. He has a thoughtful, deep and yet accessible conversation with the reader and uses his experiences to illustrate his points about the changes that need to be made to the justice system. This story, its explorations and ideas will stay with me for a long time.
This book has been on my radar for almost as long as it's been out, and after watching the movie this year, I knew that I had to bump this up on my TBR list. If you liked the movie with Michael B. Jordan, this book will feel like the movie plus extras and behind-the-scenes content. Although Walter McMillian's wrongful conviction is at the center of the story like the movie, this book is about more than just one man and his lawyer fighting against an unjust system. Just Mercy provides so much context for this one case that makes the story even richer. Stevenson shares many more cases and injustices in this book, plus he dives into the systematic issues of racism and incarceration that led to these injustices he has dedicated his life to fighting.
I admire this man's life of service, and surprisingly he's just as good of a writer as he is a lawyer. His passion comes through in his words, and Stevenson is so open not only about his cases but about his own upbringing and struggles too. He has a thoughtful, deep and yet accessible conversation with the reader and uses his experiences to illustrate his points about the changes that need to be made to the justice system. This story, its explorations and ideas will stay with me for a long time.