Anthony Ray Hinton, co-written with Lara Love Hardin
RaveThe Harvard CrimsonHinton’s solid voice in The Sun Does Shine gives the memoir a push-and-pull feel, mirroring the constant setbacks and advances on his road to liberation. Born in 1955, Hinton comes of age at a turbulent time in American society, and his erudite depiction of what he remembers of his daily life in rural Alabama is both insightful and aggravating. He details growing up in the shadows of the Civil Rights movement, alluding to high-profile turning points like the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham and the jailing of Martin Luther King, Jr. Alongside these historical moments are more personal scenes too small to have garnered as much attention, from the day-to-day reality of segregation in the South to the bombings of people’s houses ... His narration imparts a valuable understanding of just how strongly racism is tied to America’s criminal justice institutions, more so than any retelling of the circumstances of his conviction ever could.
