The Sun Does Shine Book Summary

In 'The Sun Does Shine', Anthony Ray Hinton recounts his harrowing journey of wrongful imprisonment on death row for nearly 30 years. Through unwavering hope and resilience, he discovers the transformative power of love and forgiveness. Hinton's story challenges the injustices of the American judicial system, while offering profound insights into humanity and redemption. As he reflects on the beauty of life even in the darkest moments, readers are left questioning the true meaning of freedom. This compelling memoir not only inspires but also provokes a deep thought about justice and hope in the face of despair.

By Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin

Published: 2018

"Each day is a gift, filled with endless opportunities for joy, hope, and freedom, even in the darkest of circumstances."

Book Review of The Sun Does Shine

Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection The Instant New York Times Bestseller A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent thirty years on death row for a crime he didn't commit. “An amazing and heartwarming story, it restores our faith in the inherent goodness of humanity.” —Archbishop Desmond Tutu In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty–nine years old, Hinton knew that it was a case of mistaken identity and believed that the truth would prove his innocence and ultimately set him free. But with no money and a different system of justice for a poor black man in the South, Hinton was sentenced to death by electrocution. He spent his first three years on Death Row at Holman State Prison in agonizing silence—full of despair and anger toward all those who had sent an innocent man to his death. But as Hinton realized and accepted his fate, he resolved not only to survive, but find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty–seven years he was a beacon—transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, fifty–four of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015. With a foreword by Stevenson, The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times. Destined to be a classic memoir of wrongful imprisonment and freedom won, Hinton’s memoir tells his dramatic thirty–year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

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Each day is a gift, filled with endless opportunities for joy, hope, and freedom, even in the darkest of circumstances.

The Sun Does Shine

By Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin