Bryan Stevenson's book JUST MERCY is absolutely a book well

worth reading. Bryan reveals behind-the-scenes insights into the justice system and the truth that it does not always work. I know that is a truth we cannot deny, but it is still a bit of a shock to the system to read about how bad it really is. 

What concerns me about JUST MERCY is the fact that there are so many people who already distrust the justice system, especially in regards to policemen and women. While I know that injustice is a reality, it takes a lot away from when it does work as well as from amazing police work that is done every single day.

Of course, I am a person who likes to focus on the positive, so reading JUST MERCY was difficult for me because it has many stories of injustice that are heart-wrenching. I WANT to read happily-ever-after stories and believe that when push comes to shove, all stories end with the "hero[es]" riding off into the sunset. Reading about the reality is difficult for someone like me, but necessary.

Please don't let the fact that I only gave JUST MERCY 3 stars keep you from reading this book or make you think that I did not like it. It most certainly is well worth reading. I just want to try to hang on to my belief in the innate goodness of humanity for as long as possible.

**My second reading: JUST MERCY is better the second time through. As much as I wish we had chosen WITH LOVE FROM THE INSIDE by Angela Pisel for our Interdisciplinary Read at CVCC, I am glad that we have chosen JUST MERCY for the 2017-2018 school year. This book will be a wonderful asset to our program and to our school as a whole. The good news is that I'll be able to use WITH LOVE FROM THE INSIDE as a discussion point because it is also about injustice--someone being wrongly accused and condemned to die. :) 

I also plan on using BILLY BUDD by Herman Melville in my American Lit for comparison points. Melville is really for modern American Lit, but at least it's American Lit! 

And I also hope to set up a discussion--round table--where we watch movies like LAW ABIDING CITIZEN and maybe other stories of social injustice and discuss them with a panel of community leaders and maybe even a few folks who have been involved in the prison system. I haven't mentioned this yet to the Interdisciplinary Read Committee [chairperson], but we had thrown around such ideas previously.

Personally, I want to do more research on Marsha Colbey. As a woman who has suffered a stillbirth and 2 miscarriages, the THOUGHT of being arrested and then condemned to die because someone thought I had.....I can't even type the words. Wow. It really makes me appreciate the support team I have always had, including doctors, family, friends, and just my community as a whole. I want to talk to Marsha personally and to hug her tight and tell her that she is a hero of mine. It was difficult enough grieving under "normal" circumstances; I can't even begin to imagine grieving under circumstances where people believed that I had......ON PURPOSE.

May Mercy be just and fair.


Bryan Stevenson has renewed in me a strong desire to be a stonecatcher--to help others grieving the loss of a child (children) in whatever way possible. That is MY purpose. It is what I am to do. I will let them lean on me--even if only for a moment.

Read to Beautiful

If I could give Jimmy Wayne's WALK TO BEAUTIFUL more than 5 stars, I so would! This amazing, beautiful memoir is a MUST READ. It is so inspirational, powerful, moving, and just plain BEAutiful. 

I am embarrassed to admit that I've had this book in my possession since some time in April. WALK TO BEAUTIFUL was chosen to be our Interdisciplinary Read (IR) for the 2016-2017 school year at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC, so I was given a free copy of the book to read to decide whether or not I would participate in the upcoming IR. I have not participated in recent years, so I was not very excited about this new book. One reason why I had not participated in the IR in recent years was because, in all honesty, I simply did not like the books that have been chosen. Last year's book was good, but I did not feel that it was a good choice for our students. 

So I let WALK TO BEAUTIFUL sit on my desk until the end of the semester, grumbling meekly whenever someone on the IR committee would remind me to read it about how I'd get to it....eventually. Once the Spring semester was over, I did bring the book home with me, but I put it on a shelf with the intention of reading it--not so much. 

I just did not have high hopes for this book being any good or being one that would be of any value to our students.

I have no idea what made me finally pick it up and start to read it except to say that I highly respect several of the folks on the IR committee and I knew that if they recommended the book, it might not be too bad. From the first sentence, I was hooked. As I began reading, I had NO idea who Jimmy Wayne was--is. I had never heard of him, and I actually like country music, believe it or not. 

I am now officially a Jimmy Wayne Groupie! I am pretty sure that he will be visiting our campus at some time over the course of this upcoming year and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to be part of the team that welcomes him to CVCC and who gets his autograph and a twofie (selfie with two people--I like it) taken with him!!! 

WALK TO BEAUTIFUL is nothing like what you'd expect from a country music star, but I promise you that it is WORTH reading. Jimmy is honest and open about his story; he does not hide behind his fame and pretend that he is something that he isn't. His vulnerability in his story makes me want to hug him so hard that he will forever feel me hugging him.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about WALK TO BEAUTIFUL by Jimmy Wayne. I will be using it in my classes this upcoming school year at CVCC; I can hardly wait to introduce this amazing book to almost 100 students!!!!