Read and Discuss: “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson Book Review
Spoiler alert: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson is a book that retells the true stories of men and women that have faced racial injustice, and it will break your heart. Or at least that’s what happened to me.
Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, speaker, author, social justice activist, and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. In this memoir, he recounts and retells the stories of the people he represented that faced racial injustice in our broken justice system.
And as I sit here trying to write a book review that both honors and well articulates my thoughts about Just Mercy, two things keep coming to my mind.
Number one— You should read it. Yes, I am talking (well, writing) to you. In fact, I think everyone should read it, or even watch the movie.
As I’ve talked with my friends and neighbors about the first steps into learning about racial injustice, I always recommend Just Mercy. Because it reads more like a narrative, it draws the reader in and gives them a glimpse into someone else’s life, their thoughts, and experiences. You can’t help but want to read to understand and know how it all ends.
Yet the end of Just Mercy isn’t the end of Bryan Stevenson’s work—the Equal Justice Initiative continues on. The EJI has represented and won cases for over 135 wrongly condemned prisoners on death row as well as won relief for hundreds of men and women who have been wrongly convicted or sentenced unfairly.
As I read the true stories of the men and women that Bryan Stevenson represented in his book, like Walter McMillian and many others, my heart broke. I was angry, frustrated, outraged, and confused, but I think most importantly, I was sad. I could not believe I was reading facts, someone’s real life, their real experiences, their real pain, the struggles and challenges they faced to prove their innocence, and the injustices they were facing. I was also sad because this was one of the first times I was educating myself on this long-standing issue. To be honest, I think I needed my heart to break to start my journey into educating and learning about racial injustice, and my prayer is that God will continue to break my heart for the things that break his.
And number two— After you read, you should discuss your thoughts with others who have done the same.
As a self-proclaimed book enthusiast, I truly enjoy reading. But what I think I enjoy more is discussing and sharing a good book with others. As I’ve participated in a book club over the last several years, I have had the opportunity to read different styles and genres. Not only has that opened my perspective and mind to different kinds of books—books that I would probably have never thought to read—but as I discuss with others, I am also opened up to the ways people who are different from me perceive the same things I am reading. I benefit from hearing others' thoughts, takeaways, reactions, and feedback, and I hope they benefit from my thoughts as well.
“Our shared vulnerability and imperfection nurtures and sustains our capacity for compassion. We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope for healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, foreswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity.”
Last fall, I participated in a cohort with some of my co-workers where we read and discussed Just Mercy together. It was our first round of these learning cohorts and really, for me, a first step into intentional community that involved education about racial injustice. It was shocking, eye-opening, and hard. We often sat in the room with no words to say. But it was important to take the space and time and truly it was transformative for me. I looked forward to our time together, to discuss how the book made me feel and hear the same from others, the truth that the book represented, and ways to take an active posture in learning.
So here’s the challenge— read Just Mercy and discuss it with someone who has read it as well. And if you can’t find someone to discuss it with, email me. I’d love to discuss this with you!
Jessica Meyer is the Executive Assistant at Summit Church, which basically means she can answer any question you have! Send her an email over at jmeyer@summitconnect.org.
Find more recommendations of resources helpful for getting educated and joining the conversation on racial injustice here.