September Book Review {Just Mercy}

In September I only finished one book but it was a great one and I can’t wait to share it with you.  

Each year the College where I work does a Common Read.  The Common Read encourages all faculty, staff and students to read and talk about a common book.  Faculty members integrate the book into their classes and we are encouraged to talk with students about the themes in the book.  

Last year the Common Read was Hidden Figures.  I wrote a post about that event here.  This year the book our College chose was Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson.

  Bryan was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice League dedicated to defending the wrongly convicted.  The stories in his book are powerful and haunting.  I finished this book  a few weeks ago and I still find myself thinking about the people he writes about in  this book.  Bryan and his team do amazing work for the most desperate and most in need in our criminal justice system.  

I’m in two book clubs and both of my book clubs read this book for  September. Everyone loved it.  I met with some friends in both book clubs at a restaurant last Monday and we all  talked about this book before we went to his talk on campus.

During his speech he told some stories from his childhood and from the book and he gave us four points for changing the world.  One of those points  was to get close to the people  that you want to help. I think reaching out and connecting to people is so important so I’m glad that this was one of his recommendations for our students.  

After the presentation he did some book signings and I was lucky enough to get his book signed by Brock and Ava.  

This was a wonderful book and I highly recommend it if you are looking for a good, thought provoking  non-fiction book.  This book is also in production to be a movie that will be out in 2020.

Happy reading!!

Xoxo