The Sun Does Shine

By: Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin, Bryan Stevenson - foreword

Narrated by: Bryan Stevenson - foreword, Kevin R. Free

Oprah's Book Club Summer 2018 Selection

A powerful, revealing story of hope, love, justice, and the power of reading by a man who spent 30 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 29 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 27 years he was a beacon - transforming not only his own spirit, but those of his fellow inmates, 54 of whom were executed mere feet from his cell. With the help of civil rights attorney and best-selling 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 30-year journey and shows how you can take away a man’s freedom, but you can’t take away his imagination, humor, or joy.

This program includes a foreword written and read by Bryan Stevenson.

Praise for The Sun Does Shine audiobook:

"The incredible details of Hinton's trial and eventual release are narrated in an honest, easy style by Kevin R. Free...He captures the Southern rhythms of Hinton's speech with a natural cadence that brings us closer to his pain." (AudioFile magazine)

"Kevin R. Free performs this work with flashes of anger cast over a deep humility, and captures the sense of humor that Hinton was, incredibly, able to hold on to during his long years in solitary confinement...This is a story that enrages and inspires." (New York Times)

©2018 Anthony Ray Hinton, foreword copyright 2018 by Bryan Stevenson (P)2018 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, Long-listed

"The actor Kevin R. Free performs this work with flashes of anger cast over a deep humility, and captures the sense of humor that Hinton was, incredibly, able to hold on to during his long years in solitary confinement—his affability could get even prison guards to smile. This is a story that enrages and inspires." -New York Times

"Highly recommended, especially for personal and public library audiobook collections.\" -Midwest Book Review

"In this intense memoir, Hinton recounts his three-decade nightmare: awaiting execution for crimes he didn't commit...Hinton's life is one of inspiration, which he wonderfully relays here in bitingly honest prose." (Publishers Weekly)

Finding Humanity Where You Can

If you loved Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, you'll very, very much like The Sun Does Shine which is a heartrending reminder of how flawed the American justice system is, especially if you're poor and of color.
Ray Hinton spends 30 years on Death Row, despite having an iron-clad alibi for the crimes he's been accused of, despite a practically antique gun's never having been fired for 25 years being tagged as the murder weapon in three crimes.
It's a shock just being accused, it's horrific being convicted, but spending your life on Death Row? There are no words that I can think of for myself.
Fortunately, Hinton has the words to describe his experiences. He goes from numbness to anger to hatred to finding friendship, family, and occasional bliss during his years (in his mind he travels to exotic places, he plays professional baseball, he marries beautiful and famous women. He does whatever he needs to do to survive but one more day). His best friends are all simply human, despite their crimes. He makes no bones about some of them surely being guilty, but accepts them, warts and all, as fellow human beings, trying to live in hellish surroundings.
In The Sun Does Shine, you'll see what true resilience is, what true spirit is and, my God, you'll see what true forgiveness is.
The only flaw is that it's narrated by Kevin Free, who does quite well, it's just that he's a young man, and time goes by for Hinton. He's a man brought down by time, made tired by all he's been through and lived through, one spirit-breaking year to the next (and I cried when someone beloved to him passes and there's nothing he can do about it). The book would've been far more powerful with an older man narrating.
But that's the only, only flaw.
Coming from a death penalty state, I kind of get numb with execution after execution. Fortunately there are books like this that make me angry and that remind me: I'm greater than the worst thing I've done... Aren't we all?

Awesome....breathtaking

My words won't do this book 'justice,' As I wrote the word justice there was no pun intended. Just know that its life changing and incredible. A story of love, family, hate, racism, lessons in the court systems and the lengths people will go to preserve a lie. Anthony Ray Hinton is a walking miracle. His story is worth your time!

Powerful, Important!

First, I want to say that I believe this book should be required reading for every American. I have never believed in capital punishment and for me this belief is more than a general opinion, it is personal... my son was murdered in 1999. As I listened, I found myself moving through a series of emotions. Emotions that served as great teachers over the course of the book. There were points early on that I doubted Ray's innocence and prejudices that I wasn't even in touch with came forward. But as I listened (and learned), I saw that two of the most wonderful things about this book is Ray's honesty and transparency. He shares his emotions in a way that is rare and sometimes raw. He allows you to see vulnerabilities in him that trigger doubt and then vulnerabilities that make him a man I truly respect. He deals with the horrible impact of racism, head on. He deals with murder (capital punishment), head on. He deals with an incredibly broken justice system, head on. He deals with forgiveness, head on. He deals with pain, head on. Anthony Ray Hinton touched my heart deeply. I celebrate his wisdom. I will never forget the lessons he has offered in this book.

Amazing!

My friend put it best when she said this book keeps breaking your heart open and putting it back together. Powerful story that I think everyone needs to hear. Thank you, Ray Hinton.

Powerfully Moving

this story encompasses so much of the human tragedy experienced by poor blacks in this country having to exist in a broken justice system. can't wait for the movie!

Absolutely Astonishing

An incredible account of Mr. Hinton’s life. A look inside our justice system from a point of view most of us will never see, and one that nobody should have to. I applaud ARH and those who persisted with him. And I wish that everyone who reads this will share his hopeful outlook and reevaluate their own prejudices and opinions.
Bravo.

Loss of Innocence

Ray Hinton is an amazing human being. I know that there are those out there that probably believe that he is still guilty, but how does one forgive the way he did and still be guilty. Mr. Hinton is ray of hope and he teaches us how we should view life and be grateful for everything we endure and experience in this life. We never know God’s plan for us and most of the time we do not understand, but in Mr. Hinton’s case I believe that he wrote this book about his life in order to the show the rest of us importance of life, family and friends. Thanks Mr. Hinton and I hope that the rest of your life is filled with nothing but really great things. Remember we can live a long life and be remembered for nothing, we can also live a short life and be remembered for everything.

A MUST READ

To truly understand our justice system and the legacy of racial terror, this is a must read. I heard Mr. Hinton speak and it was an amazing experience and connected so well to the book. His story is one we must hear, and his connection to EJI and Bryan Stevenson is worth researching as well. Go to Montgomery. Go to The Legacy Museum. You will see Mr. Hinton narrate a part in one of the exhibits.

Uplifting

By far one of the best books I have read (listened to). I couldn't stop listening. My heart broke for this man. He lived through a nightmare no one could begin to imagine. But he rose above . God Bless him and God Bless Bryan Stevenson. I am so grateful that Ray shared his story. I find myself wondering what he is doing every day, what is he eating, what is he reading,what is he watching. what does his future hold. I wish for him as many people to love as he can possibly find. And hopefully one special person to love. I hope his story and case will help to open the eyes of the people that can help the others that are unjustly imprisoned. God Bless Anthony Ray Hinton.

So-so.

This was well written, but I personally struggled to finish it. In the end, I was glad I did.