<b>"Sometimes there is absolutely no difference at all between salvation and damnation."</b>

I don’t think I was emotionally prepared for this story. And as I sit here writing this review, I am struggling to find the right words. 
The Green Mile follows Paul Edgecomb, a death row supervisor, and John Coffey, a gentle giant, condemned to the death penalty. King wrote this in a collection of 6 short stories, and each of them starts with Paul in Georgia Pines nursing home writing his story and his time as a block supervisor of the Cold Mountain Penitentiary.

It is a heartbreaking story, but also one with such important messages that I will always hold with me. It strongly criticised the American justice system and its use of capital punishment. It shows how racism and prejudice can lead to innocent people being wrongly convicted and punished in irreversible ways. But what stayed with me the most was the emotional connection between the guards and the prisoners. Even in a place like the death row, there was friendship and empathy, and I think their connection was what made this book more painful at the end.

The Green Mile wrecked me, but it also showed me how in the hardest, most cruellest moments, there is room for hope and kindness. And how forgiveness, of others and yourself, is one of the most important things. Now it's time to go watch the movie and cry some more 🤍