Think Week 2021: A absolute must read. Am I now debating law school? 100%.

The amazing thing about this book is the number of times I wrote "ugh" or "OMFG" or "this is extremely frustrating" or "see, this is why we need to fucking legalize abortion" in the margins, and yet I walked away from this book feeling hopeful. I thought this book would follow more of Stevenson's life path, but it really follows Walter McMillian's story, with Stevenson's thoughts and philosophies thrown in. It's very admirable of him to decenter himself, but it left me wanting more.

Stevenson includes a perfectly balanced recap of how legal proceedings work for us novices, without getting bogged down in the minutia that could slow down a book that's FULL of court cases. This book makes it very clear that Alabama is our worst state by a large margin. And not simply because it's hot all of the time and has a terribly funded public school system, but legally, it has the worst laws. A thirteen year old will be sentenced to die in prison simply because the crime he was involved in happened in AL instead of another state? How do we increase the accountability of Republican lawmakers (looking at you, Jeff Sessions) without stooping to their level?

I would highly recommend following up this read with both films that have been adapted from it - Just Mercy, the 2019 film with Michael B. Jordan playing Bryan Stevenson, and True Justice, the HBO documentary that also came out in 2019. Both show different sides of Stevenson's life and journey that add to and complement this book. Plus, Michael B. Jordan, saving lives and fighting for equality?! Sign me up.