The Sun Does Shine

Adapted for young readers: A powerful memoir of hope, justice, and the unwavering resilience of the human spirit—"Though profoundly tragic, [Anthony Ray] Hinton's story is ultimately one of hope and an undeniable call for change" (Booklist, starred review).

A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year

The Sun Does Shine is an extraordinary testament to the power of hope sustained through the darkest times, now adapted for younger readers, with a revised foreword by Just Mercy author Bryan Stevenson.

In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was arrested and charged with two counts of capital murder in Alabama. Stunned, confused, and only twenty-nine 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 in a criminal justice system with the cards stacked against Black men, Hinton was sentenced to death. He spent his first three years on Death Row in despairing silence—angry and full of hatred for 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 also find a way to live on Death Row. For the next twenty-seven years he was a beacon—transforming not only his own spirit, but also those of his fellow inmates. With the help of civil rights attorney and bestselling author of Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson, Hinton won his release in 2015.

With themes both timely and timeless, Hinton's memoir tells his dramatic thirty-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 is a must-have for any collection, and a necessary read to inspire the next generation to fight for social and racial justice." —School Library Journal, starred review