For Such a Time as This
Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre
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- $17.99
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- $17.99
Publisher Description
The instant her phone rang, Reverend Sharon Risher sensed something was horribly wrong. Something had happened at Emanuel AME Church, the church of her youth in Charleston, South Carolina, and she knew her mother was likely in the church at Bible study. Even before she heard the news, her chaplain's instinct told her the awful truth: her mother was dead, along with two cousins. What she couldn't imagine was that they had been murdered by a white supremacist. Plunged into the depths of mourning and anger and shock, Sharon could have wallowed in the pain. Instead, she chose the path of forgiveness and hope - eventually forgiving the convicted killer for his crime. In this powerful memoir of faith, family, and loss, Sharon begins the story with her mother, Ethel Lee Lance, seeking refuge in the church from poverty and scorn and raising her family despite unfathomable violence that rattled Sharon to her core years later; how Sharon overcame her own struggles and answered the call to ministry; and how, in the loss of her dear mother, Sharon has become a nationally known speaker as she shares her raw, riveting, story of losing loved ones to gun violence and racism. Sharon's story is a story of transformation: How an anonymous hospital chaplain was thrust into the national spotlight, joining survivors of other gun-related horrors as reluctant speakers for a heartbroken social-justice movement. As she recounts her grief and the struggle to forgive the killer, Risher learns to trust God's timing and lean on God's loving presence to guide her steps. Where her faith journey leads her is surprising and inspiring, as she finds a renewed purpose to her life in the company of other survivors. Risher has been interviewed by Time Magazine, Marie-Claire, Essence, Guardian-BCC Radio, CNN, and other media sources. She regularly shares her story on American college campuses and racial-reconciliation events. "To Forgive a Killer," her essay as told to Abigail Pesta published in Notre Dame Magazine, won the 2018 Front Page Award for Essay published in a Magazine, awarded by the Newswomen's Club of New York.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this emotional memoir, hospital chaplain Risher explores her life and reaction to the 2015 massacre at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church, in which her mother, two cousins, and a friend were murdered. She begins with her reaction to learning about the massacre and follows through to the murder trial of Dylann Roof, when family members of the dead were allowed to address Roof. Nadine, Risher's younger sister, accepted the invitation and used the moment to forgive Roof. The moment stuck with Risher, because she knew "that God commands us to forgive, but I was not ready to forgive this monster who killed my mother." Risher also recalls her upbringing in Charleston with four siblings, meeting Myra, leaving for college in North Carolina, hitting a rocky patch with drugs, and getting help from her loving mother. At the end, Risher writes of how she eventually came to forgive Roof, which was a long and difficult process: "I had to work hard spiritually to walk toward religion." Frankly considering what it means to forgive, Risher provides a gripping testimony in this unflinching memoir.