Wow. There are some good books out there. And some good writers. Men and women who know how to construe language to tell impactful stories. Ones that pierce your heart and make you gasp out loud from the feeling of it. Literally works of art.

One of my goals this last summer was to catch up on my reading wish list. This was a dangerous goal. I have ZERO self-control with a good book, and will neglect family, saving for retirement, and rescuing an old man from his burning condo if it means getting to the end of a chapter (and, of course, the chapter after that).

I only have time to recap 2 of these memoirs, but all 4 are absolutely worth reading.

JUST MERCY by Bryan Stevenson

The story is about an attorney who takes on cases of those who are on death penalty. The main case of this autobiography centers around a man, Willy, who claims he was falsely accused of murdering a woman. As Stevenson digs into the facts of his sentencing, he finds more and more fallacies and illegal decisions made in order to put Willy to the chopping block. Willy’s story is used as the teaching method of how deep-seated racism and racial bias can destroy families. A philandering husband does not a murderer make.

Stevenson taught how prevalent racial bias is. I was shocked that Mr. Stevenson was scolded by a judge for sitting at the defense table without having his lawyer present. Mr. Stevenson WAS the lawyer. However, the judge thought he was the accused criminal, because he was black and dressed conservatively. Had a well-dressed white man been sitting alone at the defense table, I’m not so sure the judge would have thought anything of it.

WHERE THE WIND LEADS by Vinh Chung

The story is about a wealthy family turned drefugee who escapes from Vietnam and survives danger after danger to immigrate to America.

What challenged my thinking: When I lived briefly in Russia, I was only able to speak in broken phrases. I was treated kindly, and gently, sort of how one might treat a intellectually disabled person. This was both amusing, and a little frustrating. I was educated, I could manage my own in the kitchen. I had a child of my own for goodness’ sake. But my broken Russian and inability to cook Russian meals or use Russian cookware gave others the appearance of a “simple minded” woman. My experience in Russia gave me a tiny glimpse into the lives of the refugee mothers I had worked with back in college. I was ashamed to realize that I had also looked at my Iranian and Burmese mothers with the same lens the Russians had viewed me. How eye-opening that my brain would interpret a person broken English, like a child, would interpret that person to have a childlike mental capability? I resolved to adjust this way of interpretation and that was that.

And yet. This book broke more barriers.

This unrecognized truth struck me the most: Refugees have not always been refugees. Mr. Chung’s family was wealthy – as in, multimillionaire type of wealthy. The government commandeered his wealth, land, home, and the family were fortunate to escape with their lives. When we see impoverished people, our brains, at least mine, take in their appearance, and then sometimes equate that appearance to being their entire life story. Always poor, always running, always in need.

Refugees are in great need of resettlement, yes. But they are also so much more than this (horrible) event in their lives.

I was also struck by the opposing cruelties and kindnesses of others who impacted Chung’s family. When the pirates came to drown the refugees in their boats. Willing to murder 93 people people, a third of whom were children, for the sheer sport of killing. How absolutely vile and disgusting. Mr. Chung’s boat was miraculously saved from capsizing. But other refugee boats were not. So many lives have been lost from sheer evil.

His portrayal of his parents on their love and mistakes was so lovely. He didn’t shy away from the wrong things his father had done , but he didn’t shame him, either. There was a lot of respect, love, and hope written about his parents. This should be a standard when writing about family personal matters in my opinion.

Incredible books. Please check these out from the library if you haven’t already. (And add The Glass Castle & Mao’s Last Dancer as well. SO good.)