x, 309 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 25 cm
Summary
"A deeply moving work of narrative nonfiction on the tragic shootings at the Mother Emanuel AME church in Charleston, South Carolina. On June 17, 2015, twelve members of the historically black Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina welcomed a young white man to their evening Bible study. He arrived with a pistol, 88 bullets, and hopes of starting a race war. Dylann Roof's massacre of nine innocents during their closing prayer horrified the nation. Two days later, some relatives of the dead stood at Roof's hearing and said, "I forgive you." That grace offered the country a hopeful ending to an awful story. But for the survivors and victims' families, the journey had just begun. In Grace Will Lead Us Home, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jennifer Berry Hawes provides a definitive account of the tragedy's aftermath. With unprecedented access to the grieving families and other key figures, Hawes offers a nuanced and moving portrait of the events and emotions that emerged in the massacre's wake. The two adult survivors of the shooting begin to make sense of their lives again. Rifts form between some of the victims' families and the church. A group of relatives fights to end gun violence, capturing the attention of President Obama. And a city in the Deep South must confront its racist past. This is the story of how, beyond the headlines, a community of people begins to heal. An unforgettable and deeply human portrait of grief, faith, and forgiveness, Grace Will Lead Us Home is destined to be a classic in the finest tradition of journalism"--
Part I: We have stared evil in the eye. Sown among thorns ; The visitor ; What is hidden ; Shadow of death ; Hate is grown ; The blood of life ; Love one another ; God forgives you, and I forgive you ; Not so fast ; A new breed: the lone wolf ; The power to forgive ; You have to pick a side ; A restless peace ; The world has come -- Part II: Looking to man for comfort. The loud silence of death ; Kindness of strangers ; "I want my Bible" ; Money in the temple ; Prepare a table for me ; A view from the front row ; Depths of the valley ; Be quick to listen ; Competing grief -- Part III: What's done in the dark comes to the light. Appalling silence of the good people ; One year later ; Business as usual ; Saved your soul ; A tale of two trials ; Before a cloud of witnesses ; A cold and hateful heart ; The confession of sins ; A seed cast onto rocky soil ; Magic decoder ring ; Twelve friends ; Nine beautiful lives -- Remarks by the President in eulogy for the Honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney.