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Title details for A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett - Available

A Knock at Midnight

A Story of Hope, Justice, and Freedom

by Brittany K. Barnett
Karen Chilton
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST • NAACP IMAGE AWARD NOMINEE • A “powerful and devastating” (The Washington Post) call to free those buried alive by America’s legal system, and an inspiring true story about unwavering belief in humanity—from a gifted young lawyer and important new voice in the movement to transform the system.
“An essential book for our time . . . Brittany K. Barnett is a star.”—Van Jones, CEO of REFORM Alliance, CNN Host, and New York Times bestselling author 

Brittany K. Barnett was only a law student when she came across the case that would change her life forever—that of Sharanda Jones, single mother, business owner, and, like Brittany, Black daughter of the rural South. A victim of America’s devastating war on drugs, Sharanda had been torn away from her young daughter and was serving a life sentence without parole—for a first-time drug offense. In Sharanda, Brittany saw haunting echoes of her own life, as the daughter of a formerly incarcerated mother. As she studied this case, a system came into focus in which widespread racial injustice forms the core of America’s addiction to incarceration. Moved by Sharanda’s plight, Brittany set to work to gain her freedom.
 
This had never been the plan. Bright and ambitious, Brittany was a successful accountant on her way to a high-powered future in corporate law. But Sharanda’s case opened the door to a harrowing journey through the criminal justice system. By day she moved billion-dollar deals, and by night she worked pro bono to free clients in near hopeless legal battles. Ultimately, her path transformed her understanding of injustice in the courts, of genius languishing behind bars, and the very definition of freedom itself.
Brittany’s riveting memoir is at once a coming-of-age story and a powerful evocation of what it takes to bring hope and justice to a system built to resist them both.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    September 8, 2020

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593210192
      • File size: 384366 KB
      • Duration: 13:20:45

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Karen Chilton brings a real talent for dialogue to her narration, making this memoir especially engaging. Brittany Barnett rose from her East Texas roots to become a successful lawyer working a corporate day job. She also worked to free from prison those suffering under draconian drug, conspiracy, and sentencing laws that hit Black populations especially hard. Barnett learned about prison in childhood--her own mother was, for a time, an incarcerated drug addict. Chilton captures the strong relationships that developed between Barnett and her clients. Her effective use of pitch and speech patterns makes those clients seem real and multifaceted. In sum, Chilton gives a strong performance of an absorbing story. G.S. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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