For our annual Indie issue, we’re highlighting some of our Indieland standouts—like Black Defender by David Washington, who appears on the cover of the issue—that ground the lofty themes of truth and justice with solid storytelling and everyday details. We interview Washington and also include excerpts from a book about the evils of Big Ag (Barons by Austin Frerick) and from an adult picture book that illustrates the many responses to grief (I Miss My Mommy by Alison Garwood-Jones). Expanding on the truth and justice theme, the editors’ picks below show how the legal system can be an effective, if slow-moving, tool for changing lives.
Andrew Bridge spent most of his childhood in the Los Angeles foster care system. As an adult, the Harvard-educated lawyer left a lucrative position to defend the rights of children in foster care and joined a firm involved in a class action lawsuit against the Eufaula Adolescent Center in Alabama, which he recounts in his book The Child Catcher. Eufaula, says Bridge, had a “well-known history of violence, including abuse by staff and other children.” The case took more than two decades but had a life-changing impact on residents. Our reviewer says, “Bridge’s well-researched and annotated account includes harrowing stories from inside Eufaula; particularly wrenching is the case of a young boy named David Dolihite, who for every hour of therapy spent more than 33 hours in some form of isolation; a suicide attempt left him with permanent brain damage.…A fierce, maddening chronicle of advocacy on behalf of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Author Meg Groff meandered from cab driver to factory worker, etc., before becoming an attorney. But once she began her law career, she focused single-mindedly on legal aid. She recounts a life of fighting for others in her memoir, Not If I Can Help It: A Family Lawyer’s Battles for Justice for Victims of Domestic Violence and the Poor. “Each episode carries a tremendous punch, as well as a searing lesson about the failings of society to help those in need,” says our reviewer, who considers Groff’s book a must-read. “Groff deftly narrates her personal experiences to set engrossing scenes, like a last-minute courtroom speech to keep a baby out of protective services or the immense relief from a colleague’s simple affirmation, while never losing sight of the bigger picture.”
McCracken Poston Jr.’s memoir, Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom, recounts the fascinating story of Poston’s defense of an unusual client facing a murder and unlawful imprisonment charge. Alvin Ridley, a TV repairman who was considered the town oddball, was the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. As our reviewer explains, Ridley regularly pestered Poston, pleading with the lawyer to take his case. Ultimately, the lawyer, a former Georgia state representative who’d lost his re-election bid, agreed to help Ridley—who was a challenge to represent, to say the least. Our reviewer says, “By turns a humorous character study and a searing examination of the blind spots in our justice system, Poston’s work is an emotionally affecting page-turner sure to be loved by fans of true crime and courtroom procedurals.”
Chaya Schechner is the president of Kirkus Indie.
