I’m fascinated by redemption, forgiveness, and the power of being ‘strong at the broken places,’ so Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton with Erin Torneo had me at hello, but it was the complicated shape-shifting of relationships in this story that burned this book into me.

Picking Cotton made me need to be a better person; just reading it allowed me a glimpse into hope.

Jennifer Thompson woke up to a man in her apartment; he raped her at knifepoint. She identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker, suffered great trauma, and though she eventually moved on, the attack on her body left a wide swath of emotional scar tissue. However, Jennifer used the legal system as her way to fight back.

Lesson one: One doesn’t really recover from rape; one reconfigures themselves.

Ronald Cotton swore his innocence as surely as Jennifer Thompson testified to his guilt. At times, his lock-up seemed what allowed Jennifer to walk through the world. But after eleven years, DNA proved Ronald an innocent man.  The amazing thing is that he walked out, not only an innocent man, but also a strong one.

Lesson two: There are miraculous stores of strength inside us.

Ronald’s innocence stunned Jennifer (the real rapist was found) and tested her courage in an entirely different manner than had the rape. Despite her profound guilt at knowing she’d wrongfully identified her rapist, and taken eleven years, family, love, work, and all else from this man, she found the guts to meet with him. And despite eleven grinding wasted years in jail, time served for a crime he’d never committed, he found the valor to say yes, seeking closure and offering forgiveness.

Jennifer and Ronald eventually went on to work together for judicial reform. They speak out together, addressing the issues that kept Ronald in jail. More amazing, they became true friends.

I closed this book sorry for the ordeal Jennifer and Ronald suffered, but grateful they had the wisdom and grace to offer themselves to us: through this memoir, through speaking out, and through their example of true goodness.

Lesson three: Buy this book.

Lesson four: Read this book.