The Lifer and the Lawyer was a finalist and ultimate Non-Fiction Runner-Up in the 2021 Maxy Awards book competition. It is true that some people are very damaged. It is not true that they are all unsalvageable. The Lifer and the Lawyer raises questions about childhood trauma, religion, race, the purpose of punishment, and a criminal justice system that requires harmless old men to die in prison. It is a true story about Michael Anderson, an aging African American man who grew up poor and abused on Chicago’s south side and became a violent and predatory criminal. Anderson has now spent the last forty-three years in prison as a result of a 1978 crime spree that took place in southeastern Washington. The book describes his spiritual and moral transformation in prison and challenges society’s assumption that he was an irredeemable monster. It also tells the story of the author’s evolving relationship with Anderson that began in 1979 when Critchlow, a young white lawyer from a privileged background, was appointed to defend Anderson on twenty-two violent felony charges.
For Anderson, this is a story about overcoming childhood trauma and learning how to empathize and love through faith and self-knowledge. For Critchlow, the story also raises questions about how we become who we are–about race, culture, and opportunity. Finally, the book is a revealing commentary on our criminal justice system’s obsession with life sentences.
The Lifer and the Lawyer is a compelling, poignant, and intriguing memoir that will captivate as well as entertain readers for many hours on end. The Lifer and the Lawyer is a book I knew I had to read and review thanks to the captivating and intriguing premise. I have now finished reading the brilliant The Lifer and the Lawyer, and I can happily write that this book did live up to my expectations and is a book I love and am fascinated by! Readers who enjoy honest/insightful memoirs will adore The Lifer and the Lawyer thanks to its gripping, intriguing, and captivating story, so I implore readers who love these genres to read this fascinating book… you will not regret it!
The talented author George Critchlow writes The Lifer and the Lawyer and throughout his book, Critchlow informs the reader of his story, as well as Michael Anderson’s story. George Critchlow is a lawyer and he shares how he comes to be Michael Anderson’s defense lawyer back in the late ’70s. Michael Anderson was charged with 22 felony charges and George in The Lifer and the Lawyer shares Anderson’s story. George Critchlow raises important questions about the criminal justice system and shares that factors such as race, childhood trauma, and more should be taken into account. George shares how Michael Anderson, now much older, became a criminal but shares how he has spent the last 40+ years changing and has embarked on a spiritual journey in which his morals have changed greatly. It is a beautiful memoir that shows nobody is unsalvageable and makes for a thought-provoking and poignant read that should not be missed!
The Lifer and the Lawyer is a book that is flawlessly written and a book that is executed in the most entertaining of ways. George Critchlow is a talented author; the reader won’t be able to think anything but this as they begin to read his book as his descriptive prose combined with the extensive but concise details laced throughout, is incredible and will entertain/inform readers for many hours.
Usually, with memoirs with a crime element, I find that the author holds back; the author typically holds back on the more delicate details. However, George Critchlow is an author who is brazen with his work, and so he holds back on nothing regarding the going on’s which occurred. The outcome of this is an accurate portrayal and honest story that you can’t help but fall in love with.
George Critchlow is an author I admire for many reasons, one of them being the fact that he does not hold back with regards to the hardships explored throughout the book and the other because of his eloquent prose that captivated me from the very start. I adore the fact that Critchlow decided to write an honest book that does not hold back on the finer details; this is a crucial factor in a memoir book and a winning factor so this, combined with the fact that Critchlow is a talented author ensures that The Lifer and the Lawyer is one of the best memoirs I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
As The Lifer and the Lawyer is an intricately detailed, flawless, intriguing and let’s not forget poignant story, I have no choice but to award this stellar book five stars so please if you are a reader who loves memoirs then you should not miss out on this brilliant book!
Thank you so much for reading book lovers! I appreciate it so much. Here is a preview of the book for all of you lovely readers to enjoy! Please have a read of the preview and if you find that you have loved what you have read then all you need to do is follow the links below!
Goodbye for now book lovers,
P.S. Below I have attached some links about the author and this wonderful book so if you would like to learn more about the author and the book then please have a browse. Thank you so much again for reading book lovers!
Amazon US – Amazon UK – Goodreads
Author: Website – Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn – Barnes & Noble
