A Time to Stand

A highly relevant and gripping novel that challenges us to ask what it means to forgive while seeking justice and to pursue reconciliation while loving others as ourselves. Adisa Johnson is living her dream of practicing law with a prestigious firm in downtown Atlanta. Then a split-second mistake changes the course of her career. Left with no other options, Adisa returns to her hometown where a few days earlier a white police officer shot an unarmed black teen who is now lying comatose in the hospital. Adisa is itching to jump into the fight as a special prosecutor but feels pulled to do what she considers unthinkable as a young black woman—defend the officer. As the court case unfolds, everyone in the small community must confront their own prejudices. Caught in the middle, Adisa also tries to chart her way along a path complicated by her budding relationship with a charismatic young preacher who leads the local movement demanding the police officer answer for his crime. In a small Georgia town where racial tensions run high and lives are at stake, can one lawyer stand up for justice against the tides of prejudice? A stand-alone legal dramaBook length: approximately 120,000 wordsIncludes discussion questions for book clubs