About this item
The instant her phone rang, Reverend Sharon Risher sensed something was horribly wrong. Something had happened at Emanuel AME Church, the church of her youth in Charleston, South Carolina, and she knew her mother was likely in the church at Bible study. Even before she heard the news, her chaplain's instinct told her the awful truth: her mother was dead, along with two cousins. What she couldn't imagine was that they had been murdered by a white supremacist. Plunged into the depths of mourning and anger and shock, Sharon could have wallowed in the pain. Instead, she chose the path of forgiveness and hope - eventually forgiving the convicted killer for his crime.In this powerful memoir of faith, family, and loss, Sharon begins the story with her mother, Ethel Lee Lance, seeking refuge in the church from poverty and scorn and raising her family despite unfathomable violence that rattled Sharon to her core years later; how Sharon overcame her own struggles and answered the call to ministry; and how, in the loss of her dear mother, Sharon has become a nationally known speaker as she shares her raw, riveting, story of losing loved ones to gun violence and racism.Sharon's story is a story of transformation: How an anonymous hospital chaplain was thrust into the national spotlight, joining survivors of other gun-related horrors as reluctant speakers for a heartbroken social-justice movement. As she recounts her grief and the struggle to forgive the killer, Risher learns to trust God's timing and lean on God's loving presence to guide her steps. Where her faith journey leads her is surprising and inspiring, as she finds a renewed purpose to her life in the company of other survivors. Risher has been interviewed by Time Magazine, Marie-Claire, Essence, Guardian-BCC Radio, CNN, and other media sources. She regularly shares her story on American college campuses and racial-reconciliation events. "To Forgive a Killer," her essay as told to Abigail Pesta published in Notre Dame Magazine, won the 2018 Front Page Award for Essay published in a Magazine, awarded by the Newswomen's Club of New York.
About the Author
Rev. Sharon Washington Risher was born in Charleston, South where she attended the public schools and graduated from Charles A. Brown High School and graduated from Johnson C. Smith University, in Charlotte, North Carolina.Sharon heard the call to ministry in 2002 while attending St. Paul Presbyterian Church and left North Carolina to attend Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas in the spring 2003. Sharon graduated from of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, TX, in 2007. Sharon was a Staff Chaplain, Trauma Specialist, with Parkland Hospital of Dallas, TX, where she has been employed. She served on several committees at the hospital. Sharon served Rice Chapel AME Church, as Associate Pastor for Congregational Care, she preached, and led the Women's ministries of the church until April, 2015. On June 17th, 2015, a horrific tragedy happened; Sharon learned her dear mother, Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance, was killed in Charleston, SC, at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, along with 8 other people, which also included two cousins and a childhood friend. Since that time, Sharon has been very outspoken about the nation's gun laws and is one of the spokespersons for the grassroots advocacy group Everytown Survivor Network and Moms Demand Gun Sense In America. She has appeared on CNN , Good morning America, Roland Martin's News One, CBS and other national news outlet. Sharon had been interviewed and by Time Magazine, Marie-Claire , Essence, Texas Monthly magazine, written articles for a number of print media, such as Vogue and VOX. She has appeared on radio shows, such as, Guardian- BBC radio, PBS, NPR among others. She also has visited the White House and has witnessed President Barack Obama sign executive orders that pertained to new gun laws. Sharon has also been a guest speaker for several Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial events. As a member of Everytown, Sharon has testified in Salem, Oregon in front of state congress on behalf of HR 4147-bill introduced to expand the 3 day waiting period for a gun purchase. She carried that same energy before the South Carolina judicial committee, in favor of a new law called the Charleston Loophole. Sharon is a sought after speaker traveling across the US sharing her story of loss, forgiveness, racism and gun law reforms. Sharon has two grown children, Howard Brandon and Aja' Sharnee', who both reside in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sharon's hobbies includes, reading, cross-stitching, growing tropical plants, listening to a variety of music and being a mother to her fur-dog- child, Puff-Daddy.
