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Standing Our Ground: The Triumph of Faith Over Gun Violence: A Mother's Story
From the national spokesperson for Everytown for Gun Safety and leading gun violence prevention advocate comes the riveting memoir of a mother’s loss and call to action, as well as a faith-based exploration of how the nation’s gun laws put a deadly target on American lives.
Lucia Kay McBath knew deep down that a bullet could one day take her son. After all, she had watched the news of countless unarmed black men unjustly gunned down.
Standing Our Ground: Putting Faith in God Over Faith in Guns is McBath’s memoir of raising, loving, and losing her son to gun violence, and the story of how she transformed her pain into activism. After seventeen-year-old Jordan Davis was shot by a man who thought the music playing on his car stereo was too loud, the nation grieved yet again for the unnecessary loss of life. Here, McBath goes beyond the timeline and the assailant’s defense—Stand Your Ground—to present an emotional account of her fervent fight for justice, and her awakening to a cause that will drive the rest of her days.
But more than McBath’s story or that of her son, Standing Our Ground keenly observes the social and political evolution of America’s gun culture. A must-read for anyone concerned with gun safety in America, it harkens back to such bestsellers as The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace and Nobody.
Lucia Kay McBath knew deep down that a bullet could one day take her son. After all, she had watched the news of countless unarmed black men unjustly gunned down.
Standing Our Ground: Putting Faith in God Over Faith in Guns is McBath’s memoir of raising, loving, and losing her son to gun violence, and the story of how she transformed her pain into activism. After seventeen-year-old Jordan Davis was shot by a man who thought the music playing on his car stereo was too loud, the nation grieved yet again for the unnecessary loss of life. Here, McBath goes beyond the timeline and the assailant’s defense—Stand Your Ground—to present an emotional account of her fervent fight for justice, and her awakening to a cause that will drive the rest of her days.
But more than McBath’s story or that of her son, Standing Our Ground keenly observes the social and political evolution of America’s gun culture. A must-read for anyone concerned with gun safety in America, it harkens back to such bestsellers as The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace and Nobody.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 4, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 25, 2021
Absolutely gut wrenching. Cried several times reading her story. Makes me even more driven to do the work for MOMS.
September 10, 2023
Bring the tissue.
June 18, 2021
Wonderful. Excruciating and empowering at the same time.
July 29, 2020
Read for our Moms Demand book club. I had a really hard time reading this book, cause I kept crying. Inspiring in the end, but the story was hard.
December 26, 2023
I've had this book for awhile but of course yet again this just sat on my shelf. It was not because I ignored it but rather with already knowing the basic story of her life (or at least part of it), it just seemed like not the right time and too sad of a book to read. If you do not know, she is the mother of Jordan Davis, a 17 year old Black boy who was shot to death by a white man over loud music, with the controversy being the murderer having claimed he was defending himself with a stand your ground law.
This is part memoir of her life and part story of how she was eventually elected to Georgia's now 7th Congressional District. She describes her life, eventually having Jordan, watching him grow up, finding out about his death and the trial, plus how she began to move into activism and politics, first joining the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America group and eventually running for Congress, where she would first represent GA-6 and (as of this review) GA-7.
I did not know lots of her story (just that she was mother of Davis, did some work on behalf of gun safety groups and issues and eventually becoming a member of Congress), so this was poignant and expectedly sad. She wanted to believe she was doing the right thing for her son by sending him to live with his biological father full-time (something the father also wanted) in Florida.
McBath also relates about how it actually seemed usual that the killer was convicted in the original trial and the retrial, with a sentence of life with no possibility of parole. Factors include that witnesses supported the positions of Davis's friends, that there was no weapon, that forensic evidence indicates that there was no way the victims could have been mistaken for brandishing a weapon, etc. As I said, it is an incredibly sad story overall and while some good may have come out of it, McBath is still clearly grieving for her son and there is nothing that will fix that pain.
As a memoir I ultimately found it skimmable, mostly because my interest in the topic kept me going, she does have an interesting story (including how she gave up an older child for adoption and it seems the two may have been in the process of reconnecting at the time of this book's publication) and I do hope she finds some solace. The writing was not the best, but my judgement may be clouded by how sad her story made me and it should absolutely not take away from the fact that her son's life was needlessly and senselessly cut short and that unfortunately she has to speak for him as he can't himself.
If you have an interest in her, gun safety, how gun violence can leave lasting trauma and pain for those left behind, etc. this would probably be a good read. If you only have a casual interest (you know her name but do not feel passionately either way about her, gun safety and access, etc.) then this may be better as a library borrow.
Overall, I'm glad I read it and wish her well and look forward to seeing where she goes in career, no matter where it leads.
This is part memoir of her life and part story of how she was eventually elected to Georgia's now 7th Congressional District. She describes her life, eventually having Jordan, watching him grow up, finding out about his death and the trial, plus how she began to move into activism and politics, first joining the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America group and eventually running for Congress, where she would first represent GA-6 and (as of this review) GA-7.
I did not know lots of her story (just that she was mother of Davis, did some work on behalf of gun safety groups and issues and eventually becoming a member of Congress), so this was poignant and expectedly sad. She wanted to believe she was doing the right thing for her son by sending him to live with his biological father full-time (something the father also wanted) in Florida.
McBath also relates about how it actually seemed usual that the killer was convicted in the original trial and the retrial, with a sentence of life with no possibility of parole. Factors include that witnesses supported the positions of Davis's friends, that there was no weapon, that forensic evidence indicates that there was no way the victims could have been mistaken for brandishing a weapon, etc. As I said, it is an incredibly sad story overall and while some good may have come out of it, McBath is still clearly grieving for her son and there is nothing that will fix that pain.
As a memoir I ultimately found it skimmable, mostly because my interest in the topic kept me going, she does have an interesting story (including how she gave up an older child for adoption and it seems the two may have been in the process of reconnecting at the time of this book's publication) and I do hope she finds some solace. The writing was not the best, but my judgement may be clouded by how sad her story made me and it should absolutely not take away from the fact that her son's life was needlessly and senselessly cut short and that unfortunately she has to speak for him as he can't himself.
If you have an interest in her, gun safety, how gun violence can leave lasting trauma and pain for those left behind, etc. this would probably be a good read. If you only have a casual interest (you know her name but do not feel passionately either way about her, gun safety and access, etc.) then this may be better as a library borrow.
Overall, I'm glad I read it and wish her well and look forward to seeing where she goes in career, no matter where it leads.
July 1, 2018
This review is based on an ARC provided to me through my work.
First, let me say, that the story enfolded in this book, the loss of Lucia McBath’s son, Jordan, to a “stand your ground” shooting, is tragic. The loss of her son is a horrible thing and a chilling reminder of the difficulties we face in this world today and I applaud her courage to speak out against racism and violence.
However, it quickly becomes apparent that Lucia is not a writer. Which is not a problem, generally, for such emotional pieces like this one, except that every inch of this book is coated with a veneer of rosy nostalgia and sadness (all fairly justified, again, given the subject matter), that it’s never really allowed to feel real. The very real people and very real and troubling problems this book addresses are boiled down to feel flat and one dimensional. It winds up reading like a human interest puff piece rather than the scathing indictment of castle doctrine and the connection between the NRA and the Christian Right that it was meant to be.
Obviously Lucia has suffered a tragic loss and wants to remember the best about her son, but I wish I could have seen him as a person, rather than a memory in this story because it’s definitely a story worth sharing.
First, let me say, that the story enfolded in this book, the loss of Lucia McBath’s son, Jordan, to a “stand your ground” shooting, is tragic. The loss of her son is a horrible thing and a chilling reminder of the difficulties we face in this world today and I applaud her courage to speak out against racism and violence.
However, it quickly becomes apparent that Lucia is not a writer. Which is not a problem, generally, for such emotional pieces like this one, except that every inch of this book is coated with a veneer of rosy nostalgia and sadness (all fairly justified, again, given the subject matter), that it’s never really allowed to feel real. The very real people and very real and troubling problems this book addresses are boiled down to feel flat and one dimensional. It winds up reading like a human interest puff piece rather than the scathing indictment of castle doctrine and the connection between the NRA and the Christian Right that it was meant to be.
Obviously Lucia has suffered a tragic loss and wants to remember the best about her son, but I wish I could have seen him as a person, rather than a memory in this story because it’s definitely a story worth sharing.
February 6, 2021
This is a heart-wrenching love letter from a mother to her son, and an attempt to give her son’s all-too-brief life meaning.
Lucia Kay McBath has done her homework in presenting this well-informed testament to the ongoing fight for sane gun laws in America. She tells readers Capitalism and the gun lobby’s over arching profit motive are the drivers of gun violence. I could not agree more.
Ms. McBath is continuing her efforts as a “hope dealer”, whether the seeds she is sowing come to fruition or not, and she encourages readers to join her in the gun safety movement.
Beautifully read by the author herself.
Lucia Kay McBath has done her homework in presenting this well-informed testament to the ongoing fight for sane gun laws in America. She tells readers Capitalism and the gun lobby’s over arching profit motive are the drivers of gun violence. I could not agree more.
Ms. McBath is continuing her efforts as a “hope dealer”, whether the seeds she is sowing come to fruition or not, and she encourages readers to join her in the gun safety movement.
Beautifully read by the author herself.
November 12, 2018
I am giving this 4 stars even though I feel it is not the best writing I have seen in non-fiction. The writing is fine but the story and the perspective stand out. Taking into account that I also just finished reading Tribe, which deals with the loss of community and it's effects in our society, there has been shift in my thinking that is too complicated for a book review. So it is definitely a worth while read and I think the author did what she set out to do.
June 16, 2020
To read a mother’s account of losing her son is a heartbreaking, solemn, and soul-aching read. McBath then layers in her story of raising a black man in America, her journey in faith, and the purpose she found in advocating for common sense gun laws. She is a strong, incredible woman and this book struck such a chord within me. Say their names. Jordan Davis and his legacy will never be forgotten.
January 28, 2021
I'm so glad I read this book. I believe in gun safety and better gun laws and reading Lucy McBath's personal story touched me very much. Her son's death by a gun in "Stand Your Ground" Florida, not long after Trayvon Martin's death, was another horrible, sad example of the need to address gun and racial issues in our country. Mrs. McBath tells her journey, and gives data, and shares her faith - all written with the love of a mother who lost her only son.
March 25, 2021
Never have I cried so much or so quickly while reading a book. McBath bares her soul telling the story of the murder of her son. While the story she tells is tragic, from a 4 year old's prospective of the riots following the assassination of MLK to the election of Donald Trump, it is also the story of how to continue, how to pick up the pieces of a shattered life. This was a deeply inspiring, moving memoir.
September 23, 2024
A heart wrenching story of tremendous personal loss, as well as an explanation of how racism and greed impacts both gun violence and the court system. I don't share the author's faith , so those parts were less intriguing to me, though I appreciate that it offered her much solace. I was familiar with much of the larger picture, so I ended up skimming through a lot, but still a very worthwhile read.
January 17, 2019
Read this!
July 24, 2019
This is a quick read, an interesting, heartbreaking memoir of a woman and a mother and now Congresswoman, and her call to action. CW: pregnancy loss
December 30, 2019
This is a story of love and heart break and persistence. And a read for everyone who has ever had a child. Go out and read this! And then do something!
May 5, 2020
Great Book
December 18, 2020
Heartwrenching. Illuminating. These are stories that inspire action and change.
January 15, 2021
Helps bring insights into tragedy.
June 16, 2021
This book will gut you and inspire you.
It is heavy on McBath's faith journey, but that presents just the right counterpoint of Hope and love.
It is heavy on McBath's faith journey, but that presents just the right counterpoint of Hope and love.
October 27, 2018
This was somewhat of a tough story to read considering the circumstances, but it was very informative.
July 19, 2019
This book about a mother's strength and dedication to her son's memory is riveting. It's well written and easily read. I was moved to tears several times. This is a must read.
October 18, 2019
Great. Informative heartfelt
It is a true story I don't like being forced to write a review. I enjoy read uhh n this book it was informative and ignited May emotions
It is a true story I don't like being forced to write a review. I enjoy read uhh n this book it was informative and ignited May emotions
September 19, 2018
This book broke my heart and opened my eyes to so many types of injustices that survives across this country. Between the guns laws, and disparities in treatments of blacks and whites, racial profiling, NRA's ownership of America's government, and twisted creation of fear with the second amendment, to the oxymoron in Christian Pro Life argument to protect life, while supporting Stand You Ground freedom to kill and think later. (usually a white person killing a black person), I could not put the book down. I could not stop thinking about her grief and the many other mother's mentioned whom lost their child through senselessly gun violence. Their constant fight and hope to bring Jesus's type thinking to life and law. This book is worth reading at least once if not more.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews