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Powerfully insightful reading Kirkus Reviews

How would you like to be judged for the rest of your life by the worst thing youve ever done

We all think we are compassionate just like we all think we are honest But true compassion is not innate Compassion for others especially those that we dont know or understand must be learned Our lack of compassion is perhaps most extreme in the exercise of criminal justice where a persons entire life worth and character are judged through the myopic lens of a single act But no one says Robin Steinberg should be reduced to their worst moment

From the founder and CEO of The Bail Project The Courage of Compassion unveilshow we can reimagine justice through compassionSteinberg shares her journey as a public defender representing people at precisely that time in their lives their own worst moment She recounts the heartwrenching stories of her clients and invites us to interrogate our fears and beliefs about justice and punishment Lastly Steinberg reveals moments when she questioned her own capacity for compassion as well as her ability to fight for better more humane justice from within a system that is riddled with holes and seemingly interminable problems

A gritty tale about confronting injustice and challenging ourselves to rediscover our shared humanity The Courage of Compassion is an invitation to join Steinberg as she explores what it will take to move beyond our current justice paradigm The criminal justice system reflects a history and power structure but it also mirrors how we come into society and show up for one another As she writes the quest to improve this system will only truly begin when we can finally see in the faces of those ensnared and imprisoned in our legal system ourselves And when we can see our children in their children