Seventy Times Seven by Alex Mar

Bibliographic information:

Author: Alex Mar
Narrated by: Alex Mar
Release date: March 28, 2023
Pages: 384
Audiobook Duration: 13 h 4 min

Sign up to start listening to audiobooks and get your first book free and 2 bonus books from our VIP selection! If you like us, enjoy 1 audiobook (and 1 bonus VIP book) a month for just $14.95 (USD). Cancel anytime, no strings attached.

BOOK DESCRIPTION: “Alex Mar’s bold yet sensitive account of one of America’s youngest death row inmates—and the people whose lives she forever changed—is intimately reported, deeply moving, and unforgettable.” —Robert Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road

“An absorbing work of social history and a story about the mystery and miracle of forgiveness. This is a book of awesome scope, and it deserves to be read with attention.” —Hilary Mantel, Booker Prize–winning author of the Wolf Hall trilogy

A masterful, revelatory work of literary non-fiction about a teenage girl’s shocking crime—and its extraordinary aftermath


On a spring afternoon in 1985 in Gary, Indiana, a fifteen-year-old girl kills an elderly woman in a violent home invasion. In a city with a history of racial tensions and white flight, the girl, Paula Cooper, is Black, and her victim, Ruth Pelke, is white and a beloved Bible teacher. The press swoops in.

When Paula is sentenced to death, no one decries the impending execution of a tenth grader. But the tide begins to shift when the victim’s grandson Bill forgives the girl, against the wishes of his family, and campaigns to spare her life. This tragedy in a midwestern steel town soon reverberates across the United States and around the world—reaching as far away as the Vatican—as newspapers cover the story on their front pages and millions sign petitions in support of Paula.

As Paula waits on death row, her fate sparks a debate that not only animates legal circles but raises vital questions about the value of human life: What are we demanding when we call for justice? Is forgiveness an act of desperation or of profound bravery? As Bill and Paula’s friendship deepens, and as Bill discovers others who have chosen to forgive after terrible violence, their story asks us to consider what radical acts of empathy we might be capable of.

In Seventy Times Seven, Alex Mar weaves an unforgettable narrative of an act of violence and its aftermath. This is a story about the will to live—to survive, to grow, to change—and about what we are willing to accept as justice. Tirelessly researched and told with intimacy and precision, this book brings a haunting chapter in the history of our criminal justice system to astonishing life.

DISCLAIMER: the following post is created for promotional purposes only, getaudiobooks.today doesn’t offer access to this title and we do not intend to breach any copyright infrigements. However be sure that our partners whom we promote can provide you access to your desired title. If you are the author of this book or DMCA agent and want this post to be removed then simply head over to our DMCA page and find our e-mail there.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *