Structure

The Sun Does Shine is divided into twenty-four chapters, plus a foreword and afterword. The foreword is the only section not co-written by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin. Written by Hinton's final lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, the foreword summarizes Ray's story and contextualizes the following narrative for readers. As such, readers approach the main narrative with an understanding of its main plot points and thematic importance. This structural choice to prime readers with a foreword helps to guide them toward the authors' desired reader takeaway. The afterword is a call-to-action which expands upon that takeaway and encourages readers to evaluate their ideas on capital punishment and to take a stand against it. As such, the afterword extends the structure of the book from the main personal narrative out into the broader social and political context.

Excluding the foreword and afterword, the main twenty-four chapters follow a...