Jeanne Bishop

The acclaimed author of Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy, & Making Peace With My Sister's Killer is back with an all-new book that is sure to delight, convict, and transform readers in a way no other writer can.

Sister Helen Prejean called it "a searing and much-needed reminder that we can move past cycles of hatred" and Publisher's Weekly has already named it a Top 10 Pick.

Grace From The Rubble tells the gripping story of the friendship two fathers, who should have been enemies, found in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing.

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About

Jeanne Bishop

I am a public defender, human rights advocate, writer, speaker, teacher and mom. Since the 1990 murders of my sister Nancy Bishop Langert, her husband and their unborn baby, I have advocated for forgiveness and reconciliation, violence prevention and reform of the criminal justice system to make it more merciful.

I'm the author of Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy, and Making Peace with My Sister’s Killer. (Westminster John Knox Press 2015) and the forthcoming Grace From the Rubble: Two Fathers’ Road to Reconciliation After the Oklahoma City Bombing (Zondervan 2020).

My other written work includes chapters in academic books, law review articles, and opinion pieces in newspapers, magazines and online publications. I speak nationally and internationally. I have appeared in documentaries on the death penalty and two TEDx talks, and on radio and television, including a CBS 48 Hours program, “Road to Redemption.”

I attended law school at Northwestern and Yale and have worked ever since my sister’s murder at the Office of the Cook County Public Defender in Chicago, where I am a felony trial attorney. I teach trial advocacy at Northwestern and serve on the advisory board of its Center on Wrongful Convictions.

I am the proud and grateful mom of two sons, Brendan, a college student at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and Stephen, a high school student at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL

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Grace from the Rubble: Two Fathers' Road to Reconciliation after the Oklahoma City Bombing

Releases: April 14, 2020

Jeanne Bishop's powerful new book tells the heart-stirring story of how the father of a young woman killed in the Oklahoma City bombing and the father of her killer, Timothy McVeigh, forged an unlikely friendship and found forgiveness.

Grace from the Rubble is the remarkable journey of two men who, though destined to be enemies, forged an unexpected bond in the wake of terrorism and tragedy.

Vivid and haunting, this true story is rich with memories and beautiful descriptions of the nation's heartland, a place of grit and love for neighbors and family. Bishop tells how murder affected her own family and led her to meet Bud and ultimately, how she learned to see humanity amidst inhuman violence.

"A searing and much-needed reminder that we can move past cycles of hatred."
—Sister Helen Prejean
Author, Dead Man Walking

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Change of Heart: Justice, Mercy, and Making Peace with My Sister’s Killer

This powerful, true story of faith and forgiveness shows that all of us are capable of experiencing the healing and renewal that comes with truly forgiving another. Change of Heart follows the transformative journey undertaken by Jeanne Bishop after the murders of her sister and brother-in-law, a journey that challenged Jeanne's belief in the message of Jesus on the cross and eventually moved her beyond simple forgiveness to the deeper waters of redemption and grace. Jeanne's authentic story will guide readers past the temptation of anger and revenge, and help them navigate the path of truly forgiving someone whose actions have hardened their heart.

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Capital Punishment: New Perspectives (Advances in Criminology)

edited by Peter Hodgkinson
(Ashgate, 2014)

This collection asks questions about the received wisdom of the debate about capital punishment. Woven through the book, questions are asked of, and remedies proposed for, a raft of issues identified as having been overlooked in the traditional discourse. It provides a long overdue review of the disparate groups and strategies that lay claim to abolitionism.

In this volume, Bishop co-authored chapter three, "Talking To Each Other In The Dark: The American Abolition Movement And The Christian Opportunity," with lawyer, scholar, and author Mark Osler.

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Restorative Justice In Practice: A Holistic Approach

edited by Sheila M. Murphy & Michael P. Seng
(Vandeplas Publishing, 2015)

This collection of essays on restorative justice surveys the different contexts in which restorative justice can be utilized in the practice of law and elsewhere. Restorative justice is itself an elusive concept and the essays show how the meaning of restorative justice can shift depending upon the needs of the parties and the community. Restorative justice is not only related to criminal law and corrections. It is related to all aspects of life and law, including civil disputes, civil rights, interpersonal relationships, and personal growth and self-awareness.

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