Some people are irreparably damaged. Michael Anderson is not one of them.
The Lifer and the Lawyer raises questions about childhood trauma, religion, race, the purpose of punishment, and a criminal justice system that requires harmless old men to die in prison. The book describes Michael Anderson' s broken childhood, his anti-social behaviors and crimes, and his spiritual and moral transformation while enduring ten life sentences in Washington state prisons.
Central to the story is the evolving five-decade friendship between Anderson, a black man raised on the hard streets of Chicago's South Side, and George Critchlow, a young, white, small-town lawyer who, in 1979, was a assigned to defend Anderson on a variety of violent felony charges.
Critchlow, the book's author, masterfully weaves together the threads of the two men's lives and paints a powerfully intimate and compelling picture of the places and times their paths intersect and how things might have gone differently. Both men, once young, ego-driven, and incomplete, come into themselves in very different ways over the course of the book as they sculpt fulfilling lives centered on serving others, empathy, and (in Anderson's case) an indomitable commitment to faith.
The Lifer and the Lawyer is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of modern America's pressing issues involving religion, race, class, and justice. But it is more. Critchlow's writing -- rich, stimulating and effortlessly smooth -- is peppered with scenery, history, culture and his personal relationship with the Pacific Northwest. The book would be worth reading if only to appreciate its pervading artistry and intimacy.
For Anderson, this is a story about overcoming childhood trauma and learning how to empathize and love through faith and self-knowledge. For Critchlow, the story also raises questions about the societal conditions that influence how we become who we are. The Lifer and the Lawyer is a compelling story about real people and real events. It is also a story about America.

Available in paperback, kindle, and audiobook.

Available in paperback, Kindle, and Audio

BooksShelf Presents

Editor's choice

Like, follow and subscribe

© 2026 BooksShelf. All Rights Reserved