About The Writer

Who can you trust when police brutality happens?  Did it just happen to us?  Can forty seconds change your life forever?

"Thank you again for the opportunity to read Awakened by Hate. You have an engaging book that your readers are sure to enjoy." Kirkus Reviews

Kirkus Review - (Long Review)

"A subdued look at the domestic effects of police brutality."

In Macri’ debut novel, a man’s vicious roadside arrest and wrongful incarceration upend his and his fiancee’s lives.

Coming home from a relative’s wedding, Grace Manning finds her Jackman, Michigan, house empty. There’s no sign of her fiance, Michael McKensie, and the answering machine had recorded an attempted collect call from the local jail. Grace is shocked to learn that Michael was arrested. According to police, he had resisted arrest and physically assaulted officers after they pulled over his car. Grace believes Michael’s assertion that the police attacked him without cause, though he admits that he had been drinking that night. Michael’s initial claim, however, is supported by footage from the cops’ dashcam, which shows officers repeatedly tasing and beating Michael without provocation. Unfortunately, Michael’s conviction on multiple charges and subsequent jail time are unavoidable, and Grace searches for ways to reduce his sentence, from appealing his conviction to a civil rights complaint. She struggles on her own, so distraught that she neglects her health and finances. Prison poses multiple dangers and hurdles, like an inmate who threatens Grace during her visits. In the days and months that follow, Grace, who believes the cops’ actions were fueled by hate, strives to avoid succumbing to a bitter rage.

According to the author, real-life events inspired her novel. Macri’s unadorned prose gives the story a sense of realism, and Grace’s breezy first-person account sets her up as sympathetic: “Michael was in prison with people who were killers, and he was not one of them. He was now going to be subjected to bunking with rapists, robbers, and thrashers—weapons and all! Really!” Race is not a central theme here (Michael is White); instead, the author concentrates on the police officers’ frightening lack of accountability. For example, one cop who’s caught on the dashcam video joking that his wrist is sore—ostensibly from beating Michael—later claims his broken hand is proof of Michael’s criminal noncompliance. Still, most of the novel studies the effects his incarceration has on the couple. As such, there’s little insight into Michael’s time behind bars, although readers learn of his PTSD—likely from the violent arrest and definitely from his abusive childhood. The plot grows darker as it follows Grace’s attempts to cope, revealing the many ways, in addition to physical harm, that police brutality can wreck families. There are likewise unsettling implications of authorities covering up their wrongdoing; Grace peruses Michael’s court file and believes someone has altered a cop’s transcribed testimony. Fortunately, Grace’s confidence is often inspiring; even her more negative sentiments aren’t defeatist: “I have some busted angel wings, a broken heart, a middle finger that many drivers have seen.”

A subdued look at the domestic effects of police brutality. 

-Kirkus Reviews-

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-7357318-2-7

Hardcover ISBN: 978-17357318-0-3

Softcover ISBN:  978-17357318-1-0

Kindle ISBN: 978-17357318-3-4