Liz Vartkessian at The GDBS

The Garden District Book Shop is thrilled to welcome Liz Vartkessian on AUG 11 to celebrate their book THE DESERVING

Vartkessian will be in conversation with Sister Helen Prejean & Rose Vines

ABOUT THE BOOK

“The first book I’m aware of to pull back the curtain on a life-saving field most have never heard of: mitigation.” —Sister Helen Prejean, from the foreword

Elizabeth Vartkessian works with criminal defense teams as a mitigation specialist. She isn’t part of the Innocence Project; her clients are often legally guilty, and often of terrible crimes. Rather, her job is to spend hundreds of hours per case talking to the parents, siblings, teachers, and neighbors of a defendant, putting their crimes in context.

Vartkessian weaves powerful stories from her extraordinary career into an inspiring argument for dignity in American justice. We recognize the link between trauma and violence. How can we, then, continue to stomach penalties that deny real justice to perpetrators and victims alike?

Amid the Trump administration’s record-high executions and calls to expand the use of the death penalty, The Deserving is required reading for a dangerous era of retribution. Vartkessian offers a compelling, insightful, hope-filled call for community responsibility and true rehabilitation.

Please note that the RSVP + Reserved Ticket option includes the price of sales tax charged to us by Eventbrite. To avoid the additional Eventbrite fees added at checkout, please call the store at (504) 895-2266 to reserve your book in advance.