Working for Justice Tells the Story of an Unthinkable Murder and its Aftermath

I met author Amy B. Chesler in October of 2018 at a DVD Netflix top influencer event in southern California. Amy was definitely the most animated, upbeat, and funny member of the group. As I sat across from her at dinner on the last evening of our fun-filled trip, though, there seemed to be a slight shadow lying under the surface. What was it?

The answer revealed itself when at some point after we all returned home, one of Amy’s posts on social media referenced an unthinkable tragedy that had occurred in her family a decade before. Shocked, I wondered how a young woman whose loved one had been brutally murdered, and who had been the first witness to the crime scene, could be so resilient. 

Over the last couple of years, I’ve followed Amy’s journey of writing the book, finding an agent and publisher, selecting a cover, and locating a voice actor for the audio version. When she announced the presale of Working for Justice last fall, I ordered the book without hesitation, eager for an answer to the question of how someone could be so strong after enduring so much.

In her book, Amy writes of the days following the murder, “. . . it will be years until I find the answer to this query that dozens of people will pose: How on Earth did you survive?” 

Surely, as dozens of people verbalized this question, scores more thought the same. Initially, Amy herself wondered how she’d be able to go on, but through years of healing, she’s not only endured the tragedy, she’s become an even stronger person.

When Amy’s book arrived on my doorstep, I immediately immersed myself in its pages and found the answer I was seeking—in Amy’s mother, Hadas Winnick. This intense, tenacious woman had granted her daughter 22 years’ worth of mental tools she would need to survive not just the tragedy itself, but the years of legal battles before justice was served. 

Throughout the pages of Working for Justice, Hadas Winnick’s wisdom and strength are revealed through her journal entries and letters to her children. A high-school math teacher raising her children alone while enduring serious physical and financial challenges, Hadas fiercely advocated not just for her children, but her students as well.

Amy tells her story honestly and candidly, gradually and respectfully revealing the details of the horrific event, the hurtful betrayal and its aftershocks, building tension skillfully—taking her readers by the hand and guiding them as witnesses to her journey of healing. 

Now as a parent herself, Amy is teaching her children the lessons she learned from her mother, and so Hadas Winnick’s legacy will live on for generations.

About Ann Silverthorn: I explore a wide variety of genres and topics. I’m curious about many, many things and love sharing as I learn. Please come back to visit my blog (or even poke around my index). You can also find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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