Terry Gilbert Releases New Memoir Trying Times
A look back on Terry Gilbert’s career forged during similarly trying times—the social upheaval of the late 1960s.
Trying Times, published in 2021 by Act 3, recounts Gilbert’s story as a people’s lawyer. For nearly 50 years, he has fought for civil rights, prison reform, police accountability, free speech and the American values enshrined in the Bill of Rights. Dedicating his life to pursuing justice for the disenfranchised, Gilbert puts his cases in historical context and demonstrates that even losing a case can move public opinion in the direction of equity.
Written with Carlo Wolff, Gilbert’s memoir attests to the two Americas that we inhabit: one for the wealthy and powerful and the other for minorities and the poor. His story as an attorney begins during the late 1960s, when events at Attica, Kent State and Wounded Knee provided Gilbert with the impetus to use the law as a weapon in the fight for justice and equality. It was Gilbert who, in the 1970s, filed one of the first lawsuits against the Cleveland Indians to stop their stereotyping of indigenous people.
“Terry’s efforts to represent victims of police misconduct and to highlight the toll of mass incarceration exemplify his drive to overcome deep flaws in the U.S. criminal justice system. Trying Times is the inspirational journey of a man dedicated to bettering the lives of the ignored and the marginalized.”
Trying Times follows Gilbert’s life from his upbringing in a traditional Jewish family in suburban Cleveland through the patience and passion that made him a role model for liberal advocacy. Gilbert believes that the law is a tool to use against injustice and in support of the highest ideals of America. Activism and diligence, he says, are the only means to advance the causes of liberty, equal justice and human rights.
In the 1990’s he successfully reopened the case against Dr. Sam Sheppard in an effort to finally clear Sheppard’s name and hold the justice system accountable. In 2014, Gilbert was able to secure the exoneration of Kwame Ajamu after serving 27 years in prison for a wrongful conviction, and he represented Ajamu’s brother Wiley Bridgeman, who spent almost 38 years in prison
Gilbert’s generation was shaped by Vietnam, the civil rights movement and the emerging movements of people who have continuously been discriminated against—women, indigenous Americans and people of color. Today’s generation faces many of the same struggles.
More information about the book including its hardcover release can be found here.
“Terry Gilbert’s life story explains the importance of challenging the status quo and breaking down barriers. He has used his voice and his expert knowledge of the law to be a warrior for change and a guardian of justice.”
“A fascinating and important book, offering a window into what ‘fighting for justice’ really entails. Shaped as a young man by Vietnam and Kent State, Terry Gilbert has spent half a century fighting for those easily cast aside, from victims of police shootings to Sam Sheppard’s son. This book is both truthful and opinionated, exactly what you’d expect from Terry Gilbert.”
Update Monday, December 6, 2021:
to FG+G Founding Partner Terry Gilbert and his co-author Carlo Wolff on their memoir Trying Times being selected by Cleveland.com (and shared on Microsoft Network) for the 2021 Greater Cleveland book guide.
Written during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the unprecedented turmoil of the Trump administration, Trying Times draws parallels between the civil rights and political struggles of the 1970s and the ones that continue to plague American society. Readers are shown how the legal system can bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice, and why even a loss in court can influence public opinion.
Trying Times is available online and at local Cleveland independent booksellers.
Trying Times by Terry Gilbert with Carlo Wolff
Terry Gilbert and Carlo Wolff
Terry Gilbert with Russell Means, on whose behalf Terry filed one of the first lawsuits against the Cleveland Indians for their stereotyping of indigenous people, in the mid-1970s.
Sam Reese Sheppard and Terry Gilbert, surrounded by activists and Sheppard family members at the time of the 1996 trial to clear the name of Dr. Sam Sheppard.