Picking Cotton Audiobook By Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Erin Torneo, Ronald Cotton cover art

Picking Cotton

Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Picking Cotton

By: Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Erin Torneo, Ronald Cotton
Narrated by: Richard Allen, Karen White
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.61

Buy for $14.61

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel
Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment while she slept. She was able to escape and eventually identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker. Ronald insisted that she was mistaken - but Jennifer's positive identification was the compelling evidence that put him behind bars. After 11 years, Ronald was allowed to take a DNA test that proved his innocence. He was released after serving more than a decade in prison for a crime he never committed.

Two years later, Jennifer and Ronald met face to face - and forged an unlikely friendship that changed both of their lives. In their own words, Jennifer and Ronald unfold the harrowing details of their tragedy, and challenge our ideas of memory and judgment while demonstrating the profound nature of human grace and the healing power of forgiveness.

©2009 Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton (P)2009 Tantor Memoir Inspiring Heartfelt Feel-Good

Critic reviews

"Injustice and redemption are overused words, but this heartfelt joint memoir justifies its subtitle." ( Kirkus)
"Touching" ( Library Journal)

People who viewed this also viewed...

Just Mercy Audiobook By Bryan Stevenson cover art
Just Mercy By: Bryan Stevenson
The Sun Does Shine Audiobook By Anthony Ray Hinton, Lara Love Hardin, Bryan Stevenson - foreword cover art
The Sun Does Shine By: Anthony Ray Hinton, and others
Powerful Forgiveness • Compelling True Story • Excellent Narration • Emotional Journey • Inspiring Redemption
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
Powerful book on forgiveness, perseverance, and redemption. Demonstrates that sometimes you can experience the worst, turn it around and help others.

Powerful

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What did you love best about Picking Cotton?

I liked that each chapter presented the different stories of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ronald Cotton's sprituality and patience were very attractive. I cheered at each step of his journey to personal freedom.

Which scene was your favorite?

I liked when Ronald Cotton met Jennifer's children.

While it may have been tense, the scene when Ronald and his new wife first met with Jennifer was a well reported chapter.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

It was moving to see Ronald as he learned he was to be set free.

Any additional comments?

Reconciliation is much needed in today's world. Ronald and Jennifer showed us all the way and that it is possible.

Great Witness of Reconciliation and Forgiveness

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
but so didn't feel like it! This book is beautiful, such a beautiful story! And I love how half of it is a man reading and half is a woman!

Required for a class..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great story and very well told. This story and the stories within it opened my eyes to the reality of the common failures of our system. This was a required read for me but it is excellent and I highly recommend it.

Excellent Read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I thought this book was very interesting and it kept me intrigued throughout the story. It really enjoyed how it was told from both perspectives.

Picking Cotton

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book for Forensic Psychology and thought it was amazing. I got choked up several times and think this is a wonderful story of forgiveness. It shines a light on the faulty aspects of the legal system and how well meaning police can accidentally lead victims to give incorrect eye witness testimony.

Read for School- loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Ron has a great heart!!! I really loved the fact Jennifer went to meet Ron when she was wrong. It's nothing like understanding someone else who is hurt.

Great Book!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Black people are often treated wrongly in this world, especially by white people. I’m glad this story turned out to be a good one, but many do not. I appreciate the efforts of the white woman after she realized what she did was wrong, but it cost a man 11 years of his life.

Amazing Book - Sad Story, Good Ending

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If you could sum up Picking Cotton in three words, what would they be?

Heart-wrenching, heart-warming, layered

What was one of the most memorable moments of Picking Cotton?

The description of Ronald Cotton's decision to not use a shiv in prison on an intended enemy. Based on advice from his father.

What does Richard Allen and Karen White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Richard Allen's voice is mellifluous and entrancing. He does a first-class job of presenting that his character is flawed but innocent and that he retains hos hope and dignity through and unjust system and process.

Karen White makes her character - whom readers could so easily dismiss as an antagonist - a hero in her own right. She helps us to understand how a very "good" person could be the principal agent in assisting something "bad" to happen.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this book while training for a long-distance walking event and could literally forget about the 100 degree heat and sweltering humidity and walk for 2, 4, even 6 hours entranced in the story.

Any additional comments?

This book explores very complex issues that arose from a true-life situation that can only be described as a no-win situation for its victims involved. But these people gutted it out and survived to go on and find true happiness and friendship together. I cried in sadness, anger, fear, and ultimately in heartfelt cheer. Who needs fiction when we have such rich and layered true life stories. Stories everybody should hear and know.

Story and reading are layered and complex

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
but the writing wasn't engaging, and i found the book relies on the potentially shocking story. i appreciate the sentiment though.

i like the idea of this memoir

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews