Davis Lorri - Yours for eternity: a love story on death row

PRAISE FOR DAMIEN ECHOLS LIFE AFTER DEATH

Damien Echols spent eighteen years on death row for murders he did not commit. Somehow, in the depths of his unspeakable nightmare, he found the courage and strength to not only survive, but to grow, to create, to forgive, and to understand. Life After Death is a brilliant, haunting, painful, and uplifting narrative of a hopeless childhood, a wrongful conviction, a brutal incarceration, and the beginning of a new life. John Grisham

Damien Echols suffered a shocking miscarriage of justice. A nightmare few could endure. An innocent man on death row for more than eighteen years, abused by the very system we all fund. His story will appal, fascinate, and render you feeble with tears and laughter. A brilliant memoir to battle with literary giants of the calibre of Jean Genet, Gregory David Roberts, and Dostoevsky. Johnny Depp

The life of Damien Echols is a journey similar to that of the metal that becomes a samurais sword. Heated and pounded until it becomes hardened, it can hold its edge for centuries. It is incredible that Damien endured and survived one of the most tragic miscarriages of American justice, and emerged such a centered, articulate and extraordinary man and writer. Life After Death proves that he paid dearly for his wisdom. Henry Rollins

Wrongfully imprisoned by willfully ignorant cops, prosecutors and judge, Damien Echols draws on all his wits and his unique view of humanity to survive eighteen years on death row. My admiration for him, and the strength of his spirit, increases with every page. Peter Jackson, Academy Award-winning director, producer and screenwriter

This is a stunning piece of work. Such hope while faced with injustice. Damien teaches us how to live. Eddie Vedder

I am in awe of Damiens ability to write so beautifully, with such ease, humor and honestythis is inspired storytelling, a wonderful book! Fran Walsh, Academy Award-winning screenwriter, composer and producer

In this searing, finely wrought memoir, Echols recalls his poverty-stricken childhood, the trial of the West Memphis Three, and the harsh realities of life on death rowThe most affecting sections are Echolss philosophical musings on all he has lost, his thoughts often influenced by Zen Buddhism. Publishers Weekly

Exceptional memoir by the most famous of the West Memphis Three. [B]are facts alone would make for an interesting story. However, Echols is at heart a poet and mystic, and he has written not just a quickie one-off book to capitalise on a lurid news story, but rather a work of art that occasionally bears a resemblance to the work of Jean Genet. A voracious reader all his life, Echols vividly tells his story, from his impoverished childhood in a series of shacks and mobile homes to his emergence after half a lifetime behind bars as a psychically scarred man rediscovering freedom in New York City. The author also effectively displays his intelligence and sensitivity, qualities the Arkansas criminal justice system had no interest in recognising during Echols ordeal. Essential reading. Kirkus Reviews

[Echols] case garnered worldwide attention, but [his] memoir is about as far away from a publicity-seeking I-was-wronged story as possible. The author opts for a meatier, and certainly more haunting, account of his life behind bars, coupled with flashbacks to his childhoodEchols is a talented writer, and when the book dips into his own spiritual and philosophical beliefsit achieves the kind of emotional resonance that many similar books lack A tragic and often disturbing story. Booklist

YOURS FOR
ETERNITY

A LOVE STORY ON DEATH ROW

DAMIEN ECHOLS

AND

LORRI DAVIS

textpublishing.com.au

The Text Publishing Company
Swann House
22 William St
Melbourne Victoria 3000
Australia

Copyright Damien Echols Publishing 2014

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright above, no part of this publication shall be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

First published 2014 by the Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Published by arrangement with Blue Rider Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA)
LLC, a Penguin Random House Company
This edition published by The Text Publishing Company, 2014

Cover design by Fortnight Design.
Portrait of Damien Echols and Lorri Davis based on photograph by Peter Ash Lee.
Page design by Claire Naylon Vaccaro

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Author: Echols, Damien
Title: Yours for eternity : a love story on death row /
by Damien Echols and Lorri Davis.
ISBN: 9781922182302 (paperback)
ISBN: 9781925095289 (ebook)
Subjects: Echols, DamienMarriage. Davis, LorriMarriage.
Interpersonal relations--United StatesBiography.
PrisonersSocial aspectsUnited States.
Death row inmatesUnited StatesBiography.
Other Authors/Contributors: Davis, Lorri, author.
Dewey Number: 365.6092

For Cally, Nicole, Jacob, Fran, and Capi
Our unsung heroes

July 11, 1996

Dearest Lorri,

I was thinking about what you said about hating to have to go to work, and not being able to concentrate on it while youre there, and Ive come to a conclusion. As soon as I am out, you have to quit your job, so we can leave and go to who knows where. Trust me, itll be fun, and well have tons of strange, wonderful adventures. Itll be great, and you wont have to worry about going to a job you dont like. I will hear no argument on it. Im dead serious, so I want you to agree to it. Well meet all kinds of people, go anywhere we want, and not do anything that we dont want to (Im not eating any vegetables). So what do you think? You have to say yes, because Ill just keep bugging you until you do. The first place we have to see is that town where you grew up, you have to show me everything. Then Ill show you West Memphis. After that, we can decide where to go by flipping a coin, or throwing darts at a map, or any other way we can think of. Itll be strange, and beautiful, and magick. What do you think?

Sending love forever to my dear one,
D.

One morning, about four oclock, I was driving my car just about as fast as I could. I thought, Why am I out on the highway this time of night? I was miserable, and it all came to me: Im falling in love with somebody I have no right to fall in love with. I cant fall in love with this man, but its just like a ring of fire.

JUNE CARTER CASH

yours for eternity

authors note

When we began our journey together, now nearly twenty years ago, we hadnt a clue what was in store for us. A young man on death row in Arkansas caught up in a terrible sequence of events and wrongful convictions. A woman in New York City who loved to go to the movies. Fate drew us inexplicably togetherand weve spent the rest of our lives trying to explain the hows and whys of falling in love and building a life. Theres no easy answer for why we wrote those first letterswhy a young, successful woman writes a letter to a man in prisonand most especially why we kept on writing those letters. Except that the more we helped each other deal with pain and fear, the greater our hope for freedom and joy grew. There were terribly dark days, months, and years, and yet we survivedas many married people do, regardless of their circumstances. The moments of ecstasy, romance, humor, and companionship burned brighter for the obstacles we faced. Again, like any married couple has faced.