Product Description

The mother of Matthew Shepard shares her story about her son's death and the choice she made to become an international gay rights activist

Today, the name Matthew Shepard is synonymous with gay rights, but before his grisly murder in 1998, Matthew was simply Judy Shepard's son. For the first time in book form, Judy Shepard speaks about her loss, sharing memories of Matthew, their life as a typical American family, and the pivotal event in the small college town that changed everything.

The Meaning of Matthew follows the Shepard family in the days immediately after the crime, when Judy and her husband traveled to see their incapacitated son, kept alive by life support machines; how the Shepards learned of the incredible response from strangers all across America who held candlelit vigils and memorial services for their child; and finally, how they struggled to navigate the legal system as Matthew's murderers were on trial. Heart-wrenchingly honest, Judy Shepard confides with readers about how she handled the crippling loss of her child, why she became a gay rights activist, and the challenges and rewards of raising a gay child in America today.

The Meaning of Matthew not only captures the historical significance and complicated civil rights issues surrounding one young man's life and death, but it also chronicles one ordinary woman's struggle to cope with the unthinkable.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20383 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 273 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781594630576
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

About the Author
Judy Shepard is cofounder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which is dedicated to social justice, diversity awareness and education, and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Shepard speaks across the country on behalf of the foundation.

Customer Reviews

From humble beginnings.....
... to a world known icon, Judy Shepard has become synonymous with words like activist, equal rights, and legacy. There are many of us who idolize this woman, and even, dare I say, put her on a pedestal for her endless work in this area. However, the Judy Shepard in her new book, "The Meaning of Matthew" My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed", is a simple mother, telling the wonderful story of her son's life, and the journeyhis death set her on afterwards.

One of the marvelous surprises in this book of surprises is Judy's humbleness and straightforwardness. Coming from the west, growing up in Wyoming herself, Judy has an understanding of the land and the people there that permeates this wonderful book. She met and married her husband Dennis, and then proceeded to have Matthew, which turned out to be a complicated birth and early few weeks of life. Throughout this book, Judy shares little stories and insights into Matthew's character that truly humanize this now civil rights icon. This is a mother, writing about her son, with love.

But it's honest. Judy doesn't hold back, when recounting her first suspicions about her son's homosexuality, when recounting some of his faults and foibles, and her own doubts as a mother. Somehow, throughout the book, she manages to maintain her composure, even when getting to the fateful, horrible nights and lingering days while Matthew barely clung to life. Read those chapters with Kleenex nearby. Even the hardest hearted of us will be fighting back tears.

However, I must say, I don't feel for a second that Judy wants us to feel sorry for her, or slip into a maudlin remembrance of her son. I truly believe, as the book wraps up for us, that she is ultimately inspiring us to action. This book serves as a clarion call for those who wish for others to do the difficult work of equal rights to wake up and get involved; even in little ways, the littlest act can and does make a difference.

From humble beginnings as a wife and mother, to world known activist, you leave the book admiring her and her family for the work they've done to make this world as better place for everyone. But in reality, this marvelous read is a mother's memories of her son, and this book serves as a monument to this boy, whom the country never met, but now knows well.

Thank you Judy.

A Defining Moment
Shepard, Judy. "The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie and a World Transformed", Penguin, 2009.

A Defining Moment

Amos Lassen

The murder of Matthew Shepherd is a defining moment in modern GLBT. It was a day that many of us will never forget. Now Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother, tells us in he own words what it was like for her and how she came to become an international gay rights advocate. She writes as only a mother could and we feel her love on every page. Because of that horrible day and what Judy has done, the name Matthew Shephard is synonymous with gay rights. Before that terrible day, however, Matthew was just Judy's son. In this book Judy Shephard writes of her loss and shares her personal memories of Matthew and the family and what led to his murder and a day that changed everything for all of us.
The book takes us through the days immediately after the murder. Judy and her husband flew back to American from Saudi Arabia to be with their hospitalized son who was near death and being kept alive on life support machines. We read how the Shephards heard about the tremendous outpourings from people all over the world who were holding candlelight vigils and memorial services for Matthew.
She also explains how they managed to get through the legal system while Matthew's murderers stood trial.
The book is a heartbreaker as was the incident itself and I found myself weeping openly as I read. It is painful to read yet it is also uplifting as she tells us how she dealt with the loss of a child. Furthermore we see what gave her the impetus to become a gay rights activist and the challenges she faced and still faces but we also learn of the rewards she has reaped not only as a gay activist but as a mother to a gay son.
Matthew Shepard's death ushered in a whole new era of civil rights and all because of his death. Here we also learn of his life and about his extraordinary mother who was able to come to terms with the loss of a child and being propelled onto the world stage.

UNBELIEVABLY MOVING AND BEAUTIFUL
What an incredible (true) story about all of us in the U.S.A. and around the world, of a beautiful (inwardly and outwardly) young AMERICAN man, and his most remarkable mother! One of the most inspiring books I have ever read. If Congress does not again get around to putting into law The Matthew Sheppard Hate Crimes Bill, then we remain, as a country, deeply ashamed, as hatred still trumps love and acceptance of ALL Americans.