Lauren Cockerell Lauren Cockerell

Fort Worth Author Releases Novel

North Texas nonfiction author Rev. Brooks Harrington has completed his latest book, this time a novel that draws on his experience as both an attorney and pastor of an inner-city church set in the author’s hometown of Fort Worth.

Paloma: Happy Are Those tells the story of two people from vastly different backgrounds and circumstances who struggle together to find God in a world of random injustice and human evil. It is, as Harrington describes it, “a book about poverty, the church, and the justice system in contemporary Fort Worth.”

Latest Work a Powerful Story of Redemption and Grace



Rev. Brooks Harrington

FORT WORTH – North Texas nonfiction author Rev. Brooks Harrington has completed his latest book, this time a novel that draws on his experience as both an attorney and pastor of an inner-city church set in the author’s hometown of Fort Worth.

Paloma: Happy Are Those tells the story of two people from vastly different backgrounds and circumstances who struggle together to find God in a world of random injustice and human evil. It is, as Harrington describes it, “a book about poverty, the church, and the justice system in contemporary Fort Worth.” 

The book will be premiered during National Literacy Month, with the official launch event slated for Sunday, September 18, 2022, at First United Methodist Church downtown (800 E. 5th Street), from 10:15am-12:15pm. Harrington will be onsite in the garden for autographs of Paloma, and the new book will be available for sale. As well, Harrington will be a presenting author at the Trinity River Book Festival, Saturday, September 17, 2022, 9am-4:00pm, at the Trinity River Pavilion 1 (2300 W. 7th Street). Rounding out the month, Harrington will appear at Leaves Book and Tea Shop (120 St. Louis Ave., #101) Monday, September 26, 2022, at 5:30pm for a reading and book signing.

All book proceeds benefit the Methodist Justice Ministry, a 501(c)3, pro bono legal ministry for indigent victims of child abuse and family violence.

Paloma, the titular character, is a woman who has suffered bitter poverty and neglect as a child and exploitation and addiction as a teen and an adult. Her life is altered with the entrance of John Levi, a lawyer from a privileged, sheltered home who answers the call of God to pastor an inner-city church. Together, Paloma and John Levi hunger and thirst for justice and mercy for the neighbors of the church and for Paloma and her daughter.

“Paloma is not unlike many women I met during my time as a Fort Worth inner-city church pastor, as a criminal prosecutor, and as a lawyer representing victims of family violence, exploitation, and abuse,” said Harrington. “What I learned more than anything during my time in the pulpit and the courtroom is that even in the depths of despair, there is always the presence and power of God. That reality angers Paloma in the novel, not unlike many who have faced trauma and believed their prayers were unheard and unanswered.”

Despite Paloma’s anger, the presence and power of God’s prayers drive John Levi to rescue Paloma from her plight. In the novel, Levi crosses a line in protecting her from evil men. Facing the consequences of his actions, John Levi struggles with the limitations imposed upon his hunger for justice by the Way of Jesus.

“The ultimate story is that both Paloma and John Levi transcend the crisis to find a new faith,” Harrington said. “How they reach that faith is the story I hope inspires those who read it.”

Already, the novel has picked up positive responses from those who understand the world of Paloma and Levi.

Randy Catterton, a senior district judge in the 231st District Court says Paloma is a powerfully written story of an attorney-turned-Methodist-minister. “As he attempts to save a young woman and her child from a life of poverty, addiction, sexual exploitation, and abuse, he struggles to follow his understanding of God’s work,” the judge said. “The novel is a true page-turner that you won’t want to put down!”

This is Harrington’s second book. His first book, No Mercy, No Justice – The Dominant Narrative of America versus The Counter-Narrative of Jesus’ Parables, was a nonfiction book.

“Not only did I want to tell a compelling story that is rooted in the reality I saw in the inner city, I wanted to continue to provide support for the Methodist Justice Ministry,” Harrington said. “Paloma is the kind of person the ministry is designed to help, and if her fictional plight can help ease the suffering of her real-life counterparts, then that is a worthy and just result.”

Paloma is available on Amazon and in brick-and-mortar bookstores. For more information on Rev. Harrington, his books, to request him as a speaker, and more, visit https://www.revbrooksharrington.com/

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ABOUT BROOKS HARRINGTON

Brooks Harrington is a licensed attorney and a retired ordained United Methodist minister. He has served as a member of a law school faculty, a criminal prosecutor, a civil litigator, the senior pastor of an inner-city church, and the founder and head of a nonprofit legal ministry providing free legal representation and pastoral support to indigent victims of family violence and child abuse. Visit https://www.revbrooksharrington.com/ for more information about the author, the books, speaking requests, and reading guides.

ABOUT THE BENEFICIARY

The Methodist Justice Ministry was founded by Reverend Brooks Harrington in 2006, first to protect indigent women and children from domestic violence, neglect and abuse, and second, to help them to new lives free of violence, abuse, fear and self-loathing. The MJM is thoroughly faith driven. Its founding legal director, Brooks Harrington, is an ordained United Methodist minister as well as a licensed attorney. The MJM staff presently consists of four lawyers, a legal intern, two legal assistants, and an intake director. They receive between 25 and 30 new requests for legal representation every week. Visit http://www.methodistjusticeministry.org/ to learn more or to support the organization.




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Lauren Cockerell Lauren Cockerell

Book Review - Down at the Crossroads by Gary Burnett

Thank you to Gary Burnett of Down at the Crossroads for the recent review of my book "No Mercy, No Justice”. The site is chock full of great reviews of contemporary books, albums, and festivals. Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect on my book.

"Harrington’s book is a challenging one for sure. It challenges the very substance of society in the United States, challenges notions of what justice and mercy actually are, challenges the practice of many US churches and challenges many interpretations of biblical texts. His critique of “the dominant narrative” is sharp and well targeted and his conclusion sound – “The counter-narrative of God and Jesus proclaims that the merciless injustices of human life and of the dominant narrative are evils that need to be transformed and from which we all need to be saved.”

To read the review in full, click the button below.

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Lauren Cockerell Lauren Cockerell

New book “No Mercy, No Justice” explores American culture of justice without mercy, contrasted with Jesus’ narrative of compassion and mercy

For immediate release 2/20/19

New book “No Mercy, No Justice” explores American culture of justice without mercy, contrasted with Jesus’ narrative of compassion and mercy

Reverend Brooks Harrington is an attorney and minister. His first book is published by Wipf & Stock imprint, Cascade Books, and is available via the publisher and Amazon.

(Fort Worth, Texas) --- Reverend Brooks Harrington has announced that he has written and published – with Wipf & Stock’s Cascade Books imprint – his first book, No Mercy, No Justice: The Dominant Narrative of America versus The Counter-Narrative of Jesus’ Parables. The book is written to inspire Christians to treat everyone – including themselves – with mercy and justice. In fact, according to the author – and to Jesus’ parables, which Harrington insightfully interprets – there is no justice without mercy, and no mercy without justice.

“Brooks offers Christians hope with new and startling insights into God’s justice and mercy revealed in the parables of Jesus. ‘No Mercy, No Justice’ takes us both deeper into the Holy Scriptures and deeper into the life of faithfulness exemplified by the deeds of love, justice and mercy.”

-- Mike Lowry, resident bishop of the Central Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church

In this book  - available via the publisher, on Amazon, and on Kindle - Rev. Brooks Harrington draws on more than 40 years’ experience as a criminal prosecutor, a pastor of inner-city church in an impoverished neighborhood, and the founder of the Methodist Justice Ministry, a legal ministry protecting indigent victims of family violence and child neglect and abuse.

Through moving stories of women and children he has encountered, he shows the terrible toll of the dominant narrative’s version of justice and mercy. And he offers Christians hope with new and startling insights into God’s justice and mercy revealed in the parables of Jesus.

“I wrote this book for the Christians who want to help fix our broken world, who crave more than what seems to be offered by the culture we live in, who believe that helping equates to worshiping,” said Harrington. “It is my hope that this book changes those who read it.”

“Brooks Harrington has given us an amazing book…”
– Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School

No Mercy, No Justice asks the reader: How can we be just and merciful? Are justice and mercy in conflict? Or are they aspects of the same truth?

According to Rev. Harrington, Christians in America are presented with two conflicting versions of justice and mercy. One version comes from the dominant secular narrative of America. Justice and mercy are contradictions. Mercy is devalued and discouraged. But within the counter narrative of God revealed through Torah, the prophets, and particularly through the life and parables of Jesus, justice and mercy are aspects of the same truth and way of God. There is no justice without mercy. There is no mercy without justice.

To learn more, visit www.revbrooksharrington.com, or attend an event. Rev. Harrington’s first book signing is scheduled for Sunday, March 31, 2019, 9am-12pm, at First United Methodist Church in downtown Fort Worth.

About the Author

Brooks Harrington is the founder of the Methodist Justice Ministry, a pro bono legal ministry that provides legal protections and supportive services for indigent victims of child abuse and family violence. He has been a Marine infantry officer, a criminal prosecutor in Washington D.C., a litigator in private practice, an ordained United Methodist elder, and the pastor of an inner-city church.

Today, Brooks dedicates his time and energy toward helping the clients of the Methodist Justice Ministry; all net proceeds from the sale of No Mercy, No Justice, as well as all speaking honorariums, will directly benefit the ministry. Click here for more about Reverend Harrington. To learn how to request Reverend Harrington as a speaker at your church or event, please click here. To join the conversation, visit Twitter and Facebook.

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Contact: Lauren Kwedar Cockerell lauren@kwedarpr.com 817-405-9878

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Lauren Cockerell Lauren Cockerell

In the News - Bishop Lowry Reviews "No Mercy, No Justice"

It was wonderful to read this thoughtful, supportive review from Bishop Mike Lowry. Thank you for these kind words, as well as your support of the Methodist Justice Ministry. Here’s an excerpt below; for the full post, click here.

I was privileged to write a pre-publication endorsement. In that endorsement I stated: “With the vivid illumination of personal experience, Brooks Harrington offers a trenchant connection between the twin pillars of justice and mercy. He shines a light on Christian witness which challenges even as it educates . . . The passion for ministry to children in desperate need will take the attentive reader to new depths of both justice and mercy in the Lord.”  Brooks offers Christians hope with new and startling insights into God’s justice and mercy revealed in the parables of Jesus. No Mercy, No Justice takes us both deeper into the Holy Scriptures and deeper into the life of faithfulness exemplified by the deeds of love, justice and mercy. My episcopal colleague and friend Bishop Will Willimon perceptively noted in his endorsement, “This book will change how you look at our criminal justice system, the parables of Jesus, and the Christian life.”  On a more personal level, I find the stories in the book disturbing, moving and hopeful all at same time.

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