“During the years I covered the remarkable and remarkably tragic case for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Shari Bower became a source of profound curiosity. Her husband, Lester Bower, had sat on Death Row for decades for a crime that he almost certainly didn’t commit. Yet each time I met her, whether for interviews in her home or in corridors outside Texas courtrooms, Shari was the epitome of kindness, good humor, strength and faith. How could that be?”

Then the state of Texas killed the man who I and so many others came to believe was innocent. If anyone would have been entitled to bitterness, it would have been his wife. Yet Lester Bower’s funeral was a celebration of his life and the life of his family. It was orchestrated by Shari. In the face of it all, she was the same.

That’s why this book is such a gift. It tells the Lester Bower story as no one else could, and it takes us all into the heart and mind of this extraordinary person, Shari Bower. She is living proof that no darkness can ever fully extinguish the light of love. What’s more, it is writen with an elegance, a novelist’s eye for detail, and a poet’s insight. Once again, I’m asking: How can this be?

I guess it’s time to stop wondering. It’s enough to know that in this book, Shari Bower has given voice to her remarkable heart and we would all do well to hear it.”

Tim Madigan, Author of I’m Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rodgers

“I’m telling you right now: When Shari Wreyford Bower’s memoir releases, you will never, ever forget it. Her story will sear into your brain and prick your heart. Everything you ever thought about the death penalty will be challenged. To this day, I have never edited or read anything like this book. I believe with all my heart that Shari’s story is going to start conversations all over America. I think it’s going to change hearts. It’s changed mine for sure.”

Shayla Raquel, Editor

“On January 20, 1984, Les Bower was arrested for a crime he did not commit—shooting four men execution-style. Fast-forward to 2015, and the state of Texas used taxpayers’ money to legally murder an innocent man. Today, January 20, 2020, I’ve been praying for Shari Wreyford Bower and thinking about what on earth I could possibly do to help put an end to things like this. The answer? Not a clue. God has been working on my heart, and I know He’ll work on yours when Shari’s book releases. “Before They Executed Him: A Wife’s Story of Death Row” will break your heart and then build you back up with a purpose.”

Shayla Raquel, Editor, Mentor, Writer,
Author of The Suicide Tree,
The Ten Commandments of Author Branding
and more.