I love how this story shows how faith can inspire a person to be better than they were, and how a song can speak to us in different ways over time.

Carole Boston Weatherford tells the story - in the form of rhymed couplets - behind “Amazing Grace,” written as a poem in 1772 and published as a hymn in 1779 by John Newton.

Newton began life as a mistreated boy who responded with disobedience and rebellion. He left for sea at age eleven and later became part of a crew on a slave ship. He continued to be a troublemaker; as Weatherford describes him:

“Scoundrel, rascal, picking fights:
Fussing, fuming, never right.”

In 1748, his ship was beset by a violent storm, and Newton prayed to God for mercy. When he survived, he believed God had sent him a message, and he was "reborn."

Although Weatherford elides over the next part of his life, Newton continued to work in the slave trade, eventually commanding such ships himself. His “rebirth” was mostly limited to eschewing profanity, gambling, and drinking. Then he married, and found it difficult to keep leaving his wife to go to sea. Moreover, he suffered a severe stroke at age 30. Thus he gave up seafaring, but continued to invest in slaving operations.

Along with his wife, he got immersed in Christianity. In 1764 he was offered the position of curate, or parish priest, in Olney, in the south of England. He also began composing hymns, co-writing them with William Cowper, one of the most popular English poets of the time, who also lived in Olney.

According to Jonathan Aitken, who wrote a biography of Newton in 2007, Newton did not write the hymn “Amazing Grace” to reflect anti-slavery sentiments. He did become an abolitionist, but not until after he left Olney in the 1780’s. Newton’s predominant sentiment inspiring the hymn was that he was a sinner who had been chosen by God for redemption, and he was humbled by it.

It was not until 1788, 34 years after retiring from sailing, that Newton came out in opposition to slavery. He published a pamphlet in which he apologized for having once been “an active instrument in a business at which my heart now shudders." He had copies sent to every member of parliament in Britain, and the pamphlet sold so well that it was reprinted.

The author writes in an Afterword that British colonists brought the hymn with them to North America. Over time, she observes, verses were added to the original lyrics, most notably by African Americans and by Cherokees. [After the U.S. Government passed the Indian Removal Act in 1830, Cherokee and other native people were forced to relocate from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States to areas west of the Mississippi River. While traveling the “Trail of Tears,” between 2,000–8,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee, who sang the hymn while they walked, perished along the way.]

Award-winning illustrator Frank Morrison adds dramatic oil paintings to each double-page spread.

The author concludes the story of Newton by reprinting the lyrics he wrote.

"Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believ'd!

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.”

John Newton, Olney Hymns, 1779"

Evaluation: I was disappointed that Weatherford cleaned up Newton’s story, making it appear in the text (although not in the Author’s Note at the end) as if his eventual aversion to slavery inspired “Amazing Grace." As indicated above, the hymn was actually written years before his abolitionist epiphany. I thought his piecemeal redemption would have been much more interesting and relatable. Weatherford did make clear, however, that the beautiful words could be easily adapted to any situation in which those who are suffering could benefit from the comfort of Newton’s words. ( )