Trapped in a web of lies and corruption, two Kansas City mothers, one Black, one white, come together as friends in a David-and-Goliath fight to redeem their slain sons, both shot and killed by police. Twenty-four-year-old Ryan Stokes, killed in 2013, and seventeen-year-old John Albers, killed in 2018—are innocent, unarmed, and shot in the back. Yet both police departments follow the same script: bury the evidence, blame the victims, and vilify the mothers.

Mothers in Arms encompasses five years of extensive research and investigative journalism, yet it reads like a gritty Murder & Mayhem novel. The police, the attorneys, and the federal courts expect each woman, Narene Stokes and Sheila Albers, to shut up and go home, to sacrifice her dignity and accept the version of flawed mother they need her to be. 

Together, they must fight against a united police force, city hall, and the U.S. criminal justice system to redeem their sons and hold the shooters accountable. In Narene’s case, that fight takes her all the way to the Supreme Court. The similarities and differences between how a Black and white mother are treated will bring a reader to her knees, but Narene and Sheila’s enduring friendship in the face of unspeakable tragedy is the true social justice triumph.

Under contract with publisher