The Crystal Gavel

How a family court judge, wounded and nearly broken by childhood trauma, brought compassion and love, wholeness and healing, to those in her courtroom-and to herself.

"Rarely do I encounter a memoir so powerful and inspiring. Sue's story reminds us of our potential to awaken through life's most heartbreaking challenges . . . and to navigate with compassion, dignity, and grace." - Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance

When Sue Cochrane was appointed to the family court bench in Minneapolis, she was uncomfortable being elevated to a judge's seat above the people in her courtroom. She felt a deep kinship with those who appeared before her, often poor, some struggling with addiction and domestic violence and abuse, too often intimidated and confused by an unfeeling and unnecessarily complex legal system.

The Crystal Gavel tells the story of Sue's journey from a childhood marked by poverty, alcoholism, and violence, through her own recovery and healing, to her quest to humanize the courts and to afford all people a genuine and dignified hearing.

It describes how Sue
found her voice, recovery, community, and spiritual center;
created a family and negotiated the demands of career and motherhood with three multi-cultural children; and
lived fully and joyfully for more than a decade with a terminal diagnosis.


With vivid and unforgettable stories, told with clarity and humor and tremendous generosity of spirit, The Crystal Gavel affirms the power of love to heal our brokenness