Inspired by real events lay that trumpet in our hands is a wise and luminous story about a northern family a southern town and the senseless murder that sparks an extraordinary act of courage to this day my family is in disagreement as to precisely when the nightmare began. Lay that trumpet in our hands is about a young girl named reesa she lives in florida with her parents and brother one night reesa finds her life torn apart as her close friend and mentor marvin cully was ruthlessly murdered by the kkk reesa and her family want the murderers to be punished. Lay that trumpet in our hands is a 2002 fiction novel by susan carol mccarthy it describes the efforts of reesa mcmahon a 12 year old white girl to understand and come to terms with the murder of her black friend marvin cully at the hands of the ku klux klan. The upheaval her family experiences in the coming of age novel lay that trumpet in our hands by susan carol mccarthy which is based on actual events from her own life abruptly ends reesas girlish sense of security when her friend marvin cully a black orange picker who works for her father is killed by the local opalakee klan she realizes how much her liberal family stands out in opposition to the men with white sheets and guns who unmasked served as the pillars of the local community