Review by Booklist Review
In 2015, Bobby Love was arrested by FBI officers that demanded to know his true identity. What follows is the unraveling of a nearly 40-year secret that Love had been hiding for the entirety of his marriage. A rumination on the justice system and the way that it can work in inequitable ways against African American men, this emotionally driven memoir takes readers back to the beginning of Love's life. Coauthored in an alternating storyline by Bobby and his wife, Cheryl, the book sees the Loves rewind their love story and dissect Bobby's "roadmap to destruction." Feeling trapped, with a hampered future, Bobby escaped from prison, changed his name, and evaded law enforcement for decades while living an ordinary life in New York. Bobby writes honestly about his own self-reflection, the realities of growing up in North Carolina during Jim Crow, and the impact that incarceration had on his early life. Ultimately, he found the strength to build a future that mirrored the values his mother instilled into him and reclaim the life he always wanted.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this moving story of struggle and forgiveness, an escaped convict reflects on his life in hiding alongside his wife of 35-plus years. In 2015, Bobby and Cheryl Love's Brooklyn home was upended by a surprise raid by the NYPD and FBI. As Bobby was placed under arrest, Cheryl was told that her husband of almost 30 years had lied about his identity and his life before they met. In parallel narratives from Bobby and Cheryl, those secrets are disclosed against the history of their unshakable love. Born Walter Miller in 1950, Bobby fell into a life of crime as a teen in the Jim Crow South and began committing armed bank robberies, one of which led to his incarceration in 1971. After six years behind bars, Miller escaped while on road crew duty, and fled to New York. There, he assumed a new name and earned honest money at a variety of jobs, including one where he met Cheryl. Miller kept his criminal past hidden, and the couple wed and started a family. Even after his reincarceration, Cheryl believed Bobby was "a good father... and a good husband"--and, gathering testimonials from their community, secured his parole in 2016. Readers will be awestruck by this inspiring account. (Oct.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In this captivating memoir, Bobby and Cheryl Love share the astounding secret Bobby had kept for over 35 years of their marriage: that Bobby wasn't his real name and that he had escaped from prison when he first met Cheryl. Bobby, born Walter Miller, began committing robberies at a young age and was eventually incarcerated as an adult. He escaped while working on a road crew and made his way to New York City, where he lived under an assumed name. Cheryl also faced hardships during her youth, struggling to maintain her family's household after the death of her mother. Cheryl and Bobby met at work in New York, married, started a family, and lived a quiet life up until the day the NYPD came looking for Walter Miller. Cheryl tirelessly advocated for Bobby's freedom when he was sent back to prison while also coming to terms with her own ability to forgive. VERDICT The Loves' warmth, humor, and honesty shine from the pages. Their Christian faith plays a large role in their lives, but their struggles and triumphs will resonate with a wide range of readers. The couple were featured on the Humans of New York Instagram account in 2020 and received worldwide attention, so expect some demand. Highly recommended.--Anitra Gates, Erie Cty. P.L., PA
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
An escaped convict tells how he hid his prison break from his wife and others until the authorities busted him decades later. By most outward appearances, Bobby Love was a good father and husband--a hardworking and unpretentious man who taught Sunday school, coached his sons' teams, and went to parent-teacher conferences. Then, in 2015, the NYPD and FBI raided his apartment; as his stunned wife watched, they arrested him for an armed robbery he had committed more than 40 years earlier in North Carolina. In alternating chapters in this stranger-than-fiction but largely believable dual memoir, the Loves recall their pre- and post-raid lives and how Bobby earned parole and a measure of redemption after the media publicized his case. Born Walter Miller in 1950, Bobby was raised by a single mother after his abusive father died when he was 9. As a teenager, he robbed credit unions at gunpoint partly because "I still had no image of myself leading an honest life. I had no idea what that would look like." Imprisoned for one of his heists, he jumped off a road-crew bus and fled to New York. He took a new name, married Cheryl, and often worked two jobs to support his family, getting up at 4 a.m. to take a subway from Brooklyn to a job in the Bronx. When the law finally caught up with him, he was an ailing 64-year-old who faced the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars. That he won his freedom owes much to Cheryl's love and faith in his basic goodness and to his apparently sincere regrets and efforts to go straight. A hopeful message ("stay positive and focused") and simple and direct storytelling should give this book a strong crossover appeal for the young adult market. A warmhearted story of an ex-con's long and winding road to an honest life. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
