Description
The inspiring, dramatic, and heartwarming true account of an escaped convict and his wife of thirty-five plus years who never knew his secret, which captured the imaginations of millions on Humans of New York.
Bobby and Cheryl Love were living in Brooklyn, happily married for decades, when the FBI and NYPD appeared at their door and demanded to know from Bobby, in front of his shocked wife and children: "What is your name? No, what's your real name?"
Bobby's thirty-eight-year secret was out. As a Black child in the Jim Crow South, Bobby found himself in legal trouble before his 14th birthday. Sparked by the desperation he felt in the face of limited options and the pull of the streets, Bobby became a master thief. He soon found himself facing a thirty-year prison sentence. But Bobby was smarter than his jailers. He escaped, fled to New York, changed his name, and started a new life as "Bobby Love." During that time, he worked multiple jobs to support his wife and their growing family, coached Little League, attended church, took his kids to Disneyland, and led an otherwise normal life. Then it all came crashing down.
With the drama of a jailbreak story and the incredible tension of a life lived in hiding, The Redemption of Bobby Love is an unbelievable but true account of building a life from scratch, the pain of festering secrets in marriage, and the unbreakable bonds of faith and love that keep a family together.
Reviews
"The Redemption of Bobby Love is the perfect title for a story that explores both redemption and love with such vital, fulsome heart. At once tender and brutal, the Love family's journey explores parenthood, marriage, the penal system, and the human condition of sustaining hope in the center of the storm. The systems that govern our most vulnerable are larger than one family, and yet this family's story encompasses those systems with a power that will shake you." --Jeff Hobbs, author of The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace
"the full, astounding story of an unbelievable life and what it means for true love to endure above all else." --Newsweek
"This book is more than a jailbreak/escapee story. Sure, there's lots of drama and tension, but in the hands of Bobby and his wife, Cheryl, faith and love take center stage in this well-paced book about forgiveness and revealing a person's true self. --Garden & Gun
"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 parallel narratives from Bobby and Cheryl, those secrets are disclosed against the history of their unshakable love...Readers will be awestruck by this inspiring account." --Publishers Weekly
"A rumination on the justice system and the way that it can work in inequitable ways... 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.' 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." --Booklist
Authors
BOBBY LOVE was born in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a husband, a father, and a professional cook. He currently splits his time between Brooklyn, New York and the metro Atlanta area, with his wife and children.
CHERYL LOVE was born in New York. She is a wife, mother, and nutrition coordinator. She currently splits her time between Brooklyn, New York and the metro Atlanta area, with her husband and children.