The Redemption Of Bobby Love: A Story of Faith, Family, and Justice

by Bobby Love, Cheryl Love Narrated by Harvey Reaves, Cheri Vandenheuvel

Overview

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.

*

Editorial Reviews

DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

Narrators Harvey Reaves and Cheri Vandenheuvel breathtakingly convey the transformative story of Bobby Love and his tireless soul mate, Cheryl. In 2015, their home is invaded by the FBI and NYPD, who demand to see the elderly, diabetic Bobby without revealing why. Vandenheuvel demonstrates Cheryl’s shock upon learning that Bobby had a criminal life before their thirty-year marriage, which included four children. Nonverbal sounds and inner thoughts are believably portrayed by both narrators. Reaves’s delivery is disturbing and exhilarating as Bobby flees North Carolina for Brooklyn as a young prison escapee in the 1970s. He straightens out after meeting Cheryl, works at being a loving dad, and, upon discovery, is sent to Rikers Island. Their journey of love, faith, and forgiveness will inspire listeners. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

From the Publisher

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

“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...The Loves’ warmth, humor, and honesty shine from the pages.”   — Library Journal (starred review)

"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 warmhearted story of an ex-con’s long and winding road to an honest life.”  — Kirkus Reviews

“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

Garden & Gun

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.

Booklist

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.” 

Newsweek

"The full, astounding story of an unbelievable life and what it means for true love to endure above all else."

Jeff Hobbs

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.”  

Booklist

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.” 

DECEMBER 2021 - AudioFile

Narrators Harvey Reaves and Cheri Vandenheuvel breathtakingly convey the transformative story of Bobby Love and his tireless soul mate, Cheryl. In 2015, their home is invaded by the FBI and NYPD, who demand to see the elderly, diabetic Bobby without revealing why. Vandenheuvel demonstrates Cheryl’s shock upon learning that Bobby had a criminal life before their thirty-year marriage, which included four children. Nonverbal sounds and inner thoughts are believably portrayed by both narrators. Reaves’s delivery is disturbing and exhilarating as Bobby flees North Carolina for Brooklyn as a young prison escapee in the 1970s. He straightens out after meeting Cheryl, works at being a loving dad, and, upon discovery, is sent to Rikers Island. Their journey of love, faith, and forgiveness will inspire listeners. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178595909
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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