About this title: In 1978, lawyer Bob Rowe brutally murdered his wife and three children. After several years in an institution for the criminally insane, Rowe was released, and he remarried and had a daughter. His second wife, Colleen, was aware of his terrible past, but loved and trusted him nonetheless. Meanwhile, friends of Rowe's deceased first wife were ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Random House, New York, NY
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780375759406ISBN:0375759409
Description: Good. No Jacket. 5 1/2" X 8" 2002 1st Trade Paperback print. Good Cond. No spine creases. Front and back cover edges lightly frayed. No store stamps. No ink marks. Light handling and shelf wear. Setting: A true story of tragedy and reconciliation. Robert and Mary Rowe's second child, Christopher, was born with severe neurological and visual impairments. For many ywars, the Rowes' courageous response to adversity set an example for other parents of children with birth defects. Then the pressures ... read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN-13:9780375759406ISBN:0375759409
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN-13:9780375759406ISBN:0375759409
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN-13:9780375759406ISBN:0375759409
Description: Good. Purchasing this DVD supports the North Central Regional Library. Thriftbooks and NCRL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Library ID found on DVD and case. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] [ Torn pages: NO ] [ Broken Seams: NO ] Publisher: Random House Pub Date: 4/3/2001 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 320. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Random House
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780375500220ISBN:0375500227
Description: Good. Hardcover ex-library book with dust jacket in good condition. All usual stamps and markings. Pages are clean and the binding is tight. read more
Binding: Audiobook CASSETTE
Publisher: Nova Audio Books
ISBN-13:9781587881626ISBN:1587881624
Description: Very Good. 1587881624 Quality AUDIO CASSETTES in very good condition. Some shelf wear to the case, but the tapes remain intact. HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN USED. read more
Binding: PAPERBACK
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN-13:9780375759406ISBN:0375759409
Description: Very Good. 0375759409 some wear to covers and edges, some scuffing books may have some minor wearhouse damage. Stickers may be on spine or covers. read more
"Tragic story of life with a disabled child that ended with the father killing his whole family - thinking they'd all be better off. After a successful insanity plea he was released from state custody a few years later and went on to start a new family.
Very interesting look on mental illness, mixed with the trials of caring for a disabled child while trying to keep the rest of your life "normal"."
"Riveting story of a man who murders his family, then is found not guilty by reason of insanity. I couldn't put this down - but there were no pictures of the people involved in the story, which was disappointing."
"Clearly, I'm generally a fiction reader. I'll cross genres and authors, ages and settings. But my heart belongs to the narrative.
My career, though, is as a journalist. So narrative journalism always intrigues me. I read a lot online, and when I run across a non-fiction tale that's written like fiction, I'm willing to give it a try.
The first third of Facing the Wind does the narrative thing very well. It's about a family, and the people close to them, with a severely disabled child. It tells their story, the stories of other families like them, and gets in an awful lot of fact (including how prosthetic eyes are made, etc.). It's the best of the news and narrative worlds.
And then the murder happens. Dad of said family kills them all to "save them." Horrifying, yes. Did I want to keep reading? Absolutely.
The next third is about what happens next to Dad, including an extended section on his fight to keep his law license. P-huh? Not the tale I signed on for, and not one she ever made me care about. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, which I had a hard time buying anyway, and he was never sympathetic. Add in huge transcripts of his medical records, the court cases, etc., and the story gets dry and boring. Besides the fact that it stops exploring how this family lived ... and died.
Last third is his new wife facing down the first wife's friends and support group. Honestly, their relationship still baffles me, as it did the group.
There was a story I wanted more of. The writer just took the wrong path for it."
"Recommended in my current purse book, SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME, and it sounded promising, so.....
Interesting, but a bit dry. The story is actually an examination of a true crime combined with a story about a group of mothers with blind children. It was a fascinating combination, and I appreciated that the author didn't seem to take sides with either group. I'm not sure about the "Reconciliation" part of the title - I think it was more of an agreement to disagree."
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