book data
38 ratings, 3.82 average rating, 9 reviews
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published
2002
by Random House Trade Paperbacks
binding
Paperback, 320 pages
isbn
0375759409
(isbn13: 9780375759406)
description
Robert and Mary Rowe’s second child, Christopher, was born with severe neurological and visual impairments. For many years, the Rowes’ cou...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 54)
This book is very disturbing but also fascinating. Unfortunately, it is totally uneven. The parts that discuss the Rowe family and the support group for mothers of disabled children are gripping. I loved reading about the different mothers and how they handled raising their children. On the other hand, the parts about Bob Rowe's battle with the legal system to get his license to practice law back after murdering his family and then going to a mental hospital for only two years are not nearl...more
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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 ...more
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 ...more
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This is your typical boy meets girl, boy and girl raise family, boy kills everyone in the house with a baseball bat and successfully pleads insanity story. I avoided the true crime genre for some time, suspecting (correctly) that I'd enjoy it a little too much, but if you can handle it, this is very well done, readable without being hacky or trashy. The epilogue (consisting of the author's rather uncomfortable luncheon with members of the parental support group the ill-fated family in question...more
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Read in July, 2008
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.
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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I am not a reader of the "true crime" category, but picked this one up on the recommendation of a friend, and am glad I did. Quite a read! My book group was split 50/50 over this one---some people really liked it and some couldn't stand it. It IS hard to stomach the reality of what happens in the book. But the writing is very good, and the story moves you along with it. It certainly made me think---about a lot of issues. Things are not black and white.
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Read in January, 2002
This is a perfect bookclub book. It is excellently written. The journalistic rather than fiction writing background of the author makes this heartbreaking story very readable. It is though provoking and so interesting to see, if read in a group, whether the readers can forgive or not.
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"Fascinating, disturbing, well-written. I was left with no clear answers about how this man’s life should have played out."
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A sad, and true, story of a man who kills his family and his journey through life afterward.
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