Facing the Wind

Starred review from April 1, 2001
This true-crime story reaches beyond the relatively narrow focus of the genre to ask painful and provocative questions about guilt and forgiveness. In 1978, Bob Rowe, an out-of-work Brooklyn lawyer, killed his two sons, his daughter and wife by bashing their heads in with a baseball bat. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and after several years in a mental institution was released. He later remarried and had another daughter. Although journalist Salamon (Net of Dreams) did not interview Rowe before his death in 1977, this expertly crafted account is informed by diligent research and interviews with his second wife, Colleen, as well as with a women's support group to which Rowe's first wife, Mary, had belonged. This group was made up of mothers whose children, like Rowe's son Christopher, were born with severe physical impairments. One of the strengths of Salamon's sensitive narrative is her depiction of these mothers and how they dealt with the strain of raising disabled children. The Rowe's seemingly good marriage and his deep involvement in Christopher's care made Mary's murder all the more incomprehensible to the women, who never forgave him. Salamon adequately details Rowe's depression and subsequent mental breakdown that preceded the killings. She also describes how he painfully built a new life and found Colleen, who forgave him for his past. After her husband's death, Colleen met with the members of Mary's support group. Salamon provides a riveting account of this meeting, where Colleen attempts to explain why she loved her husband, and the women try to understand how she could forgive him. National publicity. (Apr.) Forecast: Salamon is a contributor to the New York Times, so this title will be widely reviewed-and many of those reviews will be highly positive. This book will have legs, and strong blurbs from Ted Conover and Anne Fadiman, among others, will give it a first big step.

February 15, 2001
This is the haunting story of Robert Rowe, a respected lawyer, loving husband, doting father and multiple murderer. It is also the story of the mothers of disabled children who came together at Brooklyn's Industrial Home for the Blind as members of a support group before the heyday of self-help gurus and groups for every affliction. Rowe was one of the few fathers actively involved with the group, and he was highly admired by the mothers. The book reveals Rowe's slide into mental illness, which led to his murdering his entire family, and his journey in life after the murder. For anyone interested in how parents cope with disabled children or how mental illness can strike anyone, this book will be a fascinating read. Well written and heavily researched, it clearly demonstrates Salamon's (The Christmas Tree, LJ 9/15/96) prowess and her journalistic roots. Readers will not easily forget this tale. Recommended, especially for true crime/psychology collections. Karen Sandlin Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2001
An overarching question in any true crime story is, was justice served? The question Salamon seems to pose instead is, is reconciliation possible? There is no question that it was Bob Rowe who took a baseball bat and clubbed his entire family to death, including his wife, Mary, his namesake Bobby, handicapped son Christopher, and adopted daughter Jennifer. He would go on to successfully plead insanity brought on by the stress of Christopher's handicaps and his own career tailspin. The murders would come as a terrible shock to other parents of children with disabilities who had come to know the Rowes through a support group. They not only saw the Rowes as fellow sufferers but also as role models who embodied both the attitudes and the strengths they thought they should emulate. Now suddenly they were confronted with a rude and terrible truth--Bob Rowe did not ever make the adjustment necessary for a parent of a handicapped child. The facts leading up to the murders are discussed, and the aftermath is thoroughly recounted.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)