Their love affair became the marriage that changed history. This is the inspiring and touching story of the fight for marriage equality, told through the eyes of Cincinnati couple Jim Obergefell and John Arthur, their lawyer Al Gerhardstein, and the other families who joined them in the struggle. The book brings to life the stories of the actual families behind the Supreme Court decision and traces America's change of heart toward gay rights. Love for the win! ( )

I guess I should have figured out sooner (1) why this book had such a hokey title and (2) why a very recently published book had the vast majority of its copies sitting unchecked out in the public library of a city overwhelmingly supportive of its subject. First, the book says it is written by two people, one a prize-winning investigative journalist and the other one of the main characters in its narrative. There is no hint the second person wrote any of it -- unless, of course, he likes writing about himself constantly in the third person. Secondly, the second author is a dominant figure but certainly not the only one of importance, and yet the publisher strives to give him star billing. While that "author" or "main subject", depending on how you view him, has a particularly unique "story" due to his partner's ultimately deadly amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) malady, in most respects, his own individual legal case is truly just one of multiple cases packaged together for comparable reasons before judicial panels. In short, his case is not more important than others mentioned. So, why the "love" emphasis and the star billing? It turns out the Pulitzer Prize winning co-author used to be the wife of a cousin of the partner of the "star". (Got all that? At least, I think I got that all straight.) This is really just a family tribute to the second author. True, the book does take the reader in general terms through various parts of getting a significant legal case before the U.S. Supreme Court, but the facts that most people will want for understanding the real legal issues are relatively few and come very, very late. Moreover, the book does a superficial job of mentioning, let alone elucidating, all the social and political factors at pay. Want to give a guy a pat on the back for a tough situation? Fine, read the book. Want to grasp all factors at pay? Go elsewhere. ( )

Objectively, it's probably only three-and-a-half or four stars, but for emotional impact, it's a solid five stars. I knew how it was going to end before I even read the first page and still found myself crying happy tears at the end. It's probably not going to change the minds of the bigots and assholes (I'm looking at you, Kim Davis), but it might be worth a try. ( )

Engrossing read that details the human stories behind making this landmark victory a reality. Luba

Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case For Marriage Equity by Debbie Cenziper and Jim Obergefell is a very difficult book to rate. I was quickly pulled in with the telling of John Arthur’s childhood. He was picked out by his demanding father to do everything including vacuuming a certain way. As his story went on, you fell that young John needs to escape the abuse that his father handed out or he would not survive. I was so relieved when he did. I got to really care about John, his mother and his aunt. Then we learned about Jim Obersgefell and were enchanted by his instant attraction to John as the pages went on, their love for each other grew so strong. What could stand in the way of it?

The laws in Cincinnati of course was the biggest obstacle. Without being able to marry, same sex couples did not have the right to have recognition or gain respect for their union. They had to keep separate health insurance coverage, death certificates would not name the surviving spouse, and they did not have equal rights when it came to their children. They had to say in the medical care of their spouse. It took a courageous young man, Jim Obergefell and an attorney driven by a need for justice for all the oppressed. The laws cannot protect the couples unless they offered the same sense of the recognition of this precious union in not only the states where the marriage was conducted but in all the states of the United States. Gays were singled out as group to deny the benefits of marriage.

The love story, the devotion of Jim for John when he was struck by a devastating and terminal disease was echoed in Jim and his attorneys struggle for justice. All of that was well covered with heart and care, but I think that some of the result of the many court cases could been placed in foot notes in a special section in the back of the book. The powerful love story and struggle for justice were drug down by the details of the numerous court cases.

I recommend this book to all who are interested in the history of civil rights and justice.

I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher as a win from GoodReads. That in no way influenced my thoughts or feeling when writing this review ( )