(written by Terry MacNeil, on May 20, 2025)

If Bill Cosby had not been exposed as a sex criminal, most people who read Love and Marriage (especially if they were fans of The Cosby Show) would incorrectly regard it as a “heartwarming” book. Knowing what we know now, this book shall forever live in infamy.

The book begins with Alvin F. Poussaint’s introduction. He’s a man who died a few months ago, though we all know his greatest life regret – had to be writing the introduction of this book. To quote Poussaint: “Cosby humorously recalls coming of age, marked by his first wet dream. He tells of trying to hide the evidence of his new manhood from his parents by hurriedly washing his sheets, and of being discovered – to his great chagrin.” As for me (Terry), I don’t remember my first wet dream. All I know is, I didn’t change my sheets – because I didn’t care if my parents knew I was having nocturnal emissions, and the thought of lying in my own dried semen didn’t bother me. Although, since it was left to my Mom to change the sheets on my bed every so often (when I was a teenager) – I presume she was grossed out by my crusty sheets.

As for Cosby’s actual book, he mentioned something he and I have in common – we both have long eyelashes. As a child, I recall countless adults commenting on my eyelashes – and saying they wish they had MY eyelashes. Back then, I found the topic embarrassing. But as an adult, I simply think “Well, I don’t have a masculine face – so I may as well accept that I’m a beautiful man.” But I digress.

In the early part of his book (covering his teenage years), Cosby writes (over and over) about glands, and his awkward attempts to woo girls (his own age). I found that a little peculiar, because when I was in junior high – I only had eyes for the high school girls. Then when I was in high school, the girls my own age were only interested in boys older than me. Oh well. I was too clinically insane (and afraid) to court anyone back then. But I digress.

As Cosby’s book moves on to his adult years, he reveals that he was nowhere near as nice as the fictional father he portrayed on The Cosby Show. One of the more memorable Cosby lines: “Paying back the person with whom you have recently been in love is one of life’s most precious moments”. To be clear, he is here referring to revenge. And keep in mind, that is a 52-year-old Bill Cosby’s words – not those of a dumb teenager.

And the rest of Cosby’s book, covers the years of his, uh, “happy” marriage. These chapters amount to little more than transcripts of unamusing arguments he had with his wife. A reader of this book will find not a word of good advice about “love” or “marriage” in its pages, which is to be expected from a book written by a serial rapist.

In my opinion, Cosby has a gift for humour – though it doesn’t translate into the written word. From what I recall, he needed to be SPEAKING to be funny – like when he’d go into “cranky old man mode” (when being interviewed on late night talk shows), or into “cheerful kid-at-heart mode” (when hosting the TV show Kids Say the Darndest Things). I guess that’s why he was a stand-up comedian (something I’ve never actually seen him do). Although, many white right-wingers had a special place in their heart for Bill Cosby – because of his incessant need to shit on young black males. So it seems Cosby’s a guy who likes to punch down.

That said, perhaps the most telling excerpt from the book – is when Cosby wrote “I realized how important it is for each partner in a marriage to make adjustments. One of mine is agreeing to live in a minimum security prison.” Oh, if only. Ⓐ