Honor Bound: My Journey to Hell and Back with Amanda Knox

Written by Raffaele Sollecito and Andrew Gumbel

Narrated by Seth Numrich

Accused . . . Targeted . . . Sentenced . . .Wrongfully Imprisoned.

Raffaele Sollecito and Amanda Knox were the victims in a world-famous trial so bizarre that it defied all reason. Charged with a crime neither could fathom, let alone perpetrate, they spent four excruciating years in prison before their final acquittal. Now, for the first time since, Raffaele reveals what really happened between him and his then girlfriend before, during, and after the brutal murder of Amanda's roommate Meredith Kercher.

With startling candor, Raffaele shares intimate details about his changing relationship with Amanda as their giddy romance turned into endless harrowing interrogations. As Amanda’s only solid alibi, Raffaele came under unrelenting pressure—from his own family and lawyers as much as the police and prosecution—to change his testimony. Doing so might have saved him, but would almost certainly have condemned Amanda to a lifetime in jail. He refused.

Sifting through the wild accusations depicting him as a druggie, a porn addict, and reckless thrill seeker, Raffaele shows how these stories were gross distortions of trivial episodes. With unflinching honesty, he takes readers behind the scenes of the trial of the century—and inside the day-to-day hell of prison life. Finally, and poignantly, Raffaele talks about his first face-to-face reunion with Amanda following their release.

Emotional, disturbing, and ultimately galvanizing, this memoir is a riveting account of an egregious miscarriage of justice, of public condemnation, and personal survival. And, at its heart, it is a tragic love story about a young man who trusted his feelings, refused to give up hope, and ultimately triumphed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Sep 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781442356092

Raffaele Sollecito

Raffaele Sollecito was born in Southern Italy. He was a computer science student at the University of Perugia when he and Amanda Knox were first accused of murder in 2007. On October 3, 2011, after four years of trials and appeals, he and Knox were cleared and released. He is now moving on with his life.

Reviews for Honor Bound

[christineellei · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you should happen to mention the name Amanda Knox, most people would know to whom you were referring. Mention the name Raffaele Sollecito and if anyone (anyone not doggedly following the court case that is) knew who he was they would probably say something to the effect of “oh, wasn’t that Amanda Knox’ boyfriend?” Despite the fact that he was convicted equally in the murder of British student Meredith Kerchner and received only one year less jail time than Amanda herself, Mr. Sollecito’s name has not become a household word. He was depicted as a quiet, introverted, dare I say “nerdy” young man who was beguiled and corrupted by the “evil wiles” of a young, brash, uninhibited American student studying abroad. This book is his side of the story told in his own words. Frankly, the book does not go far towards dispelling the “quiet, introverted, dare I say, nerdy” impression but, it does show that Mr. Sollecito has some moral fibre when it comes to what is right or wrong. Despite the fact that he did not allow himself to get bullied into turning on Amanda to save himself (kudos where kudos are due!) he still seems a little like a lamb being led around on a leash. He wrote this book himself (with a little help from Mr. Gumble, obviously) yet still comes across as a little bland. He accuses the media of pushing him to the side and deferring to Amanda, but often throughout the book he did the same.

For anyone who has avidly followed the trial this book would definitely be an interesting add-on. Mr. Sollecito does reveal some behind-the-scenes secrets of the trial and most definitely much insight as to how he was feeling while it was all going on. Any reader not deeply familiar with the case would do better to pick up something else first (may I recommend Murder in Italy by Candace Dempsey).

Ms. Knox is reported to have signed a huge multi-million dollar book deal to publish her own version of the happenings in Perugia. Knowing that, I came to this book with the pre-conceived idea that it was a case of “get my book out there before Amanda publishes what is sure to be a block-buster”. After finishing this book … I have not changed my mind about that.

[dysmonia · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

A bad book by a good guy who went through a nightmare of injustice most of us would fear to dream about.