 The book was described as an "engaging and ultimately sad" portrait of Rockwell which "fully justifies a fresh look at his life";, as a "sympathetic and probing new biography"; and as a "brilliantly insightful chronicle of the life of illustrator Norman Rockwell".Controversy arose because in the book she suggests that Rockwell may have been a closeted homosexual.In a review for "The New York Times", Garrison Keillor noted sarcastically (""Oh, come on!"")