Writes Cokes: "In 1984 I conceived of the idea of producing a documentary that framed its own devices. I was interested in how a woman, specifically a Black woman, would speak in a television context." In The Book of Love, Cokes' mother recounts her life through interview, stories, and song, effectively re-presenting history through the personal. Through intimate subjectivity, Cokes attempts to understand his own present and history by tracing/retracing the life of his mother.