When he’s not the judge in Corfu, New York, dealing with people who sped through Pembroke and on other roads near Darien Lake, Robert Alexander is also an ordained minister and popular author. His book, “Half Heaven, Half Heartache,” was named after a Gene Pitney song he used to sing as a teen.

“The part where Gene sang ‘take away this heartache and make my life a Heaven on earth’ always reminded me of how good my life once was and how it had been torn to shreds,” says Alexander.

Heartache started for Alexander, who was adopted at birth by a Christian family, when his stepfather abandoned his mother, running off to New Mexico. That was when Alexander's life started to unravel.

Life got worse when Alexander became a biker. Looking back, he remembers that everything he experienced as a biker was “bad, sin at its reprobate worst.”  The biker culture he used to be a part of it was something he can now say was “dark, dark, dark,” adding “the spirit of Antichrist prevails and the best part of it was leaving it.”

Everything changed for the better when Alexander became a born-again Christian.

“I have never had a bad day in Jesus,” he says. “I lost my big high profile job, all my money, all my play things, cars, vans, boats and almost every other worldly thing and I love it. I have to trust God for everything I have and He never fails. He is also the father who never abandons me.”

Nowadays, he keeps busy as a judge, an author, and a man focused on ministry.

“I have the same fervor and love for my Savior Jesus as I had the day of my repentance and salvation 24 years ago, maybe even more,” he says.

That fervor and love for Jesus comes across through his book, “Half Heaven, Half Heartache,” a book that took almost four years to write, with the intention that it would reach all sorts of people, “from the biker to the banker,” and more, Alexander says.

“I prayed that God would use the book to reach those who are buried in a sea of drugs and alcohol. I also wanted to encourage the wife who has been praying for her lost husband to never give up and just keep praying,” he says. “ I pray that through experiencing what God 's grace, mercy, and deliverance did in my life, regarding my alcoholism and drug abuse, others will experience the soul, mind and body transformation that only comes from the Blood of the Lamb-- Jesus.”

Alexander gets animated when he tells people about the feedback he receives. People have emailed, called and written to say that “Half Heaven, Half Heartache” is “impossible to put down” and a “sleep wrecker.”  His words help people experience almost every emotion possible, from balling their eyes out to belly busting laughter. Indeed, readers’ reactions include amazement, empathy, disdain and loathing the author, to praising God for what God has done in Alexander’s life. There has been talk of turning it into a movie.

Alexander just might see his book turned into a movie, because he’s had several brushes with fame. He counseled David Berkowitz, the infamous "Son of Sam" murderer, and he was also the counselor of Mark David Chapman, the man who shot John Lennon!  That alone could make for an interesting movie.

“My wife and I are very close to Mark's family, especially his wife Gloria,” he says. “She stays with us when she comes to visit Mark in Attica Prison.”

It was Chapman’s wife, Gloria, who got involved with COPE (Coalition of Prison Evangelists) and encouraged Alexander to speak at this year’s COPE Northeast Regional Conference.

“COPE asked me to be the keynote speaker at their closing banquet,” he says. “With my work in prisons, being an ordained minister, and a judge, I am always interested in those who are called to work with inmates and their families.”

Eventually, Alexander would like to open a "Whole Way House," to minister to the alcoholic and drug abuser and their families. He’s also thinking of doing a radio show and writing another book, “Only The Lonely,” about his wife’s abuse by her mother. Meanwhile, he runs Men of the Harvest, a Western New York ministry dedicated to helping those who are hurting and needy. Men of the Harvest provides bakery products, food, appliances and even vehicles to those seeking assistance.

Though you may assume Alexander is quite comfortable around people, as he’s involved in so many things touching people’s lives, he’s not afraid to say he gets scared being around people, for fear of rejection.

“Even though I have been a pastor of a church, traveled across America speaking to churches, men's groups, teenagers, and been on the 700 Club, interviewed on Focus on the Family, and many other radio and TV programs, I have struggled with the fear of people. Yet, it is amazing how God took my fear of people and has sent me all over the country sharing the Amazing Grace and the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he concludes.

If you would like to get a signed copy of “Half Heaven, Half Heartache,” go to http://www.menoftheharvest.org/. About the book, Alexander says, "You will experience a front row seat in a roller coaster ride through hell and back." To contact Alexander for speaking engagements email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call 585-703-1255. Say you read about him on Buffalo Christian.