Lindsay Peoples of New York Magazine reviews “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League” by Jeff Hobbs in NY1’s The Book Reader.
I am an associate editor at ‘The Cut’, our women’s website, where we have started a Cut Book Club talking about books that we read every month and sharing sentiments on why we loved them and what drew us to reading that book.
Recently, I was drawn to a book called “The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League,” and I loved it so much that I read it twice back to back.
The author, Jeff Hobbs, chronicles the life of his best friend and former Yale roommate, Robert Peace.
They became fast friends, and even though they were from different worlds, you can feel their bond throughout the book. Robert’s life had no resemblance to any of his classmates’ at Yale.
He was one of the few black men there and came from a poverty-stricken environment in Newark, New Jersey. With his father in jail and his mother earning less than $15,000 a year, his mother spent all of her time and efforts getting her son into the best schools so that he could leave Newark one day and never come back.
Hobbs reflects on first meeting Robert and learning of his misfortunes and family issues, all while knowing that Robert received a full-tuition scholarship and was one of the brightest students on campus. Hobbs kept suggesting Robert’s struggle to be both the boy from the block in Newark and the Ivy League brainiac that ultimately led to Robert’s doom.
This book is really for anyone looking to understand the meaning to the phrase, ‘a life happens,’ because even with all the right tools, the right education, and the right connections, you cannot predict the future and no one knows what his life holds.
There are themes of race, class, drugs, friends, imprisonment, family, education, and love all wrapped into one. Hobbs offers priceless life lessons about the choices that we make and how they affect our life and our family, most notably Robert’s mother.
“When she lost him, she lost not only her only child but all those decades of sacrifice—she lost her identity and hope,” Hobbs wrote.
For me, the book is a heartbreaking reminder to be grateful, and a powerful story of loss.