I don’t often venture into the non-fiction world. Life is often real enough, so I tend to use my reading time to indulge in someone else’s imagination, but ever since I finished The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace in June, Robert Peace’s story has flitted in and out of my consciousness.
We often hear stories of children from unfortunate circumstances who make it out of their under-performing neighborhoods and go on to great success. Robert Peace could be considered one of those children. Peace grew up in Newark as it changed from a working class city into one decimated by crack cocaine. He was incredibly smart and was able to use his intellect to gain access to a great Newark private school, and then eventually to Yale.
As many success stories as there are, we also hear about the ones who don’t make it out. Either as an innocent bystander or an active player, these people do not escape and become victim to their environment. Robert could also be considered one of those people. How does someone with such great promise and skill live a life that ends so tragically?
Matt Dorfman; photograph by Yale Banner Publications (2002)
Jeff Hobbs, Robert Peace’s college roommate, takes us through Peace’s relatively brief life with input from family, friends, classmates and professors. It’s a fascinating look at how family, race, community, education, politics, drugs, the prison industrial complex and one’s natural gifts factor into a person’s life. Hobbs explores big questions, such as: what does it really take for someone to escape their circumstances? How can we think about this in a thoughtful and real way? What are the changes that we can make to ensure that this doesn’t happen again?
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace is thoughtful and affecting. In short, read this book. Read this book.
