Winter break was imminent and I could not have been more excited to be home for Christmas, my favorite holiday of the year. I was looking forward to a necessary hiatus from being at college, as finals had taken a mental and physical toll on me after pulling so many all-nighters.
More specifically, I anticipated the comfort of my bed at home and my mother's delicious home-cooked meals that I so dearly missed. I certainly did not anticipate reading a book so poignant and relevant in Jeff Hobb's 2014 biography, "The Short and Tragic Life of Rob Peace," over the short period of time that I was back home. In fact, my brother recommended the book, as he knew I was on the prowl for a good read. He had finished it quite recently and since we both share similar interests, I took his word.
Biographies are perhaps my favorite genre to read because I feel that learning about the stories of others can not only be remarkably fascinating, but also shed light onto relevant issues that permeate our society today. Rob Peace's biography was certainly no different.
Jeff Hobb's was Rob's roommate at Yale and writes the biography based on memory, but primarily on a collection of interviews with Rob's childhood friends, romantic interests, family members, and even acquaintances over the course of his short-lived but impactful life. In other words, the biography is comprised of many anecdotes told from the perspective of those who knew Rob best.
Rob hailed from Newark, a poverty-stricken town in northern New Jersey that was ridden with drugs and violence. Ever since Rob's birth, Jackie, Rob's mother, did everything in her power to make sure Rob was put in a position to succeed, evident with reading books to him at a very early age and buying him encyclopedias with the meager salary that she earned working in a kitchen.
Skeet, Rob’s father, was not physically present through the majority of Rob's life, as he was convicted of murdering two women when Rob was a toddler. This did not stop Skeet from communicating with Rob through the use of prison phones; Skeet loved his son deeply, as he would even go over Rob’s homework during childhood with him using a prison pay phone. Rob's relationship with Skeet was infrangible, and the two shared an intrinsic father and son bond evident with Rob's multiple visits to the state prison that Skeet was incarcerated. In particular, Rob vehemently tired to reconcile his father's guilty verdict by continually trying to familiarize himself with the judicial system.
Rob undoubtedly looked up to his father and wanted to emulate him. Along with Jackie’s desire for her child to succeed, Rob was simply brilliant and a hard worker; Rob excelled in school and those around him greatly admired him. At Yale, Rob maintained spectacular grades while double majoring in molecular biophysics and biochemistry; however, he was extremely different than many of his peers at Yale, as he was an anomaly from the norm. Rob had grown up in a drastically different circumstance — raised solely by his mother while his father was locked up in prison.
Due to the fact that Rob grew up impoverished, he always felt obligated to provide financially for his beloved mother, and those who he felt strong connections to back home in Newark. Consequently, Rob worked in Yale’s dining hall for two years and also worked as a janitor upon graduating. In addition, Rob engaged in drug dealing while at Yale in order to make ends meet and make some extra money amidst being on a full-scholarship. Though he did make an immense amount of money from doing so, this would prove to be his down fall and lead to his fatal and tragic death.
Before Rob had left for college, Rob practically knew everybody in Newark on a first-name basis; in four years, the city had become increasingly dangerous due to gang violence stemming from drug dealing. Rob found himself in the wrong position at the wrong time; a gang member shot Rob for trespassing into the wrong territory.
Perhaps, you are wondering why Rob returned back to Newark after graduating from Yale with such high grades? The answer is that after graduating from Yale, Rob had difficulties finding a substantial job and eventually fell back to his roots – Newark, despite many people telling him to attend graduate school. Newark, after all, was a large part of his identity. Although he did work as a teacher at St. Benedicts temporarily, this was a pit stop and not what he envisioned especially after graduating Yale with such high honors.
In simpler terms, Rob fell into a hole during his mid-20’s and instead of removing himself from Newark, a city that had become more dangerous and unfamiliar to him, he felt the need to repay everyone that helped him become the intellectual and promising young man that he was. Rob, for a period of time, did not know what to do with his life and unlike many of his Yale peers, Rob did not have a reliable option to fall back on. Instead, he found himself back in Newark, or the “hood” – the place he felt most comfortable because his best friends from childhood were still there.
Rob wanted success for his family and loved ones more than for himself, and this selflessness became his undoing. It is awfully difficult to pinpoint one reason for Rob’s unfortunate death, as Hobb’s biography illustrates that all lives have many complexities and nuances.
After I finished reading the book, I genuinely felt upset. I was upset because someone who had such ability and gifts was killed at such a young age. I also felt upset because throughout the 402-paged book, you get to really know this individual and it’s almost as if he is your friend. Along with this feeling of anguish that I had, I began to think of what Rob’s life revealed. I consider this biography to not be didactic in nature, but rather a cautionary tale for those in an analogous situation to Rob’s. On the same token, this biography is eye-opening because it goes to show that going to a great institution such as Yale does not simply guarantee that your life will change for the better.
There is no perfect recipe to crawl out of the cycle of poverty; no matter how hard Rob studied and despite the near perfect grades he received at Yale, he still managed to end up where he started. Jeff Hobb's did a spectacular job revealing the life of a man who was loved, brilliant, good-hearted and exceptional in more ways than one. Rob Peace gave off the impression that he always knew what he was doing while possessing the uncanny ability to make others feel at ease while around him.
Most importantly, Rob was an extraordinary human being – someone that I would love to meet. He was a man that was too guarded and tried to do too much, way more than he could handle. His presence was felt in all spaces that he inhabited and the way he vastly influenced the lives he came across with his strong personality. Jeff Hobbs did a spectacular job revealing the life of his friend who was loved, brilliant, good-hearted and exceptional in more ways than one. Not only is it melancholic, but this book also makes people aware of issues that even a Yale graduate could face. I highly recommend this beautiful book and feel that all readers would be moved by Robert Peace's life.
