Julia Sands asked Jeff Hobbs:

Mr. Hobbs, you have written one of the most riveting books that I think I will ever read. My question is about how you were able to speak with Jackie and Peace's community in Newark? Was she open to the idea of collaborating with you and has she been in contact with you since? were there fears of misrepresentation that you had to assuage to have these conversations?

Jeff Hobbs Dear Julia, thanks so much. The simple answer is that Jackie Peace is a truly courageous woman. I visited her home in the fall of 2011, with the support of many friends and family already, and said that we would like to compose a book about her son's life, not his death. I also told her that there was very little chance this book would ever be published, considering the subject matter, but that it seemed worthwhile to have some record of the real man we all new, as opposed to the statistic we lost. She and I spoke, on the phone, and in person, every week or two for the next three years. Sometimes we would chat about nothing much at all. Other times she would dig deep, and her memories are vividly clear, even the most painful ones. Since the book was in fact published, this has been a difficult moment, in that Jackie has had to re-experience in many ways this still-raw loss. But as I said, she is courageous, not to mentioned dignified and intelligent and as devoted to her son now as she was during his life. In fact, I had dinner with her and a few other members of Rob's family -- including three "little Peaces," last night in the Ironbound. Brazilian food, of course! All the best, Jeff

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