Susan Wolfert asked Jeff Hobbs:

Hi Jeff, Inasmuch as the story about Rob was also a story about you, did you find it difficult to tell? Did you get any push back from others in the story? Did you ever feel threatened in the course of your research? I hope your wonderful book inspires people in difficult circumstances to see their own potential and elite schools to do more for students facing the kind of transition Rob was. Susan

Jeff Hobbs Dear Ms. Wolfert -- thank you for reading and thank you for this question. And I am SO sorry for the delay. I'm afraid I usually check goodreads from my phone and I didn't realize that these questions don't pop up on that platform. Again, so very sorry -- and very grateful that you read and felt enough for Rob to reach out in this way. To your question, the story was very difficult to tell for a lot of reasons, both predictable and less so -- the subjectivity of memory, the confluence of intense emotion and fact-searching, etc. Except for a very few instances usually having to do with grief (though certainly a few times having to do with suspicion of me and what I look like and my intentions), everyone was very enthusiastic to participate in the research and share their stories, I guess because no one wanted to let him go. Not everyone liked him, but still people felt for him. Only once was I threatened and that was more a result of my own carelessness (late at night in the home of a drug dealer in Philadelphia who didn't even know Rob very well). Thank you again -- it has been nice to see the story make its way into schools and particularly urban high schools, and to hear young men and women take a positive message from Rob. All the best to you and yours, Jeff

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