Thank You For Getting Me

"The Short And Tragic Life Of Robert Peace" (2014) by Jeff Hobbs is profoundly sad and powerfully written. But though the author does an admirable and even-handed job paying tribute to a "brilliant young man who left Newark for the Ivy League", the ending - telegraphed by the title - makes recommending the book to others problematic. This is not a book you enjoy. But it is one that I feel deserves to be read.

Aside from the author's skill telling the story and the familiar locales  - Robert Peace grew up and died in Orange, NJ, a city bordering my childhood hometown - the fact that my oldest niece, who read the book first then gave it to me as a gift, is probably what will most remain with me. It's deeply gratifying that my niece gets me well enough to know Peace's life story would move me. What was the last book given or recommended to you that gave you a similar feeling. i.e. the person who suggested or gave it to you had a clue who you are?

Or, when was the last time the opposite thing happened? That is, someone recommends you read a book - particularly if it's non-fiction - and after finishing it you wondered - Does this person get me at all?