Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

By Rob Henderson

'Masterpiece' Evening Standard
In this vivid coming-of-age memoir, Rob Henderson recounts growing up in foster care, enlisting in the US Air Force, attending elite universities – and what he learnt from seeing life from both sides of the tracks.
Rob Henderson was born to a drug-addicted mother and a father he never met, ultimately shuttling between ten different foster homes in California. When he was adopted into a loving family, he hoped that life would finally be stable and safe. He was wrong: tragedy, poverty and violence marked his adolescent years.
An unflinching portrait of shattered families, desperation, and determination, Troubled recounts how Henderson eventually managed to find an escape route through the military, which led to an academic career at Yale and Cambridge. As he reflects on the fate of many of his friends – drugs, death, prison – Henderson never escapes the feeling of being on the outside looking in, or a sense that his academic achievements are hollow compared to the love and protection that comes from stable family life. He dissects the hypocrisies of contemporary social class and shows how the most privileged among us benefit from a set of 'luxury beliefs' that actively harm the most vulnerable.
Rave Reader Reviews
'Eye-opening and heart-breaking'
'Inspiring'
'Incredible'
'Wow'
'Powerful and thought-provoking'

• Language: English
• Publisher: Forum
• Release date: Feb 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9781800753655

Rob Henderson

Rob Henderson grew up in foster homes in Los Angeles and the rural town of Red Bluff, California. He joined the US Air Force at the age of seventeen. Once described as “self-made” by The New York Times, Rob subsequently received a BS from Yale University and a PhD in psychology from St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, and more. His weekly newsletter is sent to more than fifty thousand subscribers. Learn more at RobKHenderson.com.