Summary of Troubled by Rob Henderson: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

By GP SUMMARY

DISCLAIMER

This book does not in any capacity mean to replace the original book but to serve as a vast summary of the original book.
troubled rob henderson
Summary of Troubled by Rob Henderson: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class
 
IN THIS SUMMARIZED BOOK, YOU WILL GET:

• Chapter astute outline of the main contents.
• Fast & simple understanding of the content analysis.
• Exceptionally summarized content that you may skip in the original book

Rob Henderson's memoir, Troubled, is a poignant account of his upbringing in foster care, military service, and attending elite universities. Born to a drug-addicted mother and father, Henderson experienced tragedy, poverty, and violence during his adolescence. Despite his academic achievements, he still felt like he was on the outside looking in, comparing his academic achievements to the love and protection of stable family life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Feb 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9783755470014

Book preview

Summary of Troubled

A

Summary of Rob Henderson’s book

A

Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

GP SUMMARY

Summary of Troubled by Rob Henderson: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class

By GP SUMMARY© 2024, GP SUMMARY.

All rights reserved.

Author: GP SUMMARY

Contact: [e-mail]

Cover, illustration: GP SUMMARY

Editing, proofreading: GP SUMMARY

Other collaborators: GP SUMMARY

NOTE TO READERS

This is an unofficial summary & analysis of Rob Henderson’s Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family, and Social Class designed to enrich your reading experience.

DISCLAIMER

The contents of the summary are not intended to replace the original book. It is meant as a supplement to enhance the reader's understanding. The contents within can neither be stored electronically, transferred, nor kept in a database. Neither part nor full can the document be copied, scanned, faxed, or retained without the approval from the publisher or creator.

Limit of Liability

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. You agree to accept all risks of using the information presented inside this book.

Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.

PREFACE

Robert Kim Henderson, a person with more education than he ever expected to receive, argues that education should be seen more as the fortunate benefit of a warm and loving upbringing. He shares his experiences of being abandoned, abused, or neglected by his biological father, birth mother, and former adoptive father. He believes that educated Americans tend to focus on credentials when deciding whether or not to listen to someone, but his authority comes from the origins of his name itself, not the credentials after it.

Education is meant to be a ladder toward a better life, but it can also carry the wounds and scars from childhood maltreatment. Unstable environments and unreliable caregivers aren't bad for children because they reduce their future odds of getting into college or making a living; they are bad because the pain they endure propels them to pursue relief that often infects even more harm. Credentials and money are not antidotes to the lingering effects of childhood maltreatment.

The author's personal discoveries reveal that 18 out of twenty students were raised by both of their birth parents, which is shocking given that none of the kids he knew growing up was raised by both of their parents. This highlights broader national trends, such as boys raised by single mothers or caregivers other than their parents being five times more likely to be incarcerated than boys raised by both parents.

The author suggests that the school system should be held responsible for childhood outcomes, but his experiences in California showed that schools should not be held responsible for childhood outcomes.

The New York Times published an op-ed titled College Does Help the Poor, which highlights the disparities in education and social mobility between wealthier and less privileged individuals. Research shows that Americans who grow up poor and graduate from college earn about $335,000 more in their lives compared to their peers who did not attend college, while college graduates from wealthy backgrounds go on to earn about $901,000 more than comparable individuals who did not complete college. This disparity is worthy of consideration, as it does not consider trauma, neglect, feelings of worthlessness, and stressful interpersonal relationships that accompany an already impoverished upbringing.

A popular article in The Atlantic by sociology professor W. Bradford Wilcox presents evidence that children with married parents are more likely to graduate from college and obtain higher-paying jobs. However, the article assumes that the main reason stable families are good for kids is because it sets them up to go to college and earn more money.

A recent paper led by economist and Nobel laureate James J. Heckman found that family influence on important child outcomes in Denmark is about as strong as it is in the United States. Even though public assistance in Denmark is widely available and university education is free, disparities in test scores and educational mobility between children raised in wealthy versus low-income families are virtually identical to the US.

Economic forces may be the key factor for the disparity in outcomes among peers from different periods of their life. A 2012 paper in the scientific journal Developmental Psychology found that children raised in unstable environments are significantly more likely to engage in harmful or destructive behaviors later in life. Being poor doesn't have the same effect as living in chaos.

The author disagrees with the sentiment that being grateful for what they went through because it made them who they are today. They would swap their position in the top 1 percent of educational attainment to have never been in the top 1 percent of childhood instability.

The author shares their personal experiences growing up in disorder during the 1990s and mid-2000s, aiming to provide a firsthand view of life during that era. They believe that upward social mobility should not be