From Chaos to Cambridge

Rob Henderson’s dad walked out when Rob was an infant. Not long after, Rob’s drug-addicted mother placed him into the foster care system and a near-constant cycle of neglect and displacement. According to his 2024 book, 'Troubled', Rob lived in nine different foster homes before his 8th birthday. This takes a toll on a kid, as Rob’s memoir reveals. “By the time I was four or five, my emotions had gone underground,” he writes about the self-preservation defense that kicked in amidst the chaos. So, it probably wouldn’t surprise you that Rob was drinking before he was six years old, doing drugs at twelve, getting into fights, committing vandalism, and harboring little hope for a future beyond high school. What will surprise you is that, despite all the trauma, Rob eventually graduated from Yale and earned a PhD from University of Cambridge. Yes, that Cambridge—the one in England.Subscribe to Paul's Substack here: http://words.paulollinger.comFollow Rob Henderson on Substack here: https://substack.com/@robkhenderson/likes Get full access to Reasonably Happy at words.paulollinger.com/subscribe