A damning account of how children are being let down and a plea for us to do better ... His views may be unfashionable, but his perspective is an important one, shared with fierce intelligence and clarity.
Mr. Henderson recounts his own fractious upbringing within California’s foster-care system. He describes its dual logic ... [It shows] those who feel trapped by their past that they, too, can overcome.
While Troubled convinces readers that those in power don’t understand the reality of the masses, it falls short by omitting discussions of policy ... Readers interested in reforming the foster-care system or creating a better country for children will walk away from Troubled frustrated and disappointed ... Understanding why things happen is the minimal requirement for change, and yet Henderson is so invested in his outsider status that he alienates those who might want to see and learn from his perspective.
Not everyone will appreciate what can be read as an essentially conservative message. But this book is compelling. Henderson offers a clear view of the foster care system and the problems that it fails to solve ... While I agree with Henderson’s message that most discourse surrounding foster care is superficial, I wish he had used his own experience to offer solutions for people in similar situations.
Henderson... is often shrewd on the narrowness and hypocrisy of elites, but he’s at his best in the frank observations about his trip up the "American status ladder" ... A blunt story about overcoming adversity that sometimes reads like the introduction to a future political campaign.
