Author: Rob Sedgwick
Narrator: Roger Wayne
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Publication Date: July 2021
Genre: Memoir
Buy The Book: Amazon | BN | Audible
Description: Rob Sedgwick was born into one of America’s oldest families and Manhattan royalty. His sister is Kyra Sedgwick, the actress; his brother is painter Nikko Sedgwick; his brother-in-law is movie star Kevin Bacon, and his stepfather was renowned art dealer Ben Heller, who pioneered the careers of Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko. So, to say Rob has struggled to stand out in a family of big personalities is a huge understatement. In his hilarious and touching memoir, Bob Goes to Jail, Rob relates his journey from lost little boy to hapless criminal with such honesty and heart that you can't help but root for him.
In Bob Goes to Jail, Sedgwick recounts how the DEA and the NYPD mistook him for a drug lord and arrested him. When his lawyer told him to get a steady job to show he was a contributing member of society, Sedgwick got a role playing a drug lord on One Life to Live.
Bob Goes to Jail is the story of a New York socialite with a price on his head from the Mexican mob. It's the story of a Hollywood actor who did New York soap operas because his parole wouldn't let him leave the isle of Manhattan. Full of self-examination, biting comedy, absurd situations, and very human feeling, Bob Goes to Jail is more than the memoir of a man: it is the story of the search for love, the yearning for acceptance, and the struggle to find oneself.
My Thoughts: Note from the publisher: Rob Sedgwick's memoir Bob Goes to Jail is one degree from Kevin Bacon.
Honestly, the fact that Kevin Bacon is Rob Sedgwick’s brother-in-law should be irrelevant, but the author went way out of his way to keep reminding me of it. This story, though entertaining and humorous in many ways just didn’t deliver. I found the telling to be a disorganized mind salad, the telling jumping all over the place between the past and the present. I had a difficult time finding the author relatable or empathetic. He comes across as a typical spoiled rich kid whose life is filled with the glitz and glamor most of us can only dream about. Instead of applying himself to be a productive member of society, he decides to allow his grandparent’s luxury apartment to be used as the main front of his drug operation. Getting busted and facing serious prison time was the best thing that could have happened to him.
I also didn’t like that he so glibly talks about strong arming his girlfriend to get an abortion and when she refuses, he takes off, virtually abandoning her or how many bedrooms his stepfather’s townhouse has. It began to sound like he was boasting and gloating, which was a real turn-off for me.
A major saving grace that kept me going with this story was the brilliant audio narration by Roger Wayne. His performance made Rob Sedgwick a bit more likable. I will happily listen to other audiobooks he narrates.
My Final Verdict: On the bright side, the author has turned his life around, gotten sober and is working on being a productive member of society, but the journey getting there isn’t something to be celebrated. Readers who enjoy memoirs and biographies may find this entertaining, but I don’t recommend it. I give the author points for the love he has for his dog.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Bob Goes to Jail from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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