Jack was born out of wedlock to a sixteen-year-old girl in 1935 in the heart of the Great Depression. His life was set on a difficult path from the very beginning. His mother’s neglect and physical abuse marked his early years, and his father’s abandonment only added to his troubles. Yet, when Jack flunked the first grade, his life took an unexpected turn for the better. 

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In You Don't Know Jack, Taylor shares his extraordinary journey from an underprivileged child to a successful real estate developer in Silicon Valley. This story is about the transformative power of mentorship and the idea that success is less about being in the right place at the right time and more about being with the right people. Malcolm Gladwell writes in Outliers that our successes are the result “—of the contributions of lots of different people and lots of different circumstances—” 

 

However, as Jack achieved professional success, his personal life was on the brink of disaster. On the verge of losing his wife, children, and career, Jack had to confront his inner Lothario demon and reconcile with his past. Through experiences as intense as LSD and Primal Scream therapy, he grappled with deep-rooted compulsions and the damaging influence of a hellfire-brimstone and damnation religious zealot stepfather.