Official Book Launch — 11/01/25
Community, courage, and connection marked the launch of On the Other Side of the Street at The Pryde
Community Center—a living expression of R4 Style: showing up, sharing stories, and crossing forward together.
On the Other Side of the Street, By Rob Quinn
There are moments in life when what once defined you no longer holds.
A diagnosis. A loss. A shift in identity. A season that alters the course of everything.
You find yourself standing at the curb—aware that something must change, but uncertain how to begin.
On the Other Side of the Street is a reflective memoir grounded in lived experience. Rob Quinn chronicles his journey through HIV and AIDS diagnosis, the loss of professional identity, a six-year struggle with addiction, and 19 years of sustained sober living. Addiction is part of the story. It is not the story.
Woven throughout is the grief journey that followed the death of his mother—the person he describes as his safest place and steady anchor. Her loss did not simply bring sorrow; it reshaped identity, memory, and the meaning of “home.” The book explores how grief becomes part of the crossing—something carried, not cured.
This is not an addiction memoir. It is a book about identity disruption, chronic illness, grief, disability, and the deliberate work of rebuilding a life when the old one no longer fits.
Recovery in this book is not confined to any single pathway or definition. It refers to restoring footing after major life disruption—physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually. From that restored footing comes resilience. From resilience comes reinvention.
Rooted in the R4 Style framework—Rock Bottom, Recovery, Resilience, and Reinvention—this book reframes healing not as a destination, but as a walk.
And every walk begins with a step off the curb.
