My debut novel Known to Social Services, published by Faraxa Books, will be
released in less than a fortnight. This has understandably been a very busy and
exciting time for me.
In the course of all the necessary
promotion, I have opened a Twitter account. This may seem very basic to most of
you, but to me, it was unknown territory, as being of a certain age, I simply “didn't get it”. My daughter will tell you about the ordeal she went through when she
offered to assist me in setting up this blog, but that is another story!
I am pleasantly surprised to say that I
have managed to figure out the Twitter account, which is all well and good, but
which has added one more thing to my daily checklist. Facebook, G mail, Blog,
Google+, and now Twitter. It’s a wonder I have any time left for writing.
Through this latest blog, I want to
give a bit more insight into the book and more information about my own
background as a social worker.
Known to Social Services is in a literary genre of books known as
nonfiction. This is loosely defined and fairly flexible in description, but broadly
speaking, actual events have been woven together using fictional storytelling
techniques. In this way, a nonfiction
novel does not have to stay within the constraints of reality, but allows the
author the license to elaborate and fictionalise the story.
As the disclaimer in Known to Social Services states;
Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are products
of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner.
While this is correct, there are
certain themes within social work, which are fairly constant; issues such as
child abuse, domestic violence, drug and alcohol issues, mental health
problems, the oppression of women and a multitude of others.
Many of the events in the book will ring
true to my colleagues as “the norm”.
Known to Social Services is not presented as a reference book, or a textbook.
It is not intended to be deep or theoretical; it is a nonfiction novel, about
the interrelated fields of social work, counselling, mental health, and child
psychology and is
based on my own first-hand
experience as a child protection social worker. The intent of the book is to raise
awareness of the challenges faced by social workers. Using the previously
mentioned themes, I have used the book’s central character Diane Foster, to provide
a fictitious narrative, which I hope gives a pragmatic and authentic
perspective.
I was asked recently if I felt I had
stereotyped the people I portray in the book. This was a thought provoking
question. In my role as a child protection social worker, I worked with a specific
“type” of case; ones which usually required immediate and urgent multi-agency intervention
in order to safeguard the child or children in question. Inevitably, this
brought me into contact with very similar “types” of families.
I have heard many of my colleagues’
state that all their cases seemed to blend into one huge case of abuse. It can
certainly seem this way as you deal repeatedly with perhaps 25+ cases of
injured children, domestically abused women, drug and alcohol addicted parents
and sex offenders. As quickly as one case is closed, there is another close
behind it, demanding attention. Prioritising a challenging workload is one of
the social worker’s greatest skills.
While each case is approached holistically,
and assessed on the presenting issues at the time, stereotyping is
unfortunately almost inescapable especially given the parameters and the recurring
themes, which present themselves to all who work in this field.
The same can be said about the
stereotyping applied to social workers, which is something I hope the book will
accentuate. For the average person in
the street, the social worker is often viewed as an ineffective, out of touch, useless
busybody. For the record, we are usually portrayed as sandal, wearing hippie
types, or tweedy academics, neither of which is accurate.
In my experience, social workers are hardworking,
dedicated professionals who strive to maintain a high standard in their complex
role. They dress pretty nicely too J.
Naturally, as in every profession, there
are exceptions. However, the social worker is much maligned and, in my opinion,
one of the most misunderstood and negatively stereotyped of any profession. I
know that the greater percentage of the general public do not have the
slightest idea of what life is really like for social workers.
While out in the field, I have been
subject to abuse and attack in more ways than I care to recall. I have been
threatened three times with a knife, twice with a shot gun and have had death
threats levelled against me. I have been spat upon, kicked, punched and had my
hair pulled. I have been sworn at on an almost daily basis to the point I
almost became immune to it (almost). I have been held hostage twice and I am unashamed
to say that know what it is to be afraid.
I know that I am not alone in my
experiences, and I am not complaining. I
chose this profession and it has been very good to me. Even with all its
challenges, I loved my work and had a real sense of achievement and job
satisfaction.
In writing Known to Social Services, I hope that I have managed to achieve the
balance between the reality of my experiences with the creative and fictitious
writing of a novel.
I sincerely hope that you agree.
Freya
Freya Barrington’s Known to Social Services released by FARAXA Publishing only two days ago has just been declared the #1 Bestseller for Social Work books in the UK. Known to Social Services is available in paperback and ebookeditions. It can be obtained from all major booksellers worldwide and directly from our eStore.
