They have enough mugs
A present for a social worker
For somebody who has just qualified, or is leaving, or has had the kind of week that wants marking.
If you are here, you know a social worker and you would like to give them something. Thank you. It happens less often than you would think.
This is a novel about the first year in the job. It is funny for a good while, and then it isn’t. People who do the job will know every room in it. People who love somebody who does the job will find out what the face means when they come home.
Paperback, 352 pages, £9.99. Kindle edition, £3.99.
Who it suits
Somebody who has just qualified. It is about the year they are about to have. It will not teach them the law. It may make the car park less lonely.
Somebody in their first job. They are pretending to understand the acronyms. So is Maisie, on page one.
Somebody who is leaving. After five years or after thirty. They will want to argue with it, which is a compliment.
A student on placement with you. With a note in the front.
A foster carer. There is one at the centre of the book, and a page for you.
Somebody at home who does not do the job. A partner, a parent, a friend who has stopped asking how work was. It answers the questions they do not like to ask.
Who to think twice about
The book is about child protection. Nothing in it is graphic, and it goes to some hard places all the same: neglect, domestic abuse, the abuse of a teenager, and grief.
If the person you have in mind is in the middle of something like that, ask them first, or give it to them later. A book will keep.
What to write in the front
A book with something written in it is kept. Here are some to borrow.
You are better at this than you think.
For the car park.
I noticed the thing you did on Tuesday.
Welcome to the team. The good kettle is on the second floor.
Thank you for ringing people back.
You were my first manager and you are still the voice in my head. I mean that kindly.
I don’t know how you do it. I’m glad you do.
Sign it. They will want to know who noticed.
What to put with it
- Biscuits. Not the ones from the tin at work. Proper ones.
- Socks. Good ones. People take their shoes off on visits more than you would think.
- A poster for the wall by their desk. They are free to print.
- Nothing. The book and the note are enough.
There is a longer list, written for Christmas, in the notebook.
If you are buying for a whole team
There is a page for that, and a free discussion guide to go with the book.