Michelle Walsh’s Social Work Story

Woo Hoo! My book copies have finally arrived in the mail – and it could not have happened on a better night! This represents the culmination of the longest “birth process” I’ve ever endured (decades!), and it may be an “only child” for me! Yet I’m very glad it’s finally here! First, let me thank the series editors for seeing value in my work and allowing my book to open their series – Ruard Ganzevoort, Nancy Ammerman, and Srdjan Sremac. I am so very grateful. Let me also thank my two major dissertation advisors, Dale P. Andrews and Shelly Rambo, without whom there would not have been a book to begin with. I also am so incredibly grateful to the community participants from the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, UU Trauma Response Ministry, and Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church who allowed me to record their stories and practices. I’m also quite grateful to Gary Bailey for his generous review of the book.

Finally, I want to give a shout out to just a few people on FB with me who have been important dialogue partners in their work in ways large (use of theories/writing) or smaller (footnote references) in this particular book project (I will probably keep adding to this list if I temporarily forget someone on FB with me!): Sharon Welch, Rebecca Parker, Rita Nakashima Brock, Phillis Isabella Sheppard, Dawn Belkin Martinez, Sofia Betancourt, Sheri Prud’homme, Karen Bray, Deborah Pope-Lance, Chris Crass, Callid Keefe-Perry, Bill Schulz, RevMaricris Vlassidis, Andrew Tripp, Mark Harris, Nate Walker. Thank you! <3 <3 <3 (e-book has been out for a couple weeks and I have discounted flyers for anyone who wants to buy a copy that are good through 3/13) 😉

Also much appreciated if those who have access to library orders might order a copy for their library. Some of the theories that are prominently drawn upon in the book include my work with metaphor, poetics, and theopoetics for interdisciplinary correlations; narrative theory; relational cultural theory; internal family systems theory; liberation health theory; and critical race theory and decolonizing theory.