Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work
Beginnings, Middles, & Ends: Sideways Stories on the Art & Soul of Social Work
by Ogden W. Rogers, Ph.D., LCSW, ACSW
NOTE: This book is also available in a Kindle edition and in the Google Play Store as an ebook.
A sideways story is some moment in life when you thought you were doing one thing, but you ended up learning another. A sideways story can also be a poem, or prose, that, because of the way it is written, may not be all that direct in its meaning. What’s nice about both clouds, and art, is that you can look at them and just resonate. That can be good for both the heart and the mind.
Many of the moments of this book have grown from experiences the author has had or stories he used in his lectures with students or told in his office with clients. Some of them have grown from essays written for others, for personal or professional reasons. They are moments on a path through the discovery of social work, a journey of beginnings, middles, and ends.
With just the right blend of humor and candor, each of these stories contains nuggets of wisdom that you will not find in a traditional textbook. They capture the essence and the art and soul of social work. In a world rushed with the illusion of technique and rank empiricism, it is the author’s hope that some of the things here might make some moment in your thinking or feeling grow as a social worker. If they provoke a smile, or a tear, or a critical question, it’s worth it. Everyone makes a different journey in a life of social work. These stories are one social worker’s travelogue along the way.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 7
Preface (No seriously, please read this) 9
1. Beginnings
Introductions 15
Content, Process, and Boundary 16
The Welcome Lecture 17
Latent Consequences 24
Politeness Counts 25
PigPigMotherf***er 26
2 a.m. 32
My Father’s Tales 33
Proper Noun 35
A Leg Up 36
The Advice of Captain Don 37
E.R. # 662343472 38
Going With the Defense 40
Day-At-a-Glance (age 19) 41
Day One 44
A Damn Good Question 45
Angry? 46
3 a.m. SEPpH 50
2 a.m. SEPpH 51
Addiction 53
Accommodation of a Paradigm Shift 55
Why not Why 57
Experience of the Other: The Case of Taboo
and Metaphor 59
The Sharp Edge of Theory 63
Allison and the Role Theory 66
On Wearing My Tie 68
Stuck in a Loop. Reboot With Hope and Chaos. 71
Building Wall 74
2. Middles
In the Middle of a Middle 81
In the E.R. 85
Sweetening for Frankie 95
Dancing in the Midst (2005) 97
Detoxing Wealth 101
Occupational Therapy Tool Number 7 102
Day-At-a-Glance (age 30) 106
Halfway Down the Red Line 109
It’s a Black and White Thing 111
Paging Jesus 114
Mistaken Identity 116
The Principle of Self-Determination 117
Everybody’s Gotta Boss 120
Mid-Life Crisis 123
Practice Informed Research 124
Idle Hands 127
Happy Birthday, Eleanor 132
Principle of Opposites 135
On the Beach 136
Java Time 138
Coffee, Tea, or Systems Theory 139
Per Aquam in Verbo 142
A Slice of P-I-E on the Ward 145
Stigma 146
Malfeasance, Maldicta 149
Leaving Laundry in the Dryer: The Middles of Ends 152
3. The Dialogs of Hanna
A Dog’s Bark 157
Strengths Perspective 158
The Tao versus the Art of War 159
First, Kill All the Lawyers 160
F***ing Swiss Cheese 163
Hanna’s Rule 164
Force Continuum 165
Alphabits 167
Teleology and Deontology? 169
In the Middle of a Football Game 170
Supervisory Ruling 171
The Difference Between Smart and Right 172
The Philosophy of Science 173
Literary Criticism 174
Yet More Literary Criticism 175
Changing the Rules 176
Hiccups 179
A Halloween Story 183
4. Ends
The 9th Inning 187
Single-Subject Design 189
In Memory of Louise 190
9/11 Zen (2001) 198
Post-Modern Regret 199
The Speed of Decision: SEPpH 200
The Looking-Glass Self 201
Killing Brendan (I go, Ego, We go) 202
DNKA (Did Not Keep Appointment) 204
Chestnuts 205
The Hard Good-bye 208
The Dead Man 210
Decathexis 212
Becoming Full 213
Olfaction 217
A Scary Story 218
County Fair: The End of Summer 221
Nice Work, If You Can Get It 224
Post-Traumatic Raison d’etre 225
The Tipping Point (or, “there she goes again...”) 227
A Dog’s Life 230
Private Troubles, Public Concerns 232
The Listener’s Tale 233
Luncheons in May 234
Between Bright Lines, Beliefs, and Bell Curves:
The Burden of the Middleweight 236
Letting Go 239
A Silver Dollar Thank You—A Coda 241
Beginnings, Middles, and EndNotes 244
About the Author 249
Praise
"Ogden Rogers has charted a course of professionalism that encourages creativity, allowing for errors, and guided by honest reflection and dedication to those whom he would serve. This read is a gift to all, whether they are starting or ending their journey of service to others.”
Terry L. Singer, Ph.D., Dean, Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville
“I found the stories humorous, sometimes painful, and incredibly honest and real. There is really nothing else out in our literature that is quite like this. It reminds me of when we teach the art and science of social work practice—this is the art.”
Jennifer Clements, Ph.D., LCSW, Associate Professor, Shippensburg University
“...a profound piece of creative literature that will reinstill idealism within senior social workers who are on the threshold of being cynical about their work.”
Stephen M. Marson, Ph.D., Professor, University of North Carolina Pembroke
"Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Ogden W. Rogers is a thought-provoking book about the evolution of the author's career in the field of social work. The real life stories are whimsical as well as enlightening. You follow the yellow brick road of a social work career and feel the passion and dedication that is required of those who are engaged in the social work profession. What I learned from the various stories in the book is that a dedicated passionate social worker is first and foremost a change agent. Advocacy at all levels is the key to what all effective social workers do in order to promote that 'more perfect union.' A great read for anyone entering the profession, or if you are involved and feel your passion flickering, this book will surely re-ignite your love."
Mildred "Mit" Joyner, MSW, LCSW
Emerita Director and Professor of Social Work
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
“Recommended reading for new social workers, experienced social workers, friends and families of social workers, and future social workers because of the variety of anecdotal case presentations and personal perceptions. Truly open and honest portrayals of social work and the helping professions with touching, easy-to-read entries fit within the beginning, middle, and ending framework. This book is suggested for both public and academic libraries to support the career services and/or professional development collections.”
Rebecca S. Traub, M.L.S., Library Specialist, Temple University Harrisburg
"The great success of dogs as a species is their capacity to live in a relationship with humans that is centered on ambiguous communication. With the insight and style of opening sentences like this one, a reader can be sure that the book in hand is not generic. In fact, this compilation of 99 wise stories and parables based on over two decades of social work in a variety of settings is virtually sui generis—a unique work."
Marshall Toman, Ph.D., Professor, Chair, Department of English
University of Wisconsin—River Falls
"Social workers who need some self care (and that's all of us)—shell out the $20 and get this book. You won't regret it! Even if you don't know Dr. Rogers, you'll get to know him in Beginnings, Middles, and Ends. Entertaining and even a little educational. It's a good read."
Candace Larocque, BSW, LSW
"A most enjoyable and inspiring reading about life as a social worker."
DorleeM, SocialWork.career
"Seasoned or more experienced social workers will be nodding their heads and smiling while remembering their own beginnings in the field. Social work students will see the book as a wonderful learning opportunity and get an idea of what lies ahead, and those relatively new to the profession will ‘see’ or ‘be’ a mixture of the two."
Victoria Brewster, Social Justice Solutions
"I recommend this book without reservation. I would recommend this book to anyone considering social work as a career or college major. I would recommend this book to any practicing social worker who feels overwhelmed, unappreciated, and ineffective. I would recommend this to any social work educator flirting with cynicism. Rogers’ life stories are inspirational without being trite, maudlin, or insincere. Do yourself a favor and read this book."
Peter A. Kindle, Ph.D., CPA, LMSW, in The Advanced Generalist
ISBN: 9781929109357
249 pages
$19.95
Order from our online store.
Order from Amazon.com (print edition).
Order from Amazon.com Kindle Store (Kindle edition).