Reviews & Commentary
Book Review: The Blind Man Game
The Blind Man Game is a memoir about the challenges faced by a psychologist who was diagnosed with Stargardt Disease at the age of 21. Read our review.
Book Review: Help Wanted—A Novel
Help Wanted, a work of fiction, is a social commentary on the gig economy and the plight of part-time workers. Set in upstate New York, Town Square is a big box store, likely recognizable to most readers.
Book Review: Loving Someone With A Mental Illness or History of Trauma
Loving Someone With a Mental Illness or History of Trauma serves as an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to learn how to support a loved one in coping with mental health challenges or trauma issues. Read our review.
Book Review: Podcasting in Social Work Education—A Way Forward for Educators
Podcasting in Social Work Education opens with a brief history of the podcasting platform and makes a meaningful connection to social work education. Read our book review.
Film Review: A Real Pain Exposes Isolation and Trauma Through a Two-for-the-Road Dramedy
A Real Pain gently addresses myriad examples of intergenerational trauma that run the gamut from a lack of self-respect to self-loathing, leading to an inability to connect with others and the devastation of failed relationships. Read our review.
Film Review—Wicked Part One: The Personal Is the Political
At a time when desperately needed, the blended genius that created Wicked: Part One offers the magnificent beauty of hope. Review and commentary by SaraKay Smullens.
Book Review: Welcome Home, Stranger
Social workers will understand the tightrope of survival for those who come from dysfunctional families. Book review of Welcome Home, Stranger, reviewed by Lisa Eible.
Book Review—The Ethical Case Manager: Tools and Tactics
“...this is first and foremost a book that is grounded on the complicated nature of ethical decision-making.” Book review of The Ethical Case Manager, reviewed by Stephen Cummings.
Book Review—Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul: How to Change the World in Quiet Ways
Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul can be a valuable resource for someone grappling with how to align their personal passion for social justice with their sensitive nature. Book review by Allison Berkowitz.
Book Review: Omega Farm—A Memoir
Omega Farm, the most recent book by Martha McPhee, is a memoir that is compelling, heart-breaking, and hopeful all at once. Reviewed by Lisa Eible.
Film Review: It Ends With Us
It Ends With Us is a film adaptation of the best-selling Colleen Hoover novel of the same name. Intimate partner violence is a primary theme, and the movie has been surrounded by controversy. Did they get it right? A social worker's view.
Book Review: Every 90 Seconds: Our Common Cause Ending Violence Against Women
Read The New Social Worker's book review of Every 90 Seconds: Our Common Cause Ending Violence Against Women by Anne P. DePrince. Reviewed by Shakima Tozay.
Book Review: Confronting the Racist Legacy of the American Child Welfare System
Read The New Social Worker’s book review of Confronting the Racist Legacy of the American Child Welfare System: The Case for Abolition by Alan Dettlaff. Reviewed by Stephen Cummings.
Film Review: The Holdovers
Nominated for five Academy Awards and with the tag line "discomfort and joy," The Holdovers is a Christmas film and a Valentine, and a promise that despite the harshness of winter, spring will be ours.
Book Review: Embodied Self Awakening
Libby Trammell reviews Embodied Self Awakening: Somatic Practices for Trauma Healing and Spiritual Evolution.
Film Review: A Man Called Otto
The film opens six months after Otto’s cherished wife Sonya has died. In flashbacks, we learn how Sonya and Otto met, all they loved about each other, and the crisis they faced together. Marisol and other neighbors take an interest in him.
Book Review: The Way Up - Climbing the Corporate Mountain as a Professional of Color
Errol Pierre argues that achieving success in the corporate world is more akin to scaling a mountain than climbing up steps on a ladder, especially for professionals of color. Read our review.
Book Review: No Longer Welcome—The Epidemic of Expulsion From Early Childhood Education
The New Social Worker reviews the book Book No Longer Welcome—The Epidemic of Expulsion From Early Childhood Education.
Book Review: Unraveling Faculty Burnout
When I read Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark’s book, Unraveling Faculty Burnout, I felt seen. It's the rare educator who isn't acquainted with this sense of "never enough," of never feeling that there is an obtainable career stride they can reach.
Ten Angry Women Change Their World: Review of “Women Talking”
Based on a true story, Women Talking offers an “imagined response” to the drugging and rape of women and girls in a cult-like religious colony. SaraKay offers commentary and questions for reflection and discussion.
