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Post by Hippiejo on Jun 13, 2021 20:32:09 GMT
Anti-Social by Nick PettigrewHas your life become unbearable because the person living above you has a fondness for crack cocaine, the company of strangers and dance music? Or maybe you're a social worker, mental health nurse, police officer, firefighter, dog warden or vicar and you've been landed with someone who's a pain in the arse. Who are you going to call? That would be me: an anti-social behaviour officer.
Anti-Social is the diary of a council worker whose job is to keep his community happy, or at least away from each other's throats. That's hard enough at the best of times but when government cuts mean that hospitals, social services and police are all at breaking point, the possibility of complete chaos is never far away.
This is an urgent, timely but, most of all, hysterically funny true story of a life spent working with the people society wants to forget and the problems that nobody else can resolve. This book will make you laugh, cry and boil with rage within a single sentence.
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Post by Hippiejo on Jun 13, 2021 20:44:09 GMT
This book is such an interesting and informative read. It also happens to be hilarious. I bought this book to read as I felt I would be able to relate to much of it given my own job in supported housing and I was absolutely right! There was so much in it that resonated, especially complaints about being woken up at the crack of the afternoon by noisy workers The other thing that I applauded was the monologue about the lack of mental health services. I have complained vehemently about the recent campaign (headed up by royalty) to shine a light on mental health and that it's good to talk. Don't get me wrong, I fully support that, but what's the point in highlighting it as an issue when funding cuts mean that trying to get any level of support for anyone struggling with their mental health is nigh on impossible. In our area, we have one free counselling service that is currently operating with a 14 week waiting list. Otherwise, it's talking therapies which is done over the phone, that I know our young people often just don't engage that well with. .. anyway, rant over! Honestly, this book exposes so many of the flaws in our systems created by the big wigs who will never understand what the reality of these grass root jobs are really like. Every politician should read this book. Just so you know, this book is very sweary in a mostly realistic way but if you're easily offended by swearing, it might put you off enjoying the book. Actually would score this at 3.5 so rounded up to 4.
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