Another update

 Since my last update:

• I started teaching at the university level! I've been teaching bachelors and masters-level research, social justice policy,* and family therapy supervision.
• * Teaching social justice policy has added to my reading list exponentially! Some of the better books I've read recently on the topic: So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo; Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present, Harriet A. Washington; White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
• We are still living with my in-laws.
• Oh, and a global pandemic.
• I read 88 books in 2018; 32 in 2019; and 66 in 2020 (of the books I recorded on GoodReads).
• I re-read a lot more books in 2020, probably because of the global panorama.
• Started listening to a lot more audiobooks, which I've discovered I really enjoy!

Goals for 2021:

• Apply for PhD programs (yes, really!)
• Borrow books from the library and finish the books I've purchased, rather than buying new books! (As tempting as it is!)

Review: Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

Series: The Brown Sisters (Book 1)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Format: Kindle (public library borrow)

"I’ve always felt like I’m the kind of person who . . .” She smiled, even though it wasn’t funny. “I’m the kind of person who hurts. Too much.” “No,” Gigi corrected calmly. “You are a woman who, in a life filled with pain, came here to ask about love.”"

I loved this book. I actually read them out of order, having the second book available to me before the first was available. It didn't make any difference, though, which is a great endorsement for a book in a series. This is an excellent book with diverse characters--not just in terms of ethnicity, but also class and ability. The inclusion of ability doesn't take away from the relationship building that's in the book, nor is it treated like a badge of honor for either party (e.g., "How brave she is, existing in a disabled body!" or "How noble he is, being romantically involved with a disabled woman!") We don't often get to see that in romance (or in fiction in general), so if that's something that appeals to you, this might be the book for you!

Other authors you might enjoy: Farrah Rochon, Sarina Bowen, Penelope Ward & Vi Keeland, Sally Thorne

Review: Brooklynaire, by Sarina Bowen

Brooklynaire by Sarina Bowen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A librarian friend recommended this to me as part of her MLS degree requirements. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest by saying that having books recommended to me is TERRIFYING. Often, they have been so far off the mark that I wonder a) Does this person even KNOW me? and/or b) What is it that they (think they) know about me that made them think I would like THIS book?!

This recommendation, thankfully, was not the case.

First, it involves multiple things that I love: Hockey, romance, sports-themed romances, series, smart women, and nerdy men. Secondly, it does the friends-to-lovers AND the romancing the boss tropes exceptionally well. It's hard to do either moderately well; add the two together and it can be a recipe for disaster.

As a character, Becca is written so well that I didn't realize until the end that this was book 4 of a series. Jumping into a series in the middle is fraught with danger, especially if the author assumes that you've been following along with the character development all along. Nate is also written well, and may be my newest book boyfriend. (I may have a predilection for brilliant, but emotionally dim men.)

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series!


View all my reviews

It's been a minute...

Wow, I haven't posted in a while! A brief synopsis:

• Engaged in December 2015
• Got married in March 2017
• Moved in with my in-laws in April 2017
• Added to our family: our Black Lab, Oliver (born March 20)
• Left my job in August 2017 and started in private practice/contracting with a small agency

So what's next?

• Keep building my practice
• Learn how to balance my life better (ha, ha)
• Start looking for a house (January 2018. Though we've been looking since April, we will start working with a realtor in January.)
• Have a baby (This is more complicated than those three little words...)

Stuck

I have been feeling rather stuck lately (and by lately, I mean for the last 6 weeks). I don't quite know what I want to do, but this isn't it. As I've written before, I was essentially forced into contract work after my department was closed by the not-for-profit I worked for. Although it's been two months since we received the news, I feel as though I'm still going though the cycles of grief.

A bigger part of me than I thought is angry. I expected better of them, perhaps stupidly, because they're a non-profit. I bought into the line they fed me that "it's not about the money, it's about the kids." (This was true, until it was about the money...for them.) I feel frustrated and angry that I did so much work for them without recognition or compensation. I'm especially disgusted with them after I found out they're passing off my work as theirs and using it to advertise the same services I provide.

I don't know what I want to do, but I don't think this is it.

I've made a huge mistake

Maybe not that huge, but enough to completely rattle me to the core. Here's the basics. I started working for an agency in June of 2011, right after graduation. I liked it there enough...I like my clients and families, and I liked the freedom that it offered me. Then in March, they announced that our department was closing, and that we "were being given the option" to become contract workers. I decided to go ahead and do the contract thing, mostly because I didn't want to leave the families I work with (counter-transference, I know), and, also in a large part, due to the amount of money that I will be making (significantly more than I would make at another agency). I've been at it for three weeks, and so far, it's okay.

 Here's the problem. I spent the last 4 days at a play therapy conference, which I loved. It also made me realize that I really miss doing the therapy that I was trained to do. Now, I mostly do behavior modification and teaching, with some parent training. I like the parent training piece, but I miss doing the actual "work" of family and couple therapy. The real kicker came when I got a notification for an EMDR training (something that I've wanted to learn and do for some time), and I thought, "I can't do that. I can't use it in my work. It would be a waste of my time." The second sentence is true, but the rest is just burnout and the fear of poverty that comes with being an independent contractor. So here's what I'm going to do:

* I will be fully licensed as a social worker after I take the LCSW exam in June.
* I'll be fully licensed as an LMFT in July, if I finish all my supervision hours.
* I'm pursuing play therapy supervision, and I may specialize in TheraPlay. (More about that later.)
* I've created a profile for my services and I'm going to try to see a few clients on Mondays and Tuesdays. 

The TheraPlay conference was really fun, but I think it would be more useful if I were still working with adopted kids or kids in foster care. So that's where I am right now.

Writing...again

I finished my NaNo project. I've had two people read it, and, of course, I'd love to have more people read it. I need to add about 20,000 more words, which seems to be easier said than done. But I'm enjoying writing, and it's a welcome break from my real life job. More updates to follow.