This book provides rich insights into the pre and post care experiences
of boys who were pupils in a residential school where the author worked
over the course of the 1980s.
It describes the boys' trajectories through life, as well as detailing
the rhythms, rituals, routines, and relationships that existed in the
school. While the focus is on the (former) boys' experiences, these are
augmented by interview material from staff members, including religious
Brothers, who worked in the school.
Together, these different perspectives provide unique insights into an
area of social work history that is ill-served by existing accounts,
making the book required reading for all scholars and students of social
work; social and oral history; narrative sociology; criminology and
desistance and social policy.