Abstract
The author of this book, Michael Daley, contends that the North American literature of rural social work is in good shape: sadly, from an international perspective, this is not the case, and so this new book is very welcome. Resistance to the urbocentric nature of social work practice development has, if anything, reduced over the past decade: austerity in the wake of the 2007 banking crisis explaining centralisation and cost cutting as the framework for most trends and themes reflected in the literature—including a dulling of the differences there should be in practice between varying types of communities. The book is deliberately aimed at a North American readership (principally the United States of America but with a nod to Canada), which is a matter of regret to this UK-based reviewer: given all the commonalities found in previously published work it would not have taken much effort to reference literature from across the world—even if restricted to the English language. Had this been done the book would have provided useful validation to the applicability of much of what it says, to rural and remote locations in Australia, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
This book demonstrates well that notions of rural generalism and community orientation remain highly valid in the world of today, despite changes since these concepts were first celebrated in the 1980s.
As well as describing the history and development of rural practice in the United States of America, the book outlines the contemporary relevance and applicability of models of intervention that have changed little over the years: the importance of relationships and understanding of the context in which they are exchanged (i.e., the “cultural competency” which includes recognition of the diversity found in rural communities); the need for humility and care about personal expression for the worker who lives and works in the same place; the presence of issues not found in urban communities—the role of gossip and dual relationships being two examples.
The major difference between the rural majority of people in the United States of America and those found elsewhere in the world seems to be that the “frontier” culture that placed them across the country in the 18th and 19th centuries (displacing the indigenous peoples) is still an important factor in terms of self-identity and outlook. The book describes in passing how poor (as many always were and others have become) White people voted for Trump in 2016 (ensuring his Presidential victory) in the hope that he would fulfill promises to make them feel important and prosperous again, let them keep their guns, revive their industries, and open new coal mines. With an aspiration that Trump and the divisions he has perpetrated will soon be history, this reviewer would like a future edition to look at how rural populations are facing the post-COVID-19 future in the United States of America, including the real threats of climate change once the populist “deniers” have been finally exposed for the short-term opportunists they are. Environmental change and threat are touched upon, with a thread throughout the book being about how the rural social worker does not simply understand such phenomena, but engages in activism to defend rural communities from their negative effects. The author hints at radicalism but treads a cautious line in keeping with the traditional values and conservatism of rural America.
Daley has helped develop a rural model for practice called “Down Home”—hardly groundbreaking as its components have been around for some time, but nonetheless easy to grasp and therefore useful. This model brings together generalist practice, strength-based approaches and notions of social exchange found in rural communities. The model, perhaps with a less Americanised title, is valid across the world. This book, written in plain and clear language, is a very useful addition to the rural social work literature. Hopefully, it will find an audience beyond the home one for which it is written.