On December 6th, 2014, my social justice group and I interviewed Coe Booth, a former social worker and author of four books: Tyrell, Kendra, Bronxwood and Kinda Like Brothers, all of which are about American low income families trying to make it despite their situations. Ms. Booth graduated from college in 1996, and soon after began working with children and families in crisis. “It was probably that job that inspired me to write Tyrell. I wanted to give readers a realistic portrayal of what it’s like to grow up in hard circumstances, especially when you have only yourself to count on,” Ms. Booth writes in her website biography.
When we sat down with Ms. Booth, she began telling us about her job at ACS, (Administration for Children’s Services), where she worked for four years as a Children’s Protection Specialist. There, she investigated “high risk” sexual child abuse cases in the Bronx, NY. “For the children to qualify as ‘in danger,’ there need to be legal or therapeutic services required to ensure a safe home.” These services can include parenting classes, therapy for the child(ren), rehab for the adult(s), or, in some cases, removing the child from the hope and placing the abuser in jail.
Although Ms. Booth did love her job helping children who had been abused, it ended after four years because of a “mini-intervention” from her friends. According to Coe, they believed the job was putting too much stress on her as well as prohibiting her from doing what she loved more than anything: writing. This soon led her to a teaching job as well as receiving her MFA in creative writing from The New School in New York City, and the rest is history.
Hearing about Ms. Booth’s life as a social worker turning into a professional career as an author was very inspiring, however it also taught us a lot about the specifics and behind-the-scenes of abuse cases. All of our social justice group has read Ms. Booth’s Tyrell, and are so excited to read more. We hope to keep in touch with Coe, as she truly is an inspiration to social workers, children, and budding authors everywhere. We thank her for taking the time to talk to us!
