Announcing Pee Up A Tree: A Mental Health Memoir by Jim Henson

Pee Up a Tree: A Mental Health Memoir by Jim Henson is in production!
The hard copy proof is en-route as I write this. The Kindle edition is uploaded and will appear in the Kindle store momentarily on Amazon. I'm updating the Arborwood.com website to begin taking orders for this new offering by Arborwood Press. Keep checking. If you are a reviewer and would like to request a review copy, you can contact me immediately by clicking on the comment button at the bottom of this posting. I'll get right back to you.

Why should you read a Memoir? Here is an excerpt from the Forward by Mary Lee Fitzsimmons, PhD, former Executive Director of One World Health Centers.

"Whatever the motivation leading you to pick up this memoir,  you will find a multi-layered commentary on the first few years of someone dedicated to his clients, dedicated to the community, who is not afraid to laugh at himself or at the irony in his environment.

Perhaps you are a student of social work theory and are interested in what University of Chicago was teaching as state of the art social work theory in the late 60’s?  If so, you will not be disappointed. Vignettes illustrating key social work principles abound. Honoring the client’s definition of  the therapeutic agenda, facilitating  a focus on behavior change,  a practical approach to empathy, learning from non-verbal expression, and avoidance of  enmeshment are but a few of the social work concepts illustrated here in humorous and delightful stories. All of us who graduated from that august institution in the 60’s knew we were going to save the world and knew we had the tools we needed to succeed. We did not end up saving the world but the stories here show that the concepts we were taught, when used skillfully,  could help.

I have worked in community-based programming for over thirty years.  It is hard work.  It requires patience, respect for those you are trying to serve, and a clear focus on the community or client’s definition of the problem.  It requires the willingness to spend the time and energy necessary to form quality relationships and it requires a high degree of skilled professionalism.  The stories in this memoir illustrate all of these concepts.  What the stories most illustrate however is that a key requisite is the ability to have fun while valuing the effort required. Whatever your reasons for picking up Jim Henson’s memoir, what you will find most worthwhile is the sense of enjoyment and of fulfillment that comes when community based programming is done well. You can expect to find good humor, good will, a healthy dose of common sense and a very good read."