Hearing the writer read from her novel CONVICTION at the Chilliwack Book Man Local Writers Festival inspired me to order the book and read it on Kindle. So convenient, and fast. The story follows Shelley as her common-law husband is investigated, tried, convicted of fraud and sentenced to prison. Shelley's job as a social worker / counsellor, along with the tribulations of the step-children, and the traumas of her own family including her younger brother, occupy her emotional energy. It does seem to me that professionals with this type of training must struggle to separate private and professional boundaries, always shouldering the burden of being the one with the answers who is expected to "fix" things for everyone else. Or, at least, to help them fix things for themselves.
