You’ve read the blog, now read the book…
Rewriting Social Care THE BOOK is now available to buy from all good bookshops!
Based on my Rewriting social care blog posts, with lots of new content too, it’s a book about language, change, and being human.
“This is a truly outstanding book.” – Rob Mitchell MBE, Principal Social Worker
“Bryony’s book is just what everyone in the social care space needs right now.” – Elly Chapple, Founder #FlipTheNarrative
“If you really do want to properly, unflashily and authentically transform Adult Social Care then start here, with Bryony.” – Phil Holmes, Vice President of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services
“‘Us, not us and them’. Bryony captures the central problem that no amount of system or ‘strength-based’ change will solve. Our language underpins the othering we practice – Bryony shows us how to face this.” – Martin Routledge, Convenor Social Care Future
“Labels stick! Bryony’s book is a brilliant exploration of the power of words and of the importance of gloriously ordinary language.” – Tricia Nicoll, founder of Gloriously Ordinary Lives
The way we communicate with people matters, and the way we communicate about people, and about the purpose and practice of social care and social work matters too. The words we use reflect our values and feelings and influence the way we think and behave.
This is a book about language, and how the words we hear, read and choose to use both expose and perpetuate attitudes and behaviours. It’s about the words that are too dominant in our narrative and practice, and the words that should dominate.
It’s also a book about change. Changing how we communicate about people. Changing how we understand and articulate the purpose of social care. Changing how we practice. And ultimately changing the story of social care.
And mainly it’s a book about being human. About recognising each other as equal, valued human beings, and about creating a more human, humane future for us all.
Part one focuses on the language we use about people, and shifting our thinking from ‘them and us’ to ‘all of us’.
Part two explores how we define the purpose of social care and the importance of focusing on lives, not services.
In part three I consider what our language reveals about our practice, and how both need to change to shift from a transactional to a relational approach.
And in part four I explore the dominant story of social care, and why we need to tell a different story if we want to achieve lasting change.
Buy a signed copy of Rewriting Social Care
You can order a signed copy of my book directly from me here for £18.99 including postage (Royal Mail Tracked 48) – UK only.
I’ll include your name in a message in the front of the book. If you’d prefer me to include someone else’s name, or you’re ordering more than one copy and would like to specify multiple names, please let me know in the personalisation box below.
If you would like to order more than 5 copies, or you’re ordering from outside the UK, please contact me to discuss pricing and shipping options.
Photos from the Sheffield and London book launches in October 2025
Rewriting social care 
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