You Can’t Make This Stuff Up: Memoirs of a Social Worker

by J. Traveler Pelton

Over the 28 years I have been in professional Social Work, I've met people from the privileged to the poor and most their relatives. This is a short, almost true history of that career, funny to tragic. Names/places have been changed to protect innocent and guilty; but I promise you won't find anything more fascinating than true life in my world. It gets greasy, gritty, gracious and no way glamourous here; I think it has been a life well lived.
If you like true to life stories, odd characters funny to tragic, you will love this book.

What others have said about Traveler's
"J. Traveler's is a gem of an author and storyteller. I know one when I find one because I'm an author myself. Her covers of her dog mysteries are adorable too. I love reading of older times and families of Faith with a gift for humor. This has it all. What a blessing to get a glimpse into such a special time, place, and family. It's just one big serendipity to come across a gift like this"

"I loved this book. Very interesting premise and the story kept me turning the pages. As soon as I finished I looked for the next book."

Get your copy today!

187 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 14, 2024

About the author

J. Traveler Pelton was born in West Virginia in the last century. She is active in her home church and was the Nation’s Mother for her tribe for several years. She is still wife to Dan after 47 years (He is so long-suffering!), mother of six adults, a grandmother of nine, a Clinically Licensed Independent Social worker in private practice, a retired adjunct professor of social work at her local university, and an avid reader. She lives on a mini-farm with her husband, seven alpaca, a flock of spoiled chickens, five Siamese cats, four Pomeranians, a talkative Amazon parrot named Gizmo, and her aviary of canaries. Traveler enjoys the intersection of fantasy, possibility, creativity, and speculation. Join her on the other side of the imagination tree. She’ll be sitting there waiting for your visit.

Reviews

[Esther Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring Read

I really enjoyed this book. The author is down to earth, connects well with the reader & inspires through her writings. I especially love the cover of the book, very inviting like the inside of it

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frankly, I'm a little confused. The book's title says this is a memoir, but in the beginning there is a disclaimer stating that "any resemblance to any person living or dead is totally unplanned. This is a work of fiction based on remembrances as a child." To me, it is a work of fiction or it is a memoir. It can't be both. So that spoiled it for me. Some of the stories are pretty far out there, although most of the book is believable. It was disappointing that most of the experiences were only a few paragraphs, so it doesn't go into very much detail about the cases and it goes back and forth between her experiences as a social worker and her past life. I will say though, the cover art is pretty cute. but perhaps the fact that it is not a real picture of her probably should be a clue.

[Bob Ojala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories! Don’t let the lack of editing prevent you from reading this!

This author’s job experiences will tug at your heartstrings. She shows how wonderful most people can be, but also shows the terrible side of family squabbles.

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of editing in the manuscript, but it did not prevent me from thoroughly enjoying the book.

Mrs. Pelton was a real blessing to her clients!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was pretty good

I liked the stories and I even liked the brevity of them but the editing was off and made it harder to read. I kept getting confused when the gender pronouns kept changing for the same person. I wasn’t sure if the author was taking about the same person or not. I had to go back and reread a couple of times to make sure a new person hadn’t been introduced. Otherwise I really enjoyed the stories.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Story

I enjoyed this book. The writing was done well and the subject matter interesting. It is a short easy read, some of it sad, some of it hilarious. It skims the surface of issues in Appalachia, not really going in depth to explain the background of that part of the country. Still it was entertaining to read.

[Jeannie · Rating 3 out of 5]

sort of interesting

The book included a lot of acronyms and I had no idea what they meant. People not in the field have no idea what DV, WEP, and various other acronyms mean. At times, the sentence structure was strange, making the meaning confusing. This book needed a good editor.

[M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know

This has the bones to be a good book, but it's just too scattered. Ideas and people that are familiar only to the author, leaving the rest of us to figure out what the whole thought is. What happened before? What happened after? Too many partials. I'd recommend this to anyone after a solid edit and proofing.

[Judy Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up is the riveting and action packed memoir of a gifted social worker who uses love, kindness, common sense and her Native American culture to make a difference in the lives of the families she serves. It is at times heartbreaking, at times humorous but altogether heartwarming and I can’t wait to read the other books in her series.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorei todas as histórias, que são partes da história de vida pessoal da escritora. A escritora é muito acessível e tem partes que parece que somos nós próprios a viver a história. Muito bom. Também gosto da capa.

[Tim Shepard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

The life story of the author and memories of her career as a social worker is an interesting read. It gives a view that is needed, both of the good and bad parts of CPS.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a random Kindle Unlimited book. I thought it would be humorous. It was short and somewhat interesting.

[Sandra Bacon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Complete waste of time. Poor excuse for a book.

[Eleyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish the book itself was longer. I enjoyed the stories.

[Michelle Faber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life of a social worker.

Sad and sometimes happy tales of being a social worker. Funny I places and very sad in others. Makes you wonder about our society.

[Linda Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

you can’t make this stuff up

I enjoyed this book. I was a foster parent for many years. Pelton has a good heart. I’m anxious to read her other books

[Tonya Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Social worker's Experience

J traveler Pelton has written a series of books about being a social worker. The stories are at times funny, yet poignant.

[Jen&Jude Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

can’t make this stuff up

Very educational on experiences of a social worker. Some of them are so exotic they are unbelievable but very eye opening to the unfamiliar.