A New Book by NAEHCY Board President Offers Support
For over 20 years, social worker and NAEHCY Board President Nicole Steward has dedicated her life to supporting others. But like many in the helping professions, this dedication came at a cost. Three times, Steward experienced burnout, each episode impacting her health significantly. The wake-up call came in the form of shingles, a stress-related illness, prompting her to rethink her approach to work and the ways she resourced herself against vicarious trauma and moral injury.
This journey of discovery led her to explore the self-care practices of activists, civil rights leaders, poets, and other “ancestors” who fought for justice while prioritizing their own well-being. The power of these deep, courageous care practices inspired Steward to share her insights, first through workshops and professional development, and now in her new book, Radical Self-Care for Helpers, Healers, and Changemakers (W.W. Norton, 2024).
“Many of the attendees at these workshops and presentations asked if I had a book about Radical Self-Care,” Steward explains, “so I decided to write one!”
Writing a book while working full-time as a social worker, McKinney-Vento Liaison, and Foster Youth Liaison, all during the COVID-19 pandemic, presented its own set of challenges. “It was…interesting,” Steward reflects. Despite having no prior experience writing a book, she drew upon her journals, her knowledge of trauma, and healing practices. She also faced the common misconception that self-care is selfish, a notion she strongly refutes. “I think we all understand that communities are made of individuals,” she emphasizes, “and if the individuals in our communities are not well, the community is not well. For those of us who hold the titles of helpers, healers, or changemakers, it is incumbent upon us to show up in our communities as resourced and healthy as we can so we can co-regulate with others in our communities.”
Steward hopes her book offers validation for the demanding work undertaken by her professional peers and others. “Even if all aspects of our jobs are great (good salary, great supervisors, amazing coworkers, etc.), the work we do with children and families and others facing trauma and crisis is not without its toll,” she acknowledges. She stresses the importance of acknowledging the impact of this work on caregivers and hopes the book sparks a conversation about the deep, courageous, radical care needed to sustain individuals in these roles. “If our professional organizations and systems shifted to fully prioritize the wellbeing of their workers, imagine how much more sustainable our work would be!”
As a McKinney-Vento Liaison, Steward understands firsthand the emotional toll of working with families facing homelessness. She shares a key concept from her book: “We can CARE for those we serve without CARRYING the weight of their traumas. Care without carrying.” This mantra has been essential in her work, where she regularly encounters heartbreaking situations. “We cannot completely change their condition and we cannot create more housing, as much as we would love to,” she explains. This can lead to a pervasive sadness that can be difficult to shake off. Steward uses her radical self-care practices to buffer herself from these challenges, release the weight of heartbreak, and maintain her own well-being while effectively serving the families she works with and for.
Radical Self-Care for Helpers, Healers, and Changemakers offers a timely and essential resource for anyone working in the helping professions. It provides a framework for prioritizing self-care, not as a luxury, but as a crucial component of sustainable and impactful work. NAEHCY celebrates Nicole’s accomplishment. We are proud of how she demonstrates that caring for others begins with caring for oneself. Learn more about Nicole’s book here.