Maisie Dobbs Series (2003-2024) by Jacqueline Winspear
This book (series) is a bit more of a “self-care” read for me. It’s not clinical in nature, but can definitely relate with a lot of clinical themes and concepts.
This is a book series consisting of 18 books based on a female private investigator in London post-WWI era. The series begins just after WWI, but has flashbacks to Maisie’s childhood, and continues through WWII. Maisie’s approach to her work as a PI is unique (and often called upon to support Scotland Yard investigations) due to her education in psychology, as well as training and cultivation of skills related to attunement, empathy, and mindfulness. She notices nuanced behaviors and movement patterns as clues that often go unnoticed by law enforcement investigators. The cultural and otherwise traumatic impacts of war are weaved throughout the stories of the cases she is investigating, as well as part of the character development. Additionally, there is a fair amount of other tragic human experience (such as grief and loss) exemplified as well.
I’ve enjoyed reading this series because I resonate so much with Maisie’s approach to her work and life, especially noting the value of reading body language and listening to the body’s cues (our brains “think” in similar ways given my training and experience as a dance/movement therapist), and the author does a nice job of integrating the history/cultural context into the storylines/case review that reflects my social work lens (person-in-environment).
As of now, I have read through book 10 and there are 18 total in the series.
How did I hear about this book: A client recommended it to me based on the congruities between my DMT therapeutic lens and how the character facilitates her own work.
Would I recommend to my colleagues: Sure, I think it’s been a fun read
Would I recommend to my clients: Not specifically for therapeutic reasons, but I would if it seemed like something they might enjoy (especially as they start to notice and value new skills related to empathy and attunement)..
How do I apply this content to my work: I don’t really. It’s more of a self-care read for me. Sometimes reading too many clinical books back-to-back can get a little heavy. This one is more “fun”, but allows me to tap into my clinical skills as I “witness” the interactions the lead character has with colleagues, friends, family, and persons of interest.
