Description
Shops, churches, pubs, social clubs, libraries, parks, schools, streets, windowsills, gardens, pavements… These public spaces can have an extraordinary effect on well-being in a community. They bring people together and form the bonds that lead to people supporting each other.
With vivid descriptions and heartfelt anecdotes, Pieces of Us is a moving tribute to the people who made up this distinct part of Wales. The author, Rob Sheffield, shares first-person accounts of how the area formed then lost the strong bonds that held the neighbourhood together. And he describes growing up here, leaving for university, and the effect of this on identity and family.
From this story of Greenhill arise implications for community development everywhere, including the importance of collaboration between local residents and government.
To read a sample please click on the image below.
Dr Rhiannon Cobner, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Child and Family Community Psychology –
A beautifully crafted tribute to people, relationships, time and place. Set within an historic, social, economic and political context ‘Pieces of Us’ is an intelligent and at times deeply moving celebration of the power of human storytelling and the central importance of belonging, connectedness and community. This is a must read for anyone interested in the power of social capital and asset based approaches to mental health and wellbeing.
Robin Hambleton, Emeritus Professor of City Leadership, University of the West of England, Bristol, and Director of Urban Answers. –
Does place matter in modern life? Rob Sheffield, in an intriguing account of the social history of the Greenhill neighbourhood, Swansea, provides many insights on why the answer to this question must be a resounding ‘yes’. Based on personal interviews with residents, on his own experience of growing up in the area, and by drawing on the international literature on the disruptive impact on communities of large-scale urban renewal projects, he makes a passionate case for honouring the past and promoting effective citizen participation in city planning decision-making in the future.
Dr Steffen Conn, Director – ISPIM: The International Society for Professional Innovation Management –
In this highly personal narrative the author traces the ebb and flow (and meaning) of community in the Greenhill neighbourhood of Swansea. As a “local boy done good” Dr Sheffield draws on historical and public records, residents’ personal stories and his own recollections to suggest that the wealth and resilience of an impoverished neighbourhood may lie in the interactions and cohesiveness of its people. Without suggesting a one-size-fits-all solution the book offers economic, infrastructural, social, cultural and institutional clues to how we might tackle the challenge of sustainable urban living in a modern world.
Richard Bolden, Professor of Leadership and Management –
An insightful and compassionate exploration of identity and change in a Welsh community. This deeply personal account evokes rich individual and collective memories and highlights the complex web of interconnections between different places and times. Whilst many of the narratives speak of love and loss, reflections on how the community responded to the COVID-19 pandemic provide a sense of hope and opportunity for how a renewed sense of ‘community’ might be constructed. This book is recommended to anyone with an interest in urban regeneration and the transformative potential of social capital.
Reverend Katy Weston –
Pieces of Us is a perceptive book which the author, Rob Sheffield, describes as a moving tribute to the people who made – and make – up the community of Greenhill in a neighbourhood of Swansea. As well as sharing first-hand accounts from people he knew, it is a deeply personal story and describes what it was like for him growing up there, leaving for university, and the effect of this on identity and family. It is rare to find writing which has such a strong sense of place and understanding of how communities are formed. It echoed John Donne’s words that “No man is an island … every man is a piece of the continent…” emphasizing the importance of connection, community and relationships. This is a book which gives cause for deep reflection on the implications for community development everywhere and how we can ensure that we don’t lose such an important part of our human identity and well-being.
Jem Peel, Founder of Everything is Connected –
In this ‘love letter to home’, Rob rediscovers a sense of identity and place – a heritage of thousands of lives intertwined.
Pieces of Us explores the knitting-together and pulling-apart of a family and a community. It provokes a timely conversation about wholeness. What’s it like to live in a place where you’re both seen and known – what does this unlock between us? And – conversely – what happens to us when we live somewhere but don’t belong?
This is a book about the formation, dismantlement and possible-future of a particular working-class Welsh neighbourhood. But it’s also a book about all of us.
Richard Smale, Executive Director of Strategy and Transformation, NHS Integrated Care Board. –
Pieces of Us offers a powerful reminder of the critical relationship between people and the communities in which they live, illustrating the importance of the unique assets that exist within each community and the need to work with these to tackle the economic and social challenges that exist. At a time when public sector organisations are promoting an integrated working around the improvement of health and wellbeing of the population, the book demonstrates the importance of adopting a neighbourhood rather than organisational approach.