Like many of us, I work with teens who have endured physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, compounded by dire educational and societal inequities. I am ever telling them that regardless of their circumstances and the safety measures they must take in a far too unfair, unjust world, if they believe in themselves, and hold fast to their education and trustworthy friendships, the choice to make or break their own lives is in their hands. 

 

I’ll never forget the words of a group member, age 13 and destined to become a writer, achingly lonely for the father who abandoned the family of 5: “I love the night. When it comes, it brings the stars, and I feel less afraid.”  During this discussion of loss, another group member, destined to be a social worker, responded: “Hey, what we have to face is better than ‘smother moms and dads,’ who make their kids live their lives instead of their own.”

 

Though none in the group play chess, a member described The Queen’s Gambit as “a gotta see, the work of our group is on TV.”  You may remember from my review of Joker that I take group member recommendations very seriously. I will frame the extraordinary experience this series offers with broad strokes, without plot spoilers.

 

Although The Queen’s Gambit is not a true story, it holds truths that social workers know. Yes, research in ours and related fields points persistently to how impossible it may be for rejected, abandoned, abused kids to make fulfilling lives. Yet, we know well that if a young person is invested in sincerely and authentically, these investments can remain, rock solid, to be built upon. Through rare collage, created by Scott Frank and Allan Shiach (who writes under the pseudonym Allan Scott), directed by Frank, and brought to life through brilliant casting, the series not only brings parallel hope and direction to teens and young adults, it also offers self-care through living art—relief and respite from the constant onslaughts of today’s here and now, where millions disregard the suffering and lack of opportunities provided for America’s young and vulnerable.