Ouch, Now I Remember: Reflecting on an Earlier Time

by Tom Corbett

The author picks up where he left off in a witty memoir of his academic and policy careers in “Browsing through My Candy Store.” In this equally hilarious book, Tom Corbett brings us back to the post–World War II period, where he came of age in a rough and tumble ethnic, working-class neighborhood. From a kid who showed no promise whatsoever, he underwent a series of transformative experiences from Catholic seminary training to the leader of a left-wing college group through Peace Corps service in India. His journey of self-discovery takes us through several early endeavors, such as guarding city sewers, tending hospital patients during the graveyard shift, reaching out to desperately poor kids in a distressed neighborhood, and faking it as an agricultural guru in the deserts of Rajasthan. Somehow, despite much incompetence and self-doubt, the author used grit and charm and serendipity to fall into a fulfilling career as a respected academic and policy wonk. “Ouch, Now I Remember” is a story that brings you back in time, helps you laugh a bit, and recalls a lost era. The reader might even shed a tear or two.

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2015

About the author

Tom Corbett is emeritus Senior Scientist and an affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he served as Associate and Acting Director for a decade before his retirement. He received a Doctorate in Social Welfare from the University of Wisconsin and taught various social policy and program evaluation courses there for many years. During his long academic and policy career, he worked with governments at all levels including a stint in Washington D.C. where he helped develop President Clinton’s welfare reform legislation. He has written dozens of articles and reports on poverty, social policy, and human services issues and given hundreds of talks across the nation on these topics. In addition, Dr. Corbett has consulted with numerous local, state, and federal officials on various poverty, welfare, and human services issues both in the United States and Canada. Among many other things, he has testified before Congress, worked with the Wisconsin Legislature on important legislation, and served on an expert panel for the National Academy of Sciences. His most recent works include The Boat Captain’s Conundrum, Browsing through My Candy Store, Ouch, Now I remember, and The Other Side of the World. Now retired, the author lives with his wife of 45 years, Mary Rider, and their lovable Shih Tzu dog, Rascal, in Madison Wisconsin.