Author Malcolm Crockett releases a powerful auto-ethnographic narrative exposing institutional silence while celebrating resilience, solidarity, and truth.

In a time when institutions across the world are being called to account for past injustices, No Backup – A Set Up and More arrives as a timely, unflinching, and deeply human work. Malcolm Crockett’s book offers readers an intimate yet far-reaching exploration of what it means to live and work ethically inside systems that quietly withdraw protection, legitimacy, and safety from those deemed “other.”

Part memoir, part social history, and part literary narrative, No Backup – A Set Up and More traces the author’s journey from childhood illness and cultural displacement to professional life as a young gay social worker navigating institutional hostility. The narrative also speaks to how a young social worker coped with the residual impacts of the RCMP and Canadian government’s multi-decade involvements with the Great Purge of gays and lesbians in the Diplomatic Corps, the Civil Service, and the Canadian Military.

Adding an unexpected historical thread, Crockett notes that, as a youth, he worked closely with Tommy Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland’s grandfather and the founder of Canada’s national Medicare system. Rather than focusing on a single grievance, Crockett reveals a culture, one shaped by enforced silence, normalized prejudice, and the quiet expectation that some lives are more expendable than others.

With clarity, intelligence, and moments of sharp humor, Crockett examines how discrimination often operates not through dramatic confrontation, but through denial of support, isolation, and strategic neglect. The book’s title itself reflects this reality: “no backup” is not only a literal absence of protection, but a metaphor for institutional abandonment.

“No Backup is about what happens when doing the right thing comes with risk,” Crockett notes.

“It’s about learning how to survive with integrity when the system refuses to stand behind you.”

The book's power largely comes from its depiction of survival as something that has to be actively learned. As a part of the resistance and endurance arsenal, Crockett brings up the unions, the mentors, the allies, and even writing. None of these, however, wipe away the harm, but they enable survival and give it a sense of purpose. The story, through the author's own experience and his keen eye, shows how resilience becomes possible when one is surrounded by a supportive community, using one's wits, and being constantly aware of oneself.

No Backup – A Set Up and More gives readers both information and a chance to think. People who care about social justice, labor movements, LGBTQ+ history, and Canadian culture will find the book interesting and helpful. People who work in social work, public service, and advocacy will be familiar with the ethical issues discussed in the book, but general readers will enjoy how easy it is to read and how it tells a story.

In the end, No Backup – A Set Up and More is a book about voice: how it is silenced, how it survives, and how it is taken back. It shows how powerful stories can be in keeping the truth alive, questioning systems, and upholding human dignity. This is not only a book about the past. It is a reminder of how easily protections can be withdrawn, and why remembering, recording, and speaking still matter.

About the Author

Malcolm Crockett is a graduate of the University of British Columbia and Carleton University, with more than thirty years of professional experience in government and social services in Canada and abroad. He has worked in New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia, mentored generations of social work students, and served in leadership roles within labor and community organizations. He lives in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, where he is still involved in community history and education. No Backup – A Set Up and More is a powerful way for him to help keep stories alive that institutions used to try to silence.

Amazon: https://a.co/d/02pNx2NK

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