Work in Progress: Confessions of a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, corporate tool, and priest – A Funny, Wise, and Inspiring Spiritual Memoir

In this memoir, Father James Martin recounts his experiences working a series of jobs as a boy, teenager, and young adult—as a busboy, dishwasher, caddy, usher, factory worker, bank teller, and corporate employee before becoming a Jesuit priest. Set in the 1960s and 1970s, the narrative follows Martin through positions for which he had no prior training or experience, from restaurant kitchens to golf courses to factory floors. He describes feeling consistently uncomfortable and unsettled, but taking these jobs out of financial necessity. Martin presents himself not as a hero but as a hapless teenager navigating unfamiliar work environments and learning from each experience. The book includes photographs of memories and milestones from his youth and features humorous accounts of workplace mishaps. Through these varied jobs, Martin discovered lessons about the value of work, adulthood, people, and life itself. The memoir conveys practical life lessons including the importance of hard work, punctuality, kindness, apologies, forgiveness, asking questions, avoiding misuse of power, and paying attention to those struggling. Martin reflects that these formative work experiences shaped who he became.