The Trauma Cleaner

The Trauma Cleaner PDF Author: Sarah Krasnostein
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250101212
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature, Sarah Krasnostein’s The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster is the fascinating biography of one of the people responsible for tidying up homes in the wake of natural—and unnatural—catastrophes and fatalities. Homicides and suicides, fires and floods, hoarders and addicts. When properties are damaged or neglected, it falls to Sandra Pankhurst, founder of Specialized Trauma Cleaning (STC) Services Pty. Ltd. to sift through the ashes or sweep up the mess of a person’s life or death. Her clients include law enforcement, real estate agents, executors of deceased estates, and charitable organizations representing victimized, mentally ill, elderly, and physically disabled people. In houses and buildings that have fallen into disrepair, Sandra airs out residents’ smells, throws out their weird porn, their photos, their letters, the last traces of their DNA entombed in soaps and toothbrushes. The remnants and mementoes of these people’s lives resonate with Sandra. Before she began professionally cleaning up their traumas, she experienced her own. First, as a little boy, raised in violence and excluded from the family home. Then as a husband and father, drag queen, gender reassignment patient, sex worker, small businesswoman, and trophy wife. In each role she played, all Sandra wanted to do was belong. The Trauma Cleaner is the extraordinary true story of an extraordinary person dedicated to making order out of chaos with compassion, revealing the common ground Sandra Pankhurst—and everyone—shares with those struck by tragedy.

The Trauma Cleaner

The Trauma Cleaner PDF Author: Sarah Krasnostein
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1250101212
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Get Book

Book Description
Winner of the Victorian Prize for Literature, Sarah Krasnostein’s The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster is the fascinating biography of one of the people responsible for tidying up homes in the wake of natural—and unnatural—catastrophes and fatalities. Homicides and suicides, fires and floods, hoarders and addicts. When properties are damaged or neglected, it falls to Sandra Pankhurst, founder of Specialized Trauma Cleaning (STC) Services Pty. Ltd. to sift through the ashes or sweep up the mess of a person’s life or death. Her clients include law enforcement, real estate agents, executors of deceased estates, and charitable organizations representing victimized, mentally ill, elderly, and physically disabled people. In houses and buildings that have fallen into disrepair, Sandra airs out residents’ smells, throws out their weird porn, their photos, their letters, the last traces of their DNA entombed in soaps and toothbrushes. The remnants and mementoes of these people’s lives resonate with Sandra. Before she began professionally cleaning up their traumas, she experienced her own. First, as a little boy, raised in violence and excluded from the family home. Then as a husband and father, drag queen, gender reassignment patient, sex worker, small businesswoman, and trophy wife. In each role she played, all Sandra wanted to do was belong. The Trauma Cleaner is the extraordinary true story of an extraordinary person dedicated to making order out of chaos with compassion, revealing the common ground Sandra Pankhurst—and everyone—shares with those struck by tragedy.

The Trauma Cleaner

The Trauma Cleaner PDF Author: Sarah Krasnostein
Publisher: Text Publishing
ISBN: 1925410765
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
Winner, The 2018 Victorian Prize for Literature, and the Prize for Non-Fiction Before she was a trauma cleaner, Sandra Pankhurst was many things: husband and father, drag queen, gender reassignment patient, sex worker, small businesswoman, trophy wife... But as a little boy, raised in violence and excluded from the family home, she just wanted to belong. Now she believes her clients deserve no less. A woman who sleeps among garbage she has not put out for forty years. A man who bled quietly to death in his loungeroom. A woman who lives with rats, random debris and terrified delusion. The still life of a home vacated by accidental overdose. Sarah Krasnostein has watched the extraordinary Sandra Pankhurst bring order and care to these, the living and the dead—and the book she has written is equally extraordinary. Not just the compelling story of a fascinating life among lives of desperation, but an affirmation that, as isolated as we may feel, we are all in this together. Sarah Krasnostein is a writer. She is admitted to legal practice in Australia and America, and holds a doctorate in criminal law. She is the best-selling author of The Trauma Cleaner which won the Victorian Prize for Literature, the Victorian Premier’s Prize for Non-Fiction, the Australian Book Industry Award for General Non-Fiction, the Dobbie Literary Award, jointly won the Douglas Stewart Prize for non-fiction at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, was longlisted for the Walkley Book Award and was shortlisted for the National Biography Award, the Melbourne Prize for Literature and the Wellcome Book Prize (UK). Her work has appeared in a variety of publications and academic journals in Australia, the UK and America. ‘Amazing...I couldn’t put this book down, and I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone I know.’ Readings ‘A book that is as hard to read as it is hard to put down. A story of pain and loss and loneliness, of trauma and transformations and sassy humour. And cleaning...It is a hilarious and poignant tale of a woman who defies all labels...Krasnostein is a very fine writer. Her debut book is a compelling and honest story of human survival, and love.’ Australian ‘Krasnostein’s playful yet heartfelt debut is one of the most arresting works of biography you will read in a long time.’ Guardian ‘A wondrous portrait of an inspiring character.’ Saturday Paper ‘[Pankurst’s] story is probably one of the most touching, thoughtful and thought-provoking you will ever read...Sarah Krasnostein tells it with moving compassion, even love.’ New Zealand Herald ‘An extraordinarily impressive debut, in terms of both quality of writing and treatment of the subject matter...Krasnostein handles her material with respect, grace and compassion.’ Sydney Morning Herald ‘Compelling reading...This book reads like an unabashed love letter to Pankhurst with the first-time author, embedded for years in her subject’s life, effusive in her adoration.’ Courier-Mail ‘Deep empathy for complex individuals...Explore[s] the best and worst of who we are.’ Graeme Simsion, Sydney Morning Herald’s Year in Reading 2017 ‘One of the strangest, most fascinating books I’ve read, and a standout of the year. Krasnostein’s command of language is exquisite, and the complexity of Sandra Pankhurst’s life story unfolds seamlessly with the current-day narrative of her unique business and the people she meets with it.’ Feminist Writers Festival, Favourite Reads of 2017 ‘Deeply moving...The book reads as a love letter from Krasnostein to Sandra...I treasured every word.’ Australian Women’s Weekly ‘Intriguing...A complex protagonist makes for engaging material.’ Publishers Weekly

The Believer: Encounters with the Beginning, the End, and our Place in the Middle

The Believer: Encounters with the Beginning, the End, and our Place in the Middle PDF Author: Sarah Krasnostein
Publisher: Tin House Books
ISBN: 1953534074
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
A Best Book of the Month at The Philadelphia Inquirer “Deeply beautiful, and never simple.” —James Gleick, author of Time Travel: A History An unforgettable tour of the human condition that explores our universal need for belief to help us make sense of life, death, and everything in between. For Sarah Krasnostein it begins with a Mennonite choir performing on a subway platform, a fleeting moment of witness that sets her on a fascinating journey to discover why people need to believe in absolute truths and what happens when their beliefs crash into her own. Some of the people Krasnostein interviews believe in things many people do not: ghosts, UFOs, the literal creation of the universe in six days. Some believe in things most people would like to: dying with dignity and autonomy; facing up to our transgressions with truthfulness; living with integrity and compassion. By turns devastating and uplifting, and captured in snapshot-vivid detail, these six profiles of a death doula, a geologist who believes the world is six thousand years old, a lecturer in neurobiology who spends his weekends ghost hunting, the fiancée of a disappeared pilot and UFO enthusiasts, a woman incarcerated for killing her husband after suffering years of domestic violence, and Mennonite families in New York will leave you convinced that the most ordinary-seeming people are often the most remarkable and that deep and abiding commonalities can be found within the greatest differences. Vivid, unconventional, entertaining, and full of wonder, The Believer interweaves these stories with compassion and empathy, culminating in an unforgettable tour of the human condition that cuts to the core of who we are as people, and what we’re doing on this earth.

The Life of Stuff

The Life of Stuff PDF Author: Susannah Walker
Publisher: Doubleday UK
ISBN: 9780857525406
Category : Bereavement
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"Only after her mother's death does Susannah Walker discover how much of a hoarder she had become. Over the following months, sorting through a dilapidated house filled to the brim with rubbish and treasures, she goes in search of a woman she'd never really known in life. Hoping to piece together her mother's story and make sense of their troubled relationship, what emerges from the mess of scattered papers, discarded photographs and an extraordinary amount of stuff is the history of a sad and fractured family, haunted by dead children, divorce and alcohol."--

Aftermath, Inc.

Aftermath, Inc. PDF Author: Gil Reavill
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101216891
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
A look into the disturbing but fascinating new field of bio-recovery, as a critically acclaimed crime writer rolls up his sleeves and delves into the world of Aftermath, Inc. The best way to understand the world of Aftermath, Inc. is to imagine life before it. Grief-stricken families of suicide or homicide victims were left to cope on their own. Sometimes police would leave a can of ground coffee behind to soak up the mess. Sometimes local church groups offered to help with the horrific chaos of the scene. Into this void stepped Tim Reifsteck and Chris Wilson, who filled a desperate need by founding their bio-remediation company. Gil Reavill traces their history, introducing us to their clients and employees, and the cops, coroners, and detectives they encounter in their work. Their stories are stranger than fiction, and utterly human and compelling.

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess

Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess PDF Author: Dr. Caroline Leaf
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 1493424017
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Toxic thoughts, depression, anxiety--our mental mess is frequently aggravated by a chaotic world and sustained by an inability to manage our runaway thoughts. But we shouldn't settle into this mental mess as if it's just our new normal. There's hope and help available to us--and the road to healthier thoughts and peak happiness may actually be shorter than you think. Backed by clinical research and illustrated with compelling case studies, Dr. Caroline Leaf provides a scientifically proven five-step plan to find and eliminate the root of anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts in your life so you can experience dramatically improved mental and physical health. In just 21 days, you can start to clean up your mental mess and be on the road to wholeness, peace, and happiness.

How to Keep House While Drowning

How to Keep House While Drowning PDF Author: KC Davis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1668002841
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
If you're tired of staring at the same mess every day, but struggling to find the time and willpower to clean it, you probably have a very good reason: anxiety, fatigue, depression, ADHD, or lack of support. Designed by therapist KC Davis, this revolutionary method of cleaning and organizing helps end the stress-mess cycle. After KC Davis gave birth to her second child, she didn't fold a single piece of laundry for seven months. Between postpartum depression and ADHD, she felt numb and overwhelmed. She regained her sanity--and the functionality of her home--after one life-changing realization: You don't work for your home; your home works for you. In other words, messiness is not a moral failing. A new sense of calm washed over her as she let go of the shame-based messaging that interpreted a pile of dirty laundry as "I can never keep up" and a chaotic kitchen as "I'm a bad mother." Instead, she looked at unwashed clothes and thought, "I am alive," and at stacks of dishes and thought, "I cooked my family dinner three nights in a row." Building on this foundation of self-compassion, KC devised the powerful practical approach that has exploded in popularity through her TikTok account, @domesticblisters. The secret is to stop following perfectionist rules that don't make sense for you--like folding clothes that don't wrinkle anyway, or thinking that every room has to be clean at the same time--and to find creative solutions that accommodate your needs, pet peeves, daily rhythms, and attention span. Inside, you'll learn exactly how to customize your approach and rebuild your relationship with your home, including: -How to stop seeing care tasks as a reflection of your worth, but rather as kindnesses to your future self -How to use calming rituals to keep you from feeling overwhelmed when you look at a big mess -How to stagger tasks that are easy to procrastinate throughout the week and month -How to quickly transform a room from messy to fully functional through the "5 Things" tidying method, and other shortcuts requiring minimal energy Read this book to make home feel like a sanctuary again: where you can move with ease, where guilt, self-criticism, and endless checklists have no place, and where you always have permission to rest, even when things aren't finished.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning PDF Author: Margareta Magnusson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1501173251
Category : House & Home
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
*The basis for the wonderfully funny and moving TV series developed by Amy Poehler and Scout Productions* A charming, practical, and unsentimental approach to putting a home in order while reflecting on the tiny joys that make up a long life. In Sweden there is a kind of decluttering called döstädning, dö meaning “death” and städning meaning “cleaning.” This surprising and invigorating process of clearing out unnecessary belongings can be undertaken at any age or life stage but should be done sooner than later, before others have to do it for you. In The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, artist Margareta Magnusson, with Scandinavian humor and wisdom, instructs readers to embrace minimalism. Her radical and joyous method for putting things in order helps families broach sensitive conversations, and makes the process uplifting rather than overwhelming. Margareta suggests which possessions you can easily get rid of (unworn clothes, unwanted presents, more plates than you’d ever use) and which you might want to keep (photographs, love letters, a few of your children’s art projects). Digging into her late husband’s tool shed, and her own secret drawer of vices, Margareta introduces an element of fun to a potentially daunting task. Along the way readers get a glimpse into her life in Sweden, and also become more comfortable with the idea of letting go.

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death PDF Author: Charlie Huston
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345501128
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354

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Book Description
With his teaching career derailed by tragedy and his slacker days numbered, Webster Fillmore Goodhue makes an unlikely move and joins Clean Team, charged with tidying up L.A.'s grisly crime scenes. For Web, it's a steady gig, and he soon finds himself sponging a Malibu suicide's brains from a bathroom mirror and flirting with the man's bereaved and beautiful daughter. Then things get weird: The dead man's daughter asks a favor. Every cell in Web's brain tells him to turn her down, but something makes him hit the Harbor Freeway at midnight to help her however he can. Soon enough it's Web who needs the help when gun-toting California cowboys start showing up on his doorstep. What's the deal? Is it something to do with what he cleaned up in that motel room in Carson? Or is it all about the brewing war between rival trauma cleaners? Web doesn't have a clue, but he'll need to get one if he's going to keep from getting his face kicked in. Again. And again. And again.

Not Waving, Drowning: Mental Illness and Vulnerability in AustraliaQuarterly Essay 85

Not Waving, Drowning: Mental Illness and Vulnerability in AustraliaQuarterly Essay 85 PDF Author: Sarah Krasnostein
Publisher: Black Inc.
ISBN: 174382209X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Around one-fifth of Australians will suffer from mental illness in any given year. And the pandemic is making things worse, especially in schools. Our mental health system is under stress and not fit for purpose. What is to be done? In this brilliant mix of portraiture and analysis, Sarah Krasnostein tells the stories of three women and their treatment by the state while at their most unwell. What do their experiences tell us about the likelihood of institutional and cultural change? Krasnostein argues that we live in a society that often punishes vulnerability, but shows we have the resources to mend a broken system. But do we have the will to do so, or must the patterns of the past persist into the future?