Pages: 302
Published: 2nd October 2017
Genre: Non-fiction
The Trauma Cleaner is the story of one woman’s extraordinary life in death, decay and disaster, told by Sarah Krasnostein.
Before she was a trauma cleaner, Sandra Pankhurst was many things: husband and father, drag queen, gender reassignment patient, sex worker, small businesswoman.
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.
Over a period Sarah Krasnostein has watched Sandra bring order and care to these clients, and through spending time with her, has drawn up a comprehensive profile of her life.
I had almost forgotten what it was like to read a non-fiction book! It is so long since my last one as I have prioritised fiction in 2018, but I am really glad to have read The Trauma Cleaner. It is a fabulous book, so I must thank my wonderful reading buddy Gem of Glimpsing Gembles for suggesting we read this one!
Sandra Pankhurst really has had an extraordinary life. Her story is told in forensic detail by Sarah Krasnostein, who charts an almost uniquely eventful life mixed in with tragedy and horrific ordeals, and how she has had both the strength and the demeanour to overcome them.
The story alternates between the clients she assists in her role as a trauma cleaner, and her biographical story. This ensures that there is less repetition and more variety to the book, although at times it does switch between different time frames and periods of Sandra’s life, which made it a little confusing.
Krasnostein writes so well. It is rich in detail and texture; every aspect of a client’s home is described to the greatest minutiae, and it is exceptionally eloquent with a few inventive similes thrown in. I also appreciated just how much research went into writing the book, such as the various things that Sandra was unable to recall, and Australian transgender legislation history.
Little bits and pieces of her story are reconstructed, but the very raw aspects of Sandra’s life prevail, and it was quite shocking to find out what she has been through. But then, you marvel at the kind of person she is and her overall outlook, and that is where most of emphasis in this book lies.
Despite the title of the book, the actual trauma cleaning side of things, though told very vividly and providing a wonderful insight into Sandra, is a little bit overshadowed. I must admit I was expecting the book to be more about the job, but as a biography, there is very little that I did not find totally compelling.
Born in the United States, Sarah Krasnostein now primarily lives and works in Melbourne, although she spends some of her time in New York City. A lecturer in law, The Trauma Cleaner is her first book, having originally written an award-winning essay entitled The Secret Life of a Crime Scene Cleaner.
I thought this was a strongly written, compelling book, and Sandra shines through as an incredible person, having seen it all and done it all.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Stephen Reads Books 