Sunday, July 08, 2018

The Trauma Cleaner - Sarah Krasnostein

Sarah writes the rather extra ordinary story of Sandra  Pankhurst who works cleaning up homes of hoarders, murders and sudden deaths in Sydneys suburbs.  Yet it is the stories about her growing up that were the most harrowing to me, the neglect and abuse she suffered living with adoptive parents who sent her to live in an unheated, unlit shed in the garden unloved and unfed were just horrific.

Born male she then transitioned into a female, and the book doesn't shy away from the drugs and alcohol she abused and working in the  sex trade that she was in  years.  An amazing life where she  just wants to be accepted and fit in, and be able to provide for herself, working hard to run her own business and buy a home. 3/5

1 comment:

sallyhicks said...

Don’t think I could face reading that. Sounds so unpleasant and oh I do like a clean house. Once I worked for the Census people and went into many very different homes but none were dirty or messy and I found the poorest people took extreme pleasure in keeping their council houses clean. Mind you that was40 years ago and I think things including drugs could be quite different now.