A poignant and powerful celebration of one remarkable woman's unrelenting drive to make order from chaos.
Sarah Krasnostein was born in America, studied in Melbourne and has lived and worked in both countries. Earning her doctorate in criminal law, she is a law lecturer and researcher. Her essay, The Secret Life of a Crime Scene Cleaner, was published on Longreads and listed in Narratively's Top 10 Stories for 2014. She lives in Melbourne, and spends part of the year working in New York City. The Trauma Cleaner is her first book.
‘Written with sensitivity, insight and warmth…Krasnostein has
pieced together a compelling history through careful research and
interviews. The Trauma Cleaner is no ordinary trauma
narrative: we see how the infliction of multiple traumas has left
this fascinating woman uniquely placed to restore order among the
despair of others, and it is with similar care that Krasnostein has
produced this book.’
*Books+Publishing*
‘Amazing…I couldn’t put this book down, and I can’t wait to
recommend it to everyone I know.’
*Readings*
‘Within the pages of The Trauma Cleaner Krasnostein has
given us an extraordinary gift of humanity, life, and determination
while carefully guiding us through the unspeakable conditions in
which people find themselves in the face of trauma. Through sublime
writing, Sarah Krasnostein expertly renders an unforgettable
portrait of Sandra, one of the most compelling people I have ever
read. I found myself constantly walking the line between
frustration and utter love for this woman and I haven’t been able
to stop thinking about her and the life she has lived. Krasnostein
is a master storyteller of creative non-fiction and I am in
awe.’
*Sarah Schmidt, author of See What I Have Done*
‘Krasnostein’s playful yet heartfelt debut is one of the most
arresting works of biography you will read in a long time.’
*Guardian*
‘Krasnostein is an astute observer of human nature and her
understated yet elegant prose is reminiscent of Helen Garner.’
*Readings*
’Krasnostein has done a clean-up of her own, untangling the
narrative behind Pankhurst’s own cluttered memories…She lets
Pankhurst’s courage, humanity and sheer decency
shine through. It’s a fascinating read.’
*SA Weekend*
‘A wondrous portrait of an inspiring character.’
*Saturday Paper*
‘Sandra Pankurst’s life is a Netflix series waiting to
happen…Krasnostein is a marvelous, sympathetic observer and
narrator…Love, love, love this book.’
*Sun Bookshop*
‘An extraordinary life story superbly retold.’
*Tim Gott, Devonport Bookshop*
‘Superbly sensitive…A truly unusual biography which is both
confronting and edifying.’
*Toowoomba Chronicle*
‘A truly remarkable story.’
*Joan Mackenzie, Whitcoulls*
‘The most original non-fiction book of the year…Written with
warmth, humour and sensitivity, The Trauma Cleaner is
utterly fascinating.’
*Page & Blackmore Booksellers*
‘[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*
‘[Sandra] is one of the most extraordinary characters you will ever
find in a work of non-fiction…The Trauma Cleaner is a
disturbing and fascinating read with a heavy, beating heart at its
centre…[Krasnostein] shows how a writer can empathise and engage
with a subject yet still paint a realistic portrait.’
*Australian*
‘An anomalous, indelible treasure…Krasnostein allows Sandra’s story
room to breathe and expand, to quietly but confidently stake its
claim to the reader’s heart.’
*Kill Your Darlings*
‘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*
‘[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*
‘Krasnostein creates a humane portrait of a woman who has somehow
found fertile ground in the mess of life. A brutal, heartbreaking
and utterly moving story of survival – and a quiet kind of
triumph.’
*Better Reading*
‘Surely the most original non-fiction book of the year…Written with
warmth, humour and sensitivity, The Trauma Cleaner is utterly
fascinating.’
*Page & Blackmore NZ*
‘Sarah Krasnostein does a marvellous job of illuminating Sandra
Pankhurst the person…it’s the vignettes of Pankhurst’s early life
and upbringing in Melbourne, interspersed throughout the book, that
make for compelling reading.’
*Readings Best Non-Fiction 2017*
‘ [A] one-of-a-kind biography.’
*Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review Summer Reading
Guide*
‘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*
‘Compelling, compassionate, questioning and fascinating enough for
at least four sequels—the reasons you finishing reading may not be
the reasons you started. Stunning.’
*Fullers Bookshop*
‘A superbly written book about the re-doutbable Sandra Pankhurst
and her work as a trauma cleaner…This is the startling life story
of Pankhurst, a trans woman with a heart the size of Uluru, written
in Krasnostein’s irresistibly warm, frank, intelligent voice as she
describes sites of sadness and horror that take the reader straight
to the dark heart of the human condition.’
*Kerryn Goldsworthy, Best Books of 2017, Australian Book
Review*
‘This is a book which resists the temptation to fill in the gaps.
In that sense, it enacts trauma itself. Krasnostein doesn’t try and
insist that all the details of these complex lives add up – she
merely describes them vividly, lovingly and respectfully to make a
single statement: this is a life.’
*Judges’ Report, Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards, 2018*
‘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*
‘The Trauma Cleaner pays tribute to a person who's an absolute
life force even among the death and decay and squalor and stench
that she works in every day and the crushing difficulties of her
own past. And it's a story told more beautifully than you can
possibly imagine.’
*Radio National, 2017’s Best Summer Reads*
‘The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein is hard to describe,
but will delight anyone who reads it – it is that good…The stories
of the hoarders and Sandra’s compassion when dealing with them that
will have you transfixed. Promise.’
*InDaily*
‘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*
‘The remarkable story of super cleaner Sandra Pankhurst who cleans
up crimes and squalor with rare compassion and kindness.’
*Adelaide Advertiser, Favourite Books of the Year*
‘Deeply moving…The book reads as a love letter from Krasnostein to
Sandra…I treasured every word.’
*Australian Women’s Weekly*
‘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*
‘Sarah Krasnostein has written the story of her friend Sandra in a
respectful way, detailing every reinvention Sandra made in her
personal and professional endeavours. Readers will find Sandra’s
story emotional, shocking and triumphant. It is the true story of a
remarkable and resilient human being.’
*Good Reading*
‘Sarah Krasnostein’s writing is warm and curious. And, carefully,
it draws a portrait of Pankhurst you’ll remember long after you’ve
finished reading—a woman who is quietly, wonderfully triumphant
while standing at the middle and centre of despair.’
*Pool UK*
‘Through countless encounters with the fetid, the neglected, and
the downright tragic, Pankhurst has found meaning and peace, and
[author] Krasnostein a singular subject whom she approaches with
well-deserved awe.’
*Booklist (starred review)*
‘Intriguing...A complex protagonist makes for engaging
material.’
*Publishers Weekly*
‘Wields emotion, truth and reality with one-of-a-kind
dexterity.’
*Elle Australia*
‘It will always be on my Top Ten List of Most Extraordinary
Non-Fiction Books Ever.’
*Best Books of 2018, LitHub*
‘Un-put-downable reading...By the time the book ends, you’ll be so
invested in her story that you won’t want to leave [Sandra]
behind.’
*InDaily*
‘[I]t’s not just the content that makes it a wonderful read, it’s
also the writing style. Every word, every sentence, is carefully
considered, re-considered and re-considered some more, resulting in
what can only be described as beautiful language. I was truly blown
away by the power and precision of the prose. Sounds, tastes and
smells emanate from the page, creating a visceral experience of
protagonist Sandra’s extraordinary, often traumatic, life.’
*Conversation*
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