Welcome to Litsy!

A magnificent book and a remarkable human. If only stories like this were mandatory reading.

I just finished this for a bookclub, otherwise I don‘t think I would have gotten all the way through.

Don‘t read this without looking into content warnings if you care about those- very graphic descriptions of a lot of unpleasant situations.

Had I looked at previous reviews I would have known to expect more of a biography of Sandra, who has had a difficult life in so many ways. The cleaning itself is included, but takes a back seat. Intense.

This is a very honest portrayal of a person. Did I always like Sandra Pankhurst? Nope! But I sure admire the hell out of how she has survived the traumas of her life.
At one point, the author connects with a hoarder in this book when she says about the type of books she likes: “Anything which shows the human strength under the most appalling circumstances helps me to survive”.
That is the kind of book that Sarah Krasnostein has written here.

I understand why the title is what it is but I feel a bit misled - would have liked a bit more on the trauma cleaning. However, Sandra is quite a complex person who has been through a lot of trauma herself and it made for a difficult but interesting listen. I admired her resilience. The author really idolises Sandra so it‘s quite a biased picture of her life I think! #nonfiction2023 - Toxic

A lot of these were very heartbreaking :( But it was a fascinating read. Thank you again @SleepsWithBooks for the gift!

#BookSpinBingo
@TheAromaOfBooks

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@SleepsWithBooks -- You are always so sweet/kind, Muah! I am so excited to start this one today! Thank you for the books! You are such a book angel

Today is supposed to be about cleaning so I decided to read about it instead.

Actually doing quite good with #20in4 #ReadAThon
Finished 2 Books and read a good chunk of Shining Girls
Bringing me to a total of 9h18m so far.

Day 1 : 3h21m
Day 2 : 5h57m

@Andrew65

This subject of this book has led a fascinating life, and the journalist who tells her story does a wonderful job.

The hook of The Trauma Cleaner is, naturally, the voyeuristic thrill we get from peering into lives that have fallen apart. The thing is, though, it‘s not really *about* trauma cleaning. Krasnostein gives a thorough beginner‘s-guide to the nature of that work, but really this story is about Pankhurst, and her incredible life. Full review here: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-trauma-cleaner-sarah-krasnostein/

This is an amazing story of resilience but it is also a difficult one to listen to. I enjoyed it and ultimately found it rewarding but wow, this woman lived through a lot of 🤬🤬🤬 ... events. There was one section that I had to skip because otherwise I would not have been able to finish. Still glad I did though. @Bookboss

Wow, this is amazing and of course very sad. @Bookboss

I expected this to be a memoir, but it is a biography of Sandra, who owns a cleaning company. They don‘t do weekly vacuuming and dusting, but they clean up after murders, suicides, and hoarders - trauma cleaning. The trauma cleaning also refers to Sandra‘s own process of dealing with the trauma of the abuse she has suffered from her parents and from transphobic people. The story is fascinating but brutal. The audiobook narrator is excellent.

I got this book because of the word of mouth on LT and Litsey about how good it was. Going in I was expecting the main focus to be the cleaning jobs Sandra Pankhurst had worked on, but her lifestory as a trans woman in Australia was unexpectedly compelling. 👇

Starting

Uh, no thanks.

This book is not really about what I thought it would be about. As a slightly morbid person, I was looking forward to the hoarders and crime scenes; but the book is more about Sandra‘s journey as a trans woman. I hope to be able to come back to this book when my mind is in a better place. I found Sandra to be a very complex and often infuriating person. I cannot fathom her attitude towards her children, so much so, I need a break.

This was a fascinating read. I really enjoyed it!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is already breaking my heart! 💔 I was just looking for stories of cleaning up trauma scenes and hoarders‘ houses—don‘t judge me!—but I am getting so much more.

This book as so good and so problematic. I‘m torn about Sandra, sometimes I like her. Other times I think she‘s a horrible person. I guess that‘s what makes a good book. One of the best I‘ve read in a long time. 4 stars:)

This wasn‘t what I thought it would be. I was expecting more about trauma cleaning and less of a biography. However, it was the exact opposite. This was a biography of Sandra Pankhurst, growing up transgender in Australia, with a very secondary focus on her trauma cleaning business. I am morbid; I WANTED to hear about the trauma cleaning!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Is it weird that I have like 25 books going I just keep reading them bits and pieces as they cycle through my Libby. I‘m in school so I can‘t just finish the books by the due date so I start them recycle my hold and proceed when they come back through or I‘m in the mood to restart them....

I feel so perfectly matched with Meg for #newyearwhodis ✨

These are the books that were already on my radar and I think my library has a couple of them in but I‘m going to read as many from the list as I can 😁

Currently reading

This was a completely fascinating account of the life of Sandra Pankhurst, a complicated and resourceful woman who has suffered her own share of challenges and trauma. Yet she continued to move forward and has a successful business helping others clean up after disaster with compassion and humor. An especially great audiobook.
#nonfiction #readharderchallenge

Work was stupid busy all week so I‘ve barely had a minute to read. Hasn‘t stopped me from loading up my Kindle (that is already bursting at the seams with unread books.) Some people spend this season binge eating Christmas cookies, I spend it binge buying books. 🎄📚

This was a tough read, very sad and quite disgusting in places. Just my type of thing! Trailed off a little towards the end I thought, could have been a few pages shorter.

An amazing read. I thought it was going to be all about a lady and her crime scene cleanup business but this book was soooo much more than that. It is mainly the life story of Sandra Pankhurst the amazing woman who started up the cleaning business and her colourful life from childhood to the present day. A touching insightful look into a tran's persons journey to become the woman she always wanted to be despite so many adversities.

Incredible, unique and compassionate perspective. The mix of the trauma cleaner's history and the accounts of the people she cleans for is fascinating. It's really good and I'd recommend this book to most people. It also made me want to clean my house, and that's generally a good thing!

Wow, this story is both tragic and inspiring and is like the saying 'Truth is stranger than fiction.'
I cannot fathom how one who has suffered so much unkindness has so much kindness to give to others. Sandra reminds me of the mythical Phoenix, who is constantly rising from the ashes to be reborn stronger.

Sandra has lived such an interesting life and I loved reading about it. There was a lot of time jumps in this one and the timeline got a but confusing but this was such a real and deep look at one of the most unique lives I've read about.

#scarathlon #teamslaughter @Clwojick

Finally a little wind down time in bed. My favourite part of the day!

#scarathlon #teamslaughter @Clwojick

This was a good audio book. Sandra is a complex and often infuriating woman. The writing was a bit overblown but the story was interesting.

I expected tales of what happens day to day in this line of work. Yes, there were lots of accounts of trauma and hoarder clean ups but there was just as much detail about living a trans life. While I think we should understand how others deal with real life I wasn‘t expecting this info in this book. Maybe the title should‘ve hinted at this?

Fascinating. A story about a broken woman with a horrible upbringing helping broken people in their time of need. Sandra (born Peter) started a business as a trauma cleaner. She connects with her clients in a way an unbroken person could not. The story is told in alternating chapters of her life and her cases. Her memory is impaired so i found the writing a little "flighty" but im betting that is exactly how she is. Overall i enjoyed the read.

I got out of our car today & as I opened the door this was staring at me .... maybe it‘s a sign that I need to read a certain book ... 😳🤔

It wasn't what I had expected, but still an all right, interesting read

I don‘t like non fiction but have been wanting to read this since its published! Just started this audio last night cause my eyes were too tired to read. It‘s about this extraordinary courageous woman who became the trauma cleaner after she was a husband, father & drag queen & even tho she has gone through a lot in her life, she‘s living a positive life and helping others in many way.
#audiobook #booknerd #currentread #24B4Monday #nonfiction

Sandra Pankhurst is a trauma cleaner. Not only does she clean scenes after traumas and horrific events, she also is a lifeline for the real people involved. Her own life is full of abuse and neglect, yet she is a survivor that faces each day with so much courage and makes a difference in her clients‘ lives. I listened to this true story and fell in love with this inspirational, vibrant woman. A five star read for me.

A difficult read because of what Sandra had to go through it her life, and the work she threw herself into in her later years. Reading about these things is nothing compared to her lived experience, however. I had to take my time to get through this one.

The author did a fantastic job keeping as true to the story as one can with the unreliable recounting of events, which Krasnostein is upfront about.

A great audiobook about an incredible woman‘s life. The narration was perfect, and I feel a real connection with both the author and Sandra. Though her life has been a million miles away from mine, in ways I felt like I could really relate to her

Taking a break from listening to podcasts at work and giving this a try. Have any of you lovely Littens read this one before?