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A review by cellular_cosmogony
The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein
2.0
TWs: rape described in detail, transphobia, homophobia, child abuse and neglect
I was excited to begin reading The Trauma Cleaner – it is a non-fiction detailing the life and work of Sandra Pankhurst, a trans woman who owns a trauma cleaning business. If you expect the writing to focus on her business only, then this probably won’t be your ideal read. The trauma cleaning was probably what intrigued me the most – the striking descriptions of the homes she cleans and the people living in them stood out to me and were probably what I’d remember the most. However, the further I got into the book the more issues I noticed in the way it is told.
My main one is the lack of transparency. This is a non-fiction that claims to give a full picture of a person’s life experience, but in the end fairls to give some information I’d describe as vital
• For instance, the author is never explicit about the nature of her relationship with her subject and how it affects her writing. I’ve seen them described as having a reporter-subject relationship, as wells as a close friendship – this shows how easy to misinterpret what we’re given in the book actually is.
• Another thing I noticed was that the usage of masculine language for Sandra before her transition. It is unclear whether this is done for the audience’s benefit, or because that’s the way Sandra conceptualizes her gender journey – the only information we’re given is that she’s uncomfortable sharing her deadname, which is why the book uses a made up name for her in the past.
• The book also lacked transparency in the way it portrayed Sandra’s past as a whole. The author repeatedly states that her subject is not a reliable narrator due to her memory being affected by trauma, substance abuse, age and health. However, save for a couple of occasions, it doesn’t state clearly which accounts of her life are based on her own words, and which are taken from other sources.
I also had a few other issues with this book.
• A rape is described in vivid detail without any warning. The section is long and very graphic, putting the reader in the prospective of the victim.
• The author repeatedly states that Sandra doesn’t associate with other trans women and queer people in general, because she feels a close kinship to cis women. Based on the context given, I was left with the impression this had little to do with kinship and all to do with her desire to pass as cis and some amount of internalized transphobia. Her friends are also shown to be quite transphobic, treating her as some sort of “good trans”.
• Krasnostein oftentimes romanticizes Panhurst, even when what she’s doing is not all that admirable. Refusing to wear protective equipment in her work is not an act of bravery, and is actually quite self-destructive.
Again, there are some good things in this, but I would rather my non-fiction not be opaque about so much information essential to undertsnading its subject.
I was excited to begin reading The Trauma Cleaner – it is a non-fiction detailing the life and work of Sandra Pankhurst, a trans woman who owns a trauma cleaning business. If you expect the writing to focus on her business only, then this probably won’t be your ideal read. The trauma cleaning was probably what intrigued me the most – the striking descriptions of the homes she cleans and the people living in them stood out to me and were probably what I’d remember the most. However, the further I got into the book the more issues I noticed in the way it is told.
My main one is the lack of transparency. This is a non-fiction that claims to give a full picture of a person’s life experience, but in the end fairls to give some information I’d describe as vital
• For instance, the author is never explicit about the nature of her relationship with her subject and how it affects her writing. I’ve seen them described as having a reporter-subject relationship, as wells as a close friendship – this shows how easy to misinterpret what we’re given in the book actually is.
• Another thing I noticed was that the usage of masculine language for Sandra before her transition. It is unclear whether this is done for the audience’s benefit, or because that’s the way Sandra conceptualizes her gender journey – the only information we’re given is that she’s uncomfortable sharing her deadname, which is why the book uses a made up name for her in the past.
• The book also lacked transparency in the way it portrayed Sandra’s past as a whole. The author repeatedly states that her subject is not a reliable narrator due to her memory being affected by trauma, substance abuse, age and health. However, save for a couple of occasions, it doesn’t state clearly which accounts of her life are based on her own words, and which are taken from other sources.
I also had a few other issues with this book.
• A rape is described in vivid detail without any warning. The section is long and very graphic, putting the reader in the prospective of the victim.
• The author repeatedly states that Sandra doesn’t associate with other trans women and queer people in general, because she feels a close kinship to cis women. Based on the context given, I was left with the impression this had little to do with kinship and all to do with her desire to pass as cis and some amount of internalized transphobia. Her friends are also shown to be quite transphobic, treating her as some sort of “good trans”.
• Krasnostein oftentimes romanticizes Panhurst, even when what she’s doing is not all that admirable. Refusing to wear protective equipment in her work is not an act of bravery, and is actually quite self-destructive.
Again, there are some good things in this, but I would rather my non-fiction not be opaque about so much information essential to undertsnading its subject.