A review by sincerelymarinakate
Personal Effects: What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me about Caring for the Living by Robert A. Jensen

challenging dark emotional informative

4.0

 A poignant memoir about the author’s career working in the recovery of the deceased after mass casualty events. A topic that could feel too heavy quickly or easily be handled clumsily is beautifully written about here. The writing was precise and while maintaining empathy for the people discussed. This book covers things that most of us have probably never thought about and are glad to not have to be experienced in. It is an unflinching look at death and often quite brutal death at that. Some chapters cover the aftermath of natural disasters and some cover terrorist attacks or other human caused catastrophes. The memoir looks at the events and balances personal recollections and stories with facts about the aftermath of the tragedy and the ways that the handling of it by all involved helped or hindered the healing of those most affected. It’s as dark as you’d imagine but if you feel you can handle it is a worthy addition to your reading list.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC audiobook. 
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