The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels

· Muuzaji: Crown
Kitabu pepe
336
Kurasa
Kimetimiza masharti

Kuhusu kitabu pepe hiki

“A rare and compassionate look into the lives of Americans who go unclaimed when they die and those who dedicate their lives to burying them with dignity.”—Matthew Desmond, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Poverty, by America

“A work of grace . . . Both cleareyed and disturbing, yet pulsing with empathy.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)


For centuries, people who died destitute or alone were buried in potters’ fields—a Dickensian end that even the most hard-pressed families tried to avoid. Today, more and more relatives are abandoning their dead, leaving it to local governments to dispose of the bodies. Up to 150,000 Americans now go unclaimed each year. Who are they? Why are they being forgotten? And what is the meaning of life if your death doesn’t matter to others?

In this extraordinary work of narrative nonfiction, eight years in the making, sociologists Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans uncover a hidden social world. They follow four individuals in Los Angeles, tracing the twisting, poignant paths that put each at risk of going unclaimed, and introducing us to the scene investigators, notification officers, and crematorium workers who care for them when no one else will.

The Unclaimed lays bare the difficult truth that anyone can be abandoned. It forces us to confront a variety of social ills, from the fracturing of families and the loneliness of cities to the toll of rising inequality. But it is also filled with unexpected moments of tenderness. In Boyle Heights, a Mexican American neighborhood not far from the glitter of Hollywood, hundreds of strangers come together each year to mourn the deaths of people they never knew. These ceremonies, springing up across the country, reaffirm our shared humanity and help mend our frayed social fabric.

Beautifully crafted and profoundly empathetic, The Unclaimed urges us to expand our circle of caring—in death and in life.

Kuhusu mwandishi

Pamela Prickett is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Amsterdam and an acclaimed writer and former broadcaster.

Stefan Timmermans is a professor of sociology at UCLA. He is the author of an award-winning book on forensic death investigations.

Kadiria kitabu pepe hiki

Tupe maoni yako.

Kusoma maelezo

Simu mahiri na kompyuta vibao
Sakinisha programu ya Vitabu vya Google Play kwa ajili ya Android na iPad au iPhone. Itasawazishwa kiotomatiki kwenye akaunti yako na kukuruhusu usome vitabu mtandaoni au nje ya mtandao popote ulipo.
Kompyuta za kupakata na kompyuta
Unaweza kusikiliza vitabu vilivyonunuliwa kwenye Google Play wakati unatumia kivinjari cha kompyuta yako.
Visomaji pepe na vifaa vingine
Ili usome kwenye vifaa vya wino pepe kama vile visomaji vya vitabu pepe vya Kobo, utahitaji kupakua faili kisha ulihamishie kwenye kifaa chako. Fuatilia maagizo ya kina ya Kituo cha Usaidizi ili uhamishe faili kwenye visomaji vya vitabu pepe vinavyotumika.