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The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels

Name: The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels
Brand: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
SKU: 9780593239056
Price: 21.99 USD
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Contributors:

Pamela Prickett, Stefan Timmermans

Publisher:

Crown Publishing Group (NY)

Binding:

Hardcover

Book Category:

Social Science, Family & Relationships

Book Subcategory:

Death & Dying, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Anthropology

Book Topic:

Cultural & Social

Shipping & Return +

The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

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Specifications +

Release Date:

2024-03-12

ISBN 13:

9780593239056

Weight:

1.17 lbs

Size:

9.43 x 6.33 x 1.22 inches

Pages:

336

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

"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.

About the Author
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.

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