THE Mount Gambier Library will host an exclusive evening with Sandra Pankhurst, subject of the award-winning book The Trauma Cleaner, on Thursday night.
Before she was a trauma cleaner, Ms Pankhurst was a husband and father, drag queen, prostitute, gender reassignment patient, trophy wife and successful business owner.
Above all, she is a survivor.
Sandra, who is transgender, was born Peter and was adopted into an alcoholic family that decided they no longer wanted him.
He was subjected to extreme violence and neglect and banished to live in a shed until he was evicted at 17 years old.
Peter went on to marry and had two children, but started to lead a double life exploring the gay scene in Melbourne.
Leaving behind a young family, Peter took on another name as Sandra in the ’70s and started her new life dancing in clubs in St Kilda before moving onto prostitution to survive.
This was her life for several years before undergoing a full gender reassignment.
Leading a life fuelled with drugs and alcohol, everything came to a halt when she was brutally attacked and raped.
Emotionally and physically scarred, Sandra had to find a new career and today she is the director of Specialised Trauma Cleaning Services.
“Sandra is responsible for cleaning up after horrific events such as murder, meth labs or suicide,” library programming team leader Kristi Leamey said.
“She has built a pristine reputation in cleaning properties of hoarders, where decay, garbage and faeces are six foot deep.
“Sandra sorts through the dead vermin, the 20 year old rubbish, to discover rotting floorboards or squishy mould-ridden walls – she does this with such compassion that part of her role now is counselling clients and their families.”
Author Sarah Krasnostein had a chance meeting with Sandra and was so intrigued by her she decided to write about life as a trauma cleaner.
Over four years and visiting 20 grotesque properties – many that left the author dry retching – she discovered there was more to Sandra than the immaculately dressed trauma cleaner.
The Trauma Cleaner has won a host of awards and negotiations are now under way for a television series.
An evening with Sandra Pankhurst will be held at Mount Gambier City Hall on Thursday at 7pm.
Tickets for the event are $6 and only a few remain for purchase at the library.
