Personal Effects
What Recovering the Dead Teaches Me About Caring for the Living
Robert A. Jensen
- The
- owner
- of
- the
- world’s
- leading
- disaster
- management
- company
- chronicles
- the
- unseen
- world
- behind
- the
- yellow
- tape,
- and
- explores
- what
- it
- means
- to
- be
- human
- after
- a
- lifetime
- of
- caring
- for
- the
- dead.You
- have
- seen
- Robert
- A.
- Jensen—you
- just
- never
- knew
- it.
- As
- the
- owner
- of
- the
- world’s
- largest
- disaster
- management
- company,
- he
- has
- spent
- most
- of
- his
- adult
- life
- responding
- to
- tragedy.
- From
- the
- Oklahoma
- City
- bombing,
- 9/11,
- and
- the
- Bali
- bombings,
- to
- the
- 2004
- South
- Asian
- Tsunami,
- Hurricane
- Katrina,
- the
- 2010
- Haitian
- Earthquake,
- and
- the
- Grenfell
- Tower
- Fire,
- Jensen
- has
- been
- at
- the
- practical
- level
- of
- international
- incidents,
- assisting
- with
- the
- recovery
- of
- bodies,
- identifying
- victims,
- and
- repatriating
- and
- returning
- their
- personal
- effects
- to
- the
- surviving
- family
- members.
- He
- is
- also,
- crucially,
- involved
- in
- the
- emotional
- recovery
- that
- comes
- after
- a
- disaster:
- helping
- guide
- the
- families,
- governments,
- and
- companies
- involved,
- telling
- them
- what
- to
- expect
- and
- managing
- the
- unmanageable.
- As
- he
- explains,
- “If
- journalists
- write
- the
- first
- rough
- draft
- of
- history,
- I
- put
- the
- punctuation
- on
- the
- past.”Personal
- Effects
- is
- an
- unsparing,
- up-close
- look
- at
- the
- difficult
- work
- Jensen
- does
- behind
- the
- yellow
- tape
- and
- the
- lessons
- he
- learned
- there.
- The
- chronicle
- of
- an
- almost
- impossible
- and
- grim
- job,
- Personal
- Effects
- also
- tells
- Jensen’s
- own
- story—how
- he
- came
- to
- this
- line
- of
- work,
- how
- he
- manages
- the
- chaos
- that
- is
- his
- life,
- and
- the
- personal
- toll
- the
- repeated
- exposure
- to
- mass
- death
- brings,
- in
- becoming
- what
- GQ
- called
- “the
- best
- at
- the
- worst
- job
- in
- the
- world.”A
- rare
- glimpse
- into
- a
- world
- we
- all
- see
- but
- many
- know
- nothing
- about,
- Personal
- Effects
- is
- an
- inspiring
- and
- heartwarming
- story
- of
- survival
- and
- the
- importance
- of
- moving
- forward,
- Jensen
- allows
- his
- readers
- to
- see
- over
- his
- shoulder
- as
- he
- responds
- to
- disaster
- sites,
- uncovers
- the
- deceased,
- and
- cares
- for
- families
- to
- show
- how
- a
- strong
- will
- and
- desire
- to
- do
- good
- can
- become
- a
- path
- through
- the
- worst
- the
- world
- can
- throw
- at us.
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