Praise for The Unclaimed

“Cleareyed and disturbing, yet pulsing with empathy . . . [this] book is a work of grace.”—The New York Times

“Trust me that you’ll be captivated by this book about death. The Unclaimed tells remarkably vivid, intimate stories about four people in Los Angeles whose bodies went unclaimed after they died. . . . This lyrical and moving book raises profound questions about what we owe our family, our neighbors, and our fellow citizens.”—NPR

“A deeply compelling, utterly original account of all those whose bodies lie unclaimed in a Los Angeles morgue . . . These intimate profiles read like short stories, the writing both deeply empathic and unflinchingly honest. . . . [The Unclaimed] is a book that speaks to the power of narrative. Hearing stories makes us feel less alone. Hearing stories pushes us to ask hard questions of ourselves. This book has landed at just the right moment. . . . I didn’t expect to come away feeling so sanguine about humanity.”—The Atlantic

“Here’s hoping you can read one-handed. Left or right, you’ll need the other hand to place over your mouth when you’re touched by the beauty and humanity inside The Unclaimed.”—Wyoming Tribune Eagle

“The Unclaimed is 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. This humane and deeply reported book is full of surprises, insights, and tender moments that culminate in a powerful indictment of American life. What The Unclaimed lays bare about our families, our loneliness, our poverty—and our decency and courage, as well—demands that we reexamine our own lives while we still have breath.”—Matthew Desmond, author of Poverty, by America

“Powerful. Haunting. This book is living witness to the millions of forgotten dead, reminding us that we reaffirm our own humanity each time we tell the stories of those already gone.”—Kate Bowler, author of Everything Happens for a Reason

“The Unclaimed is a stunning work of narrative journalism that takes on the difficult, even taboo subject of society’s unclaimed dead. Through the stories of several very different people whose bodies end up in the care of the state for very different reasons, Pamela Prickett and Stefan Timmermans carefully and tenderly humanize who these people were in life, and in the process, explain how our flawed systems threaten to withhold this final dignity for society’s most vulnerable.” —Roxanna Asgarian, author of We Were Once a Family

“With exceptional humanity, The Unclaimed follows the dead who have fallen through the cracks of Los Angeles’ stifling postmortem bureaucracy. A bracing and impressive read.”—Caitlin Doughty, author of Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

“The Unclaimed reveals just how easy it is for even relatively stable Americans to slide into lives of ghastly isolation, and to die alone. The stories it tells are troubling and compelling, and its exploration of the hidden corners of this reality is unique and important.”—Jill Leovy, author of Ghettoside

“Groundbreaking . . . [and] extremely moving . . . Prickett and Timmermans humanize the dead with aching specificity, granting these few the honor that so many others deserve. . . . A gripping and compassionate account that leaves us with a feeling of social and personal responsibility for our kin, our community, and ourselves.”—BookPage (starred review)

“Poignant . . . An unsettling study of how social fracturing and community breakdown underpin lonely deaths . . . researched and written with appropriate sensitivity, care, and dignity.” —Kirkus Reviews