The Believer

This book is about ghosts and gods and flying saucers and certainty in the absence of knowledge. From award-winning author Sarah Krasnostein comes an exploration of the power of belief. Weaving together the stories of six extraordinary ordinary people, The Believer looks at the stories we tell ourselves to deal with the distance between the world as it is, and the world as we’d like it to be. How they can stunt us—or save us. Some of the people you will meet believe in things most people don’t. Ghosts. UFOs. Heaven and the Devil. The literal creation of the universe in six days. Others believe in things most people would like to. Dying with autonomy. Facing one’s own transgressions with an open heart. In this intensely personal and gorgeously written new book Krasnostein talks with her characteristic compassion and empathy to these believers—and finds out what happens when their beliefs crash into her own.

PRAISE FOR SARAH KRASNOSTEIN AND THE TRAUMA CLEANER

‘A story told more beautifully than you can possibly imagine.’ ABC Radio National
‘[A] one-of-a-kind biography.’ New York Times Book Review
‘Extraordinarily impressive.’ Age