When journalist and author Alison Stewart was confronted with emptying
her late parents' overloaded basement, a job that dragged on for months,
it got her thinking: How did it come to this? Why do smart, successful
people hold on to old Christmas bows, chipped knick-knacks, and books
they will likely never reread? Junk details Stewart's three-year
investigation into America's stuff. Stewart rides along with junk
removal teams like Trash Daddy, Annie Haul, and Junk Vets. She goes
backstage at Antiques Roadshow, and learns what makes for compelling
junk-based television with the executive producer of Pawn Stars. And
she even investigates the growing problem of space junk--23,000 pieces
of manmade debris orbiting the planet at 17,500 mph, threatening both
satellites and human space exploration. But it's not all dire. Readers
will also learn that there are creative solutions to America's crushing
consumer culture. The author visits with Deron Beal, founder of
FreeCyle, an online community of people who would rather give away than
throw away their no-longer-needed possessions. She spends a day at a
Repair Café, where volunteer tinkerers bring new life to broken
appliances, toys, and just about anything. Junk is a delightful
journey through 250-mile-long yard sales, resale shops, and packrat
dens, both human and rodent, that for most readers will look
surprisingly familiar.
