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The Cookie Dumpster
At seventeen Shana Hammaker was a street kid named Denise. By the time she landed in the gutter, Shana had been abandoned by her parents and subsequently spent the bulk of her teen years bouncing from one foster home or group home to the next. Her life up to that point had been far from satisfactory so Shana was determined to begin her new, untethered life completely no baggage, no memories, no Shana. So Denise set out to conquer the homeless world. Or at least, to have a good time. The months Denise spent living on the streets of Santa Cruz, California, were wild. She learned how to smoke speed off a light bulb, met a man named Rowdy who claimed to be a 1400-year-old vampire, almost found TV fame on the Jerry Springer Show, fell in love and got pregnant—all in less than a year. Denise was living it up, gutterpunk-style. But Shana hadn’t gone anywhere. She was still there, buried deep within Denise—small and sad and longing for the love and comfort of home. And she found it in the unlikeliest the Pacific Cookie Company’s dumpster. THE COOKIE DUMPSTER is part memoir, part journalistic exposition. In this essay-length piece, author Shana Hammaker returns to one of the most difficult periods of her life and reunites with her wild, seventeen-year-old alter-ego. She also reaches out to the owners of the Pacific Cookie Company—Mr. and Mrs. Pearson—and shares with them the role their dumpster played in her life. THE COOKIE DUMPSTER is a poignant story of loneliness, struggle, and hope. Approximately 8000 words/31 printed pages
- GenresNonfictionMemoir
30 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 4, 2011
19 people want to read
About the author
Shana Hammaker
14 books26 followersShana Hammaker grew up reading Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary, unsure whether she related more to Ramona Quimby or Ralph S. Mouse.
It turns out that she had more in common with their creators. Shana wrote her first story for a fourth-grade assignment. It was a tragic tale of a young person born with rubber bands in place of bones, and it didn't end well, either for the characters or the readers. Thankfully, Shana has had a lot of practice with the literary form since then. She has gone on to write a slew of short thrillers, a couple of memoirs, and a YA novel.
Shana writes with warmth, with a clear-eyed love of humanity, and with a healthy dose of HOPE.
Shana's latest work, The Santa Strike, will be out in the fall of 2023.
It turns out that she had more in common with their creators. Shana wrote her first story for a fourth-grade assignment. It was a tragic tale of a young person born with rubber bands in place of bones, and it didn't end well, either for the characters or the readers. Thankfully, Shana has had a lot of practice with the literary form since then. She has gone on to write a slew of short thrillers, a couple of memoirs, and a YA novel.
Shana writes with warmth, with a clear-eyed love of humanity, and with a healthy dose of HOPE.
Shana's latest work, The Santa Strike, will be out in the fall of 2023.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 31, 2011
"There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein." – Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith
Although an overused quote, to the point of becoming clichéd, anyone who has tried writing of any kind also recognizes its truth. It applies to almost any kind of writing. Red Smith was a sportswriter, which doesn’t seem that personal, yet all writing, even something as easy as a review, can still feel this way. It is one reason authors sometimes react emotionally when someone doesn’t like what they’ve written.
In "The Cookie Dumpster," it feels like Shana Hammaker sat down at her new-fangled typewriter and opened an artery instead. She gives us a glimpse into the people and culture of the homeless, a situation most of us can barely imagine. Hammaker’s writing voice or tone seemed different from her fiction, somehow more personal. Maybe this is something I imagined, or possibly that she is telling her own story rather than acting as a go-between for her characters made the voice more authentic. In many ways, this is a story of contradictions, of highs and lows. It is a story of freedom from many of society’s norms and of slavery to the requirements of survival. Ultimately, it is a story of overcoming obstacles.
If "The Cookie Dumpster" has any faults, it is that I wanted more. The period covered starts and ends at logical and natural points for the story Hammaker wanted to tell. But I can’t help thinking there is a prequel and possibly a sequel with much different, although just as compelling, stories to tell.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
Although an overused quote, to the point of becoming clichéd, anyone who has tried writing of any kind also recognizes its truth. It applies to almost any kind of writing. Red Smith was a sportswriter, which doesn’t seem that personal, yet all writing, even something as easy as a review, can still feel this way. It is one reason authors sometimes react emotionally when someone doesn’t like what they’ve written.
In "The Cookie Dumpster," it feels like Shana Hammaker sat down at her new-fangled typewriter and opened an artery instead. She gives us a glimpse into the people and culture of the homeless, a situation most of us can barely imagine. Hammaker’s writing voice or tone seemed different from her fiction, somehow more personal. Maybe this is something I imagined, or possibly that she is telling her own story rather than acting as a go-between for her characters made the voice more authentic. In many ways, this is a story of contradictions, of highs and lows. It is a story of freedom from many of society’s norms and of slavery to the requirements of survival. Ultimately, it is a story of overcoming obstacles.
If "The Cookie Dumpster" has any faults, it is that I wanted more. The period covered starts and ends at logical and natural points for the story Hammaker wanted to tell. But I can’t help thinking there is a prequel and possibly a sequel with much different, although just as compelling, stories to tell.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog. May have received a free review copy. **
December 26, 2011
I read this on my Kindle, and I enjoyed the hell out of it, but it was so short! I know the author's got more stories from being a gutterpunk kid. I'm very interested in human experiences, especially from young people, and being homeless, for some reason, tops my list.
July 13, 2013
This is wonderful. I read it in one sitting and cried.
January 2, 2020
A compelling look at both overwhelming odds, being homeless with no family you can count on but Hope which is an underlying theme in writers books both true and fiction.
January 25, 2026
Cute short story
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews