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Sensitive: My Journey through a Toxic World

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In this wry memoir, a Harvard-educated CPA with debilitating chemical intolerance digs deep in her family history to uncover the childhood trigger for her illness. Tackling themes of truth, loss, acceptance, and empowerment, Pookie Sekmet interweaves her personal story with timely guidance on the importance of avoiding toxic chemicals in cars, consumer products, and indoor environments; overcomes family trauma and mysterious chronic health struggles with determination and humor; builds an unconventional new life; and, finally, becomes a whistleblower within a corrupt and patriarchal corporate culture―and achieves righteous justice. Think Titus Andronicus, but with a slight woman in her mid-fifties with defiantly bad hair―wearing worn overalls and a home-sewn hemp jersey top―standing tall among the corpses.

Our society has become polarized by leaders seeking to consolidate exploitative power through the imposition of magical thinking and untruths. Through the story of her struggles and ultimate triumph, Sekmet lays bare the underlying selfishness, heedlessness, and lies of many of our political, societal, and business structures and offers a reality-based and practical path to self-protection―and even empowerment.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

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Pookie Sekmet

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for Sierra.
Author 2 books35 followers
October 30, 2019
If you want to read a true tale of horror this season, follow author Pookie Sekmet on her journey and struggle through our toxic world in her book, Sensitive.  PLUS - she is hosting a giveaway on Goodreads right now! - GOODREADS GIVEAWAY -
Honestly, if we truly think about our way of life in this day in age, we are basically poisoning ourselves on a day to day basis without much thought.  Simple changes in our lives can lessen these exposures and add thoughtfulness to our health.  That wasn't the case for Pookie in the beginning.  In her memoir, she digs deep into her family history to uncover a specific event that triggered an illness that still effects her today.   

In her story she lets us hang along on the journey with her to find the truth as well as how she lives now and the importance of avoiding toxic chemicals.  The path that led her to the event when she was younger is a path of family trauma and mysterious chronic health struggles.  We follow her as she builds an unconventional new life; and, "finally, becomes a whistle-blower within a corrupt and patriarchal corporate culture."  

There is good information here, the book will make you think.  I personally have prior knowledge to some of what the author talks about, but was surprised to learn of what happened to her when she was younger, the event that caused a chain reaction that will follow her though the rest of her lifetime.

Available on Amazon – Sensitive: My Journey through a Toxic World by Pookie Sekmet
Profile Image for JUSTINE KINCH.
56 reviews2 followers
March 2, 2020
A wonderful person has written this book for sure! I've had to deal with a toxic world but not to the degree the author has by far. Not just allergies is an understatement. I've been enlightened and more than I thought I'd be by this helpful book. My chemical exposure to cigarettes, paint, autos, air pollution, plastics began before I was born and this book made me see so much more of a much bigger picture. Also thank you to the author for some very useful problem solving for the reader to use.
Profile Image for Melody.
77 reviews2 followers
December 9, 2019
I was really blessed to win this awesome, autographed book. I was immediately drawn to the title because I am a HSP (highly sensitive person) and although reasons of suffering in sensitivity differ than the author's reasons, I felt such understanding with her. Well written, sometimes unbelievable, this book will make you think twice about just about every "scent" in your life and how it affects you. Fascinating and highly recommended!
Profile Image for Lisa Cobb Sabatini.
845 reviews23 followers
March 14, 2020
I won a copy of Sensitive: My Journey Through a Toxic World by Pookie Sekmet from Goodreads.

Pookie Sekmet is an amazing, resilient woman who learned what she needed to know and did what she had to do to survive and thrive, and then shared her insights in her book Sensitive: My Journey Through a Toxic World. As Sekmet shares her story with readers, she reveals that her physical problems began in very early childhood when, she later discovered, she was in a coma and nearly died. Readers learn how she deduced and gathered some evidence that she had been chemically injured, setting her up for a lifetime of sensitivity to the smallest environmental toxins. The author also takes a hard look at her parents and siblings, and their treatment of her, providing readers with much to ponder beyond the physical toxins. This book serves as an inspirational study of one individual's struggle to maintain physical and emotional good health, providing readers with an opportunity to gain insight into their own dealings with toxic environments.
Like a canary in a coal mine, Sekmet alerts us all to the toxins in our world. In a time of international pandemic and challenging environmental changes, Sensitivity by Pookie Sekmet is an extremely important book.
Profile Image for Hil.
112 reviews6 followers
March 27, 2021
I truly felt this so deeply. The author's truth resonates so strongly in me. Thank you for writing this
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