Laura Sewell

SWEDISH
DEATH
CLEANING

THE GENTLE ART OF

SEASON 2 HERO CASTING

As laws prohibiting treatment for trans minors loom on the horizon, a family must down-size before they leave Texas behind for the sake of their daughter.

Laura Sewell

Director of Fine Arts at a small liberal arts university

Transformation and Story Notes

Laura lives with her husband Sean of 20 years and their two children, ages 16 and 12. A very artistic family, Laura and Sean met in the theater over 20 years ago. Laura is a selfless and accepting mother who would do absolutely anything for her kids.

Within the last few weeks, Texas has announced that they are on the way to making gender affirming health care for minors illegal and unattainable. Her 16-year old daughter, Roxie, began her transition in November 2022, as she was born into a male body, but identifies as a female. As someone who was born and raised in Texas, Laura says this is NOT the Texas that she loves and she is NOT going to spend any more time in a state that will not give her daughter the care that she deserves.

Laura and her family are downsizing their home, their belongings, and their life to flee Texas in order for their daughter to receive the care she needs. They have just started the process of looking for homes, but are seriously considering either outside of the US or Puerto Rico, either decision leading them to options for homes that are less than half of the size of their current home. Laura wants her home to be listed/sold and her family out of the house by the end of October 2023 in order to get her daughter somewhere with more healthcare options.

The family must go through an entire lifetime of possessions and Laura must go through the multi-generational items that she feels so deeply connected to. Not everything can travel with them in this big move, but they need help figuring what to keep and what to part ways with as they enter this very new chapter of their lives.

The family is up against a deadline. Laura wants to be OUT by the end of October 2023. This means they need to get on the same page regarding the “stuff” in order to start purging through it all.

Conflict

The State of Texas has become radicalized around LGBTQ+ rights and Laura does not feel her child would be safe going through her transition there.
Their medical provider can no longer provide HRT treatment to Roxie. They can’t prescribe it and no pharmacy will be able to distribute the medication when Senate Bill 14 passes in August.
Laura would love to stay in Texas to fight for the Trans community, however, as a mother, she feels her #1 priority is to fight for her own family, and right now, that means fleeing Texas.
Laura and her husband differ very drastically on how to address this downsizing. Her husband jokes (he’s not joking) about renting a dumpster and having the home cleared in just a few hours. To Laura, this hurts, as many items represent their childrens’ lives and other items are passed down from her mother and grandmother, who have both passed away.

Stuff/Random Objects

Newspaper clippings from her mom, who she claims was a BADASS. Her mom was a prosecutor in several high-profile cases.
A sewing table that her grandfather hand-built that Laura loves to sew on.
Art projects, homework, various papers from her kids’ lives that fill an entire closet. She would love to be able to condense the most special items into a scrapbook that can be transported with them on their big move.
Cookbooks and recipes handed down numerous generations. The family still uses these as a way to connect as a family, specifically with those who have passed.
Art pieces from her grandmother that are SO not her style, so they have been stored in various closets and corners of the house.
A full bedroom set from her grandmother (bed, dresser, side table).
An antique sewing table that is no long usable, but reminds her of her grandmother.

Who is getting their stuff?

Laura would love to have an estate sale and see these items go to people who will cherish them.
She has friends in Texas who she would like to give some items to.
Her family’s favorite organization in Texas is “Out Youth”, who serve the LGBTQ community.

Their Thoughts on Death

Laura thinks of her own mortality and is worried that if SHE were to die, she would be unloading this whole process on her family. She wants her kids to embrace this process of ONLY keeping the items of importance.