Book Review: Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust

Safe and Sound: A Renter-Friendly Guide to Home Repair by Mercury Stardust is a nonfiction resource. For too many people, the simple act of contacting a plumber or repair person can feel like a game of chance. As a transwoman and a professional maintenance technician, Mercury Stardust has discovered (the hard way) that we live in a world with much to fear. If you've ever felt panicked about opening your home to strangers in order to fix a maintenance issue, this book is for you. Renting a home can be a complex process—from finding a safe and affordable space, to hiring help for moving in and out, and of course, managing any repairs that come up during your stay. You deserve to feel empowered to take matters into your own hands—and it’s not as hard as you might think. In this book, Mercury will show you how to tackle the projects that need improvement in your home—from how to properly fix a clog in your bathroom sink and safely hang things on your walls to patching small and medium drywall holes. Remember—a little bit of knowledge can go a long way toward making you feel more safe and in control of your own life.

Safe and Sound is a great resource for renters, that have rules and conditions that they need to follow in their lease. The book offers useful information about renters rights, as well as support and encouragement that readers can do new and challenging things. I found the text to be well written, easy to follow, and strangely comforting. I loved the gentle tone of the writing, and the space for emotional resets.  I have followed Mercury Stardust on Instagram for awhile, and I was thrilled to get a copy of this book via NetGalley. I have always leaned towards trying to fix the little problems in my apartments, now house, myself and this is resource I wish I had back when I first was on my own. I think that homeowners who would rather tackle the doable repairs themselves rather than invite other people into their space unless they have to could get a great deal from this book as well, even if apartment hunting and all they trials that go with it are not something they need. 

Safe and Sound is a well written and valuable resource for renters, and a good book to have on hand for anyone that might need to deal with a household emergency. I will be buying copies of this book for all the young adults in my extended family when they are ready to strike out on their own.