FAMILY DIRT: The Nitty-Gritty of 'Trash' and Dubious Yard Sales

When Daniel Gracely failed as a plumbing supplier and then as a used bookshop owner, he did what any sane man would do—he became a trashpicking yardsaler. Along the way Gracely reflected on the broad meaning of ‘trash,’ and how it played such an important role in his family’s life.

Thus in this mostly humorous, if sometimes poignant, memoir, the author confesses he is among the first of two kinds of people in the world—those who trashpick and admit it, and those who trashpick and deny it. In...