Eva rausing, pictured with her husband hans kristian rausing. Eva rausing and husband hans look gaunt and dishevelled in photos taken weeks before police find her body tetra pak heir hans kristian and wife look almost unrecognisable in the. Sigrids book, mayhem, about their addiction, has been slammed by eva s family. A wealthy familys battle with drugs laid bare, but to. Tetra pak heirs incredible social resurrection after. Perhaps fittingly, the romance between hans and eva began in a drug rehabilitation center, where they met in their mid20s. Eva rausing, who was found dead in 2012, and her husband hans. Rausing s new book tries to make sense of a story that tore her family apart. Police tape lines the outside of the house of eva rausing in knightsbridge in london, where it has been reported that the body of mrs rausing, the wife of tetra pak heir hans kristian rausing, was. From such material sigrid rausing has written mayhem. Hans and his brother gad inherited the packaging company.
Then in 2000, when eva was pregnant with their fourth child, the couple had a catastrophic relapse, says rausing. In the summer of 2012 a woman named eva was found dead in the london townhouse she shared with. They had a house in london, a house in barbados, many cars and paintings, and invitations to this and that and philanthropy, ms. Eva rausings family in bitter row over billionaires drug death.
It ended with evas death from an overdose at the age of 38 in the bedroom suite of the couples mansion. Mrs rausing, the american wife of tetra pak heir hans, died from cocaine abuse in 2012 and he left her body to decompose for two months in their belgravia mansion. After a painful and longdrawnout court case, hanss and eva s four children came to live with sigrid and her husband eric abraham in 2007. She was the wife of hans kristian rausing, whom she met in a rehab clinic in. Jul 12, 2012 at the time, the couple, eva and hans rausing, pledged to turn their lives around. However it is a nice book and would have got more stars had it. They met in recovery, got better, sponsored recovery causes, and then relapsed together. Sigrid rausing worries at one point in this family memoir. Dec 26, 2017 hans kristian rausing, an heir to the tetrapak fortune, worth billions, develops a heroin addiction at age 19 or 20 on the beaches of goa, in india.
Jan 06, 2017 hans rausing was given a suspended sentence for hiding the dead body of his wife eva in their. The death of eva rausing is now likely to trigger family soulsearching about whether the dynastic fortune should skip a generation to bypass her drugabusing husband hans kristian. A memoir, reveals evas personal emails and the rausing familys troubled history. In 2012 evas body was found decomposing in her and hanss bedroom. Sisterinlaw writes tell all book on eva and hans rausings. Children of eva rausing likely to inherit her fortune. Anyone reading this who thinks so, please know that i thought it before you. She was the wi fe of hans k ristian rausing, whom she met in a rehab clinic in her native u.
Apr 01, 2018 shortlisted for the wellcome book prize, mayhem is sigrid rausings family memoir about drug addiction. Harvard book store welcomes granta magazine editor sigrid rausingauthor of history, memory, and identity in postsoviet estonia and everything is wonderfuland bestselling author gish jen for a discussion of mayhem, rausings memoir of the impact of addiction on her family about mayhem. Hans rausing hid wifes body as he could not cope with her. Father of addict eva rausing condemns book about her death. Beautifully written book this was a very easy and interesting book to listen to.
Last april son hanskristian and american daughterinlaw eva were charged with cocaine and heroin possession after eva allegedly tried to smuggle drugs. Tetra pak heiress eva rausings partying life had a void. But eight years into their marriage, both hans and eva stopped going to their meetings, let go of solidarity with other addicts, and began taking drugs. They marry, have four children, lead a drugfree life as wealthy philanthropists funding addiction recovery programs. Eva, the 48yearold wife of the billionaire tetra pak heir hans kristian rausing. In the summer of 2012 a woman named eva was found dead in.
Sigrid rausing defends the publication of her memoir detailing the. Evas father, tom kemeny, has previously condemned the book. But now hans sister sigrid, 55, has written an explosive book exposing the couples toxic addictions. Eva rausing, who has died aged 48, was one of britains richest women and part of a dynasty which owed its wealth to an everyday household item, the tetra pak. Hans and eva rausing sigrids brother and sisterinlaw are drug addicts. As the sibling of an addict, i empathized with sigrid and her family. Roger taylor it is billed as a memoir of addiction in the family. Aug 09, 2017 eva, the 48yearold wife of the billionaire tetra pak heir hans kristian rausing, was found dead in 2012, under piles of bedding and plastic in a squalid room in the couples london mansion. Tetra pak heirs family row over tellall book mail online. Rausing sets the scene with painterly delicacy and then steps back to analyse the implications of what she has revealed guardian. Can a book about this story ever be framed by anything other than tabloid headlines. But evas father, tom kemeny, has condemned the book, claiming it will tear the family apart. Eva rausings father condemns selfindulgent memoir about. In the mid2000s, still unaware of the extent of hans resurgent addiction, rausing and her family admonished eva to seek help.
This book did not really describe the incident that made me most curious about the book, the death, and decomposition of eva rausing whilst her husband hans. The father of eva rausing, the wealthy american socialite whose death made headlines around the world, has accused her sisterinlaw the author of a forthcoming memoir about evas drug addiction of contributing to her decline, and questioned the agenda and objectives of her book. It takes on many subjects, most centrally, the addiction of hans, who started taking heroin in his teens and met his halfamerican wife eva, at a rehab clinic. Sigrid rausing talks about her memoir mayhem, which deals with the impact of addiction on a family. But evas father, tom kemeny, has condemned the book, claiming it will tear. She was there in 2000 when hans and eva first relapsed, after a. At the time, the couple, eva and hans rausing, pledged to turn their lives around.
From the outside, hans and eva rausing were living the dream. This is the authors attempt to make sense of her own problems and issues. A wealthy familys battle with drugs laid bare, but to what. A searingly powerful memoir about the impact of addiction on a family. Sigrid rausings coming book raises questions of whether the lines between. Police have confirmed that eva rausing, one of the richest women in britain, has been found dead. Meandering through the past and the present, rausing tells the story of her brother hans kristian rausings addiction to heroin and cocaine, and his ultimately disastrous relationship with his first wife, eva kemeny, an american socialite he met in a rehab center when they were both in their 20s.
If i were a child of hans and eva, i would be grateful for the understanding, care and mercy given to their parents hopefully on behalf of them. Sep 07, 2017 addiction is a family affair in mayhem sigrid rausing is. This is a haunting, poetical book about the nature of drug addiction. As this death led to inquest and media circus, the world looked on in horror, but few understood the suffering endured by the rausing family. Addiction is a no mans land between mental illness and bad behaviour.
It afflicted a terrible toll on their family, culminating in eva s tragic early death. Eva and hans rausing were neglectful parents, says sister. For years sigrid rausing watched helplessly as her brother hans and his wife eva succumbed to drug addiction. A wealthy familys battle with drugs laid bare, but to what end. Ms rausing, the sister of hans kristian rausing, has written about her. Sigrid rausing is the sister of tetra pak heir hans, who concealed his wife eva s decomposing body for two months after she died of a drug overdose in 2012. Sep 19, 2017 sigrid rausing is the sister of tetra pak heir hans, who concealed his wife eva s decomposing body for two months after she died of a drug overdose in 2012 sigrids book, mayhem, about their.
A tragedy occurred in summer 2012, when the body of eva, the wife of hans k rausing was found in their london house. Sep 12, 2017 from the outside, hans and eva rausing were living the dream. May 03, 2018 sigrid rausing talks about her memoir mayhem, which deals with the impact of addiction on a family. Hans kristian rausing, of the tetra pak dynasty, met eva at a drug. Years later, in rehab, he meets a fellow recovering addict named eva kemeny. They later married and became wellknown philanthropists based in london.
The couple were hopelessly addicted to drugs, and after her heart had failed, eva had lain dead in their bedroom for weeks. Aug 08, 2017 sigrid rausing, hans rausings sister credit. Sisterinlaw writes tell all book on eva and hans rausing. Philanthropist couples drug downfall ends in death and. Jul 11, 2012 police have confirmed that eva rausing, one of the richest women in britain, has been found dead.
Last april son hans kristian and american daughterinlaw eva were charged with cocaine and heroin possession after eva allegedly tried to smuggle drugs. Hans and eva rausing met in the late 1980s, when she was asked by the rehab facility she had recently left to come back and talk to him, to persuade him to stay on he was about to walk out. Thus sigrid rausing introduces this book part memoir, part meditation about the wretched story that dragged her family on to the front pages in 2012. Five years ago, the body of the granta owners drugdependent sisterinlaw was discovered in her chelsea home.
Her father tom kemeny called the book cold, hollow and unsympathetic. Eva rausings family in bitter row over billionaires drug. Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. Ms rausing, the philanthropist, publisher and editor of granta magazine, is refusing to back down from the books claims. After evas death, rausings family was the subject of relentless swedish tabloid coverage. You may remember much news coverage of the rausing family, heirs to the tetrapak fortune. Hans and eva rausing alan davidsonap his sister described the moment they found out about her death as surreal and a huge shock, on bbc radio 4.
Hans kristian rausing, an heir to the tetrapak fortune, worth billions, develops a heroin addiction at age 19 or 20 on the beaches of goa, in india. Eva rausings father condemns selfindulgent memoir about her. Sep 03, 2017 hans and eva rausing met in the late 1980s, when she was asked by the rehab facility she had recently left to come back and talk to him, to persuade him to stay on he was about to walk out. In this intimate and compassionate memoir, rausing recounts the lives of her brother hans and her sisterinlaw eva, who were addicted to drugs rausing explores her familys tragedy with grace, humility, and razorsharp insight. In the summer of 2012 a woman named eva was found dead in the london townhouse she shared with her. It afflicted a terrible toll on their family, culminating in evas tragic early death.
The couple had struggled with drug addiction for years, often under the glare of tabloid headlines. Addiction is a family affair in mayhem sigrid rausing is. Eva, the 48yearold wife of the billionaire tetra pak heir hans kristian rausing, was found dead in 2012, under piles of bedding and plastic in a squalid room in the couples london mansion. Throughout she attempts to better understand the fierce compulsions of addiction. A man reported to be her husband hans, the heir to the tetra pak drinks carton empire, who has. Hans rausing was arrested for drug possession after his wife eva was found dead at their knightsbridge home in 2012 but now hans sister sigrid, 55, has written an explosive book exposing the.
Mayhem by sigrid rausing a little blog of books book. It also justifies sigrids decision to adopt eva and hans four children after a bitter legal battle in 2007. Mayhem by sigrid rausing chaos theory financial times. Rausing, 48, was found in an upstairs bedroom of their. In the summer of 2012 a woman named eva was found dead in the london townhouse she shared with her husband, hans k. Two people, hans and eva, my brother and his wife, met in recovery, fell in love, got. Hans rausings sister sigrid reveals the familys struggle. It is billed as a memoir of addiction in the family. The son of swedish industrialist ruben rausing, who founded packaging giant tetra laval in 1944. Sigrid rausing is the sister of tetra pak heir hans, who concealed his wife evas decomposing body for two months after she died of a drug overdose in. Can a book about this story ever be framed by anything other than tabloid.
A book about the drug related death of billionaire heiress eva rausing written by her sisterinlaw has been slammed by her father as inexplicable, damaging and truly sad. Eva rausing and hans kristian rausing in sweden in 1991. Shortlisted for the wellcome book prize, mayhem is sigrid rausings family memoir about drug addiction. She was b orn eva louise kemeny, a daughter of tom kemeny, a pepsico executive. Sep 22, 2017 then in 2000, when eva was pregnant with their fourth child, the couple had a catastrophic relapse, says rausing. Rausing, the editor and publisher of the literary magazine granta, of excavating her familys addiction for her own literary ends, raising the. Her younger brother and heir to the tetra pak fortune, hans kristian, met american businesswoman, eva kemeny, when they were in rehab together in the late 1980s. Rausings brother hans kristian like her and her sister an heir to the swedish tetra pak fortune met eva kemeny in 1992 when he was in rehab for heroin addiction. Rausings younger brother, hans kristian, and his wife, eva, were heroin addicts from an early age. His grandfather ruben rausing founded the foodpackaging giant tetra pak. Sigrid rausings mayhem is lit up by its authors remarkable. Rausing explores this tragedy with grace, humility, and razorsharp insight. She was the wife of hans kristian rausing, whom she met in a rehab clinic in her native u. Aug 11, 2017 evas father, tom kemeny, has accused ms.