Phaedra Hise
Author of The secret lives of hoarders : true stories of tackling extreme clutter
Works by Phaedra Hise
The secret lives of hoarders : true stories of tackling extreme clutter (2011) 146 copies, 5 reviews
Associated Works
Breeder: Real-Life Stories from the New Generation of Mothers (2001) — Contributor — 164 copies, 8 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1964-11-18
- Gender
- female
- Short biography
- Phaedra Hise has covered subjects including entrepreneurship, small aircraft accidents, big problems raising kids, and what it feels like to rev a motorcycle around a racetrack at over 100 mph. She is an instrument-rated private pilot, a triathlete, a competitive cyclist, a scuba diver, and the cofounder of a growing literary nonprofit, and was an insider on two company startups.
Her award-winning work has been anthologized and published in national magazine, including AARP, Salon, Popular Mechanics, and Ladies Home Journal, and she has covered the world of entrepreneurship as a staff writer for Inc. and contributor to the Wall Street Journal and Fortune Small Business. She has written four other books and lives with her very messy teenaged daughter in Richmond, Virginia. [from The Secret Lives of Hoarders (2011)] - Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Richmond, Virginia, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Virginia, USA
Members
Reviews
Somewhat embarrassingly, I had to dig under a pile of papers on my desk to find this book. The Secret Lives of Hoarders by Matt Paxton, however, does a marvelous job of explaining the difference between "messy" and "hoarding".
I have never seen the show Hoarders, which always struck me by the way people spoke of it as vaguely exploitative. I know a number of people who watch the show purely to motivate them to clean their houses, and to gasp in revulsion at the detritus that accumulates in a show more hoarder's home. That said, Paxton does an admirable job of resisting the urge to write a tell-all, gross-out memoir of his professional cleaning days to grab money from people gleefully reading about hoarders (despite what the cover looks like, I might add). He writes about them with dignity, empathy, and compassion. Though he does mention some of the horrific things he's found, he is always quick to point out that this is a mental illness, and usually a reaction to some kind of trauma that compels people to collect things and never throw them away.
Though not a doctor, he also does research into it, all with the purpose of better helping those who hire his services. Here is a person who legitimately, genuinely works to help people, and who actively seeks out more knowledge in order to better help them. The more I read, the more I was impressed by him. Even I was shuddering at places, at some of the things he described, and I doubt I could do his job with even an ounce of the apparent gallons of sympathy he possesses.
The book reads more like a how-to guide for dealing with a loved one who is a hoarder. It explores why people hoard, including the underlying mental illnesses that can trigger hoarding as well as the local issues ("Why can't they just throw away their food wrappers?"), what people hoard, how to address hoarding in a loved one, and what not to do and what to do when helping someone in that situation.
If you're looking for that gross-out, horror story compilation, this is not it. This is, instead, a very solid, thoughtful look by a man who demonstrates his compassion and sympathy for people suffering from a serious mental illness. show less
I have never seen the show Hoarders, which always struck me by the way people spoke of it as vaguely exploitative. I know a number of people who watch the show purely to motivate them to clean their houses, and to gasp in revulsion at the detritus that accumulates in a show more hoarder's home. That said, Paxton does an admirable job of resisting the urge to write a tell-all, gross-out memoir of his professional cleaning days to grab money from people gleefully reading about hoarders (despite what the cover looks like, I might add). He writes about them with dignity, empathy, and compassion. Though he does mention some of the horrific things he's found, he is always quick to point out that this is a mental illness, and usually a reaction to some kind of trauma that compels people to collect things and never throw them away.
Though not a doctor, he also does research into it, all with the purpose of better helping those who hire his services. Here is a person who legitimately, genuinely works to help people, and who actively seeks out more knowledge in order to better help them. The more I read, the more I was impressed by him. Even I was shuddering at places, at some of the things he described, and I doubt I could do his job with even an ounce of the apparent gallons of sympathy he possesses.
The book reads more like a how-to guide for dealing with a loved one who is a hoarder. It explores why people hoard, including the underlying mental illnesses that can trigger hoarding as well as the local issues ("Why can't they just throw away their food wrappers?"), what people hoard, how to address hoarding in a loved one, and what not to do and what to do when helping someone in that situation.
If you're looking for that gross-out, horror story compilation, this is not it. This is, instead, a very solid, thoughtful look by a man who demonstrates his compassion and sympathy for people suffering from a serious mental illness. show less
When I picked this up I was originally thinking it would be like the TV show, focusing on people & their hoarding situations. As it turns out, it's even more interesting, giving not only a bit of a biography about Matt Paxton, but also a sort of layman's psychological analysis of hoarding motivations and mechanisms.
I quite enjoyed the honesty of the writer stating truthfully that he got into the cleaning industry merely to pay off gambling debts - but stayed as he enjoyed being able to help show more people. Many folks would lie about the unceremonious entry to the field.
Overall a very interesting book, and, like the tv show, also at times disgusting. show less
I quite enjoyed the honesty of the writer stating truthfully that he got into the cleaning industry merely to pay off gambling debts - but stayed as he enjoyed being able to help show more people. Many folks would lie about the unceremonious entry to the field.
Overall a very interesting book, and, like the tv show, also at times disgusting. show less
I admit -- I have a secret addiction, to Hoarders, the TV show. My spouse and I root on Matt Paxton every time he shows up, because we count on him to tell it how it is, in a no-nonsense way.
This book does some of that, but it's not quite up to the level I expected from my straight-talking hero.
That's probably because he rightly treats this book as a tool for people dealing with hoarding, mostly from perspective of family and friends. It details stages of hoarding and some of the specific show more situations he has encountered in his years as an "extreme clutter specialist."
As far as it being a tool, I think it serves that purpose admirably. It also has a list of resources at the back. I think he also treats his subjects with respect and empathy.
It just comes off a little dry in the book. As a resource, it's good. I was just expecting more entertainment, though I admit the reference to mermaid pr0n was entertaining. Also in the interest of disclosure, Paxton says at the beginning of the book that some of the people might be composites, but that the stories/situations are all true.
I think this book also shows that even though a lot of us tune in to Hoarders (or that *other show*) to feel better about ourselves, that we really shouldn't.
In the immortal words of Matt Paxton: "I truly believe we are all 5 decisions away from shi**ing in a bucket." show less
This book does some of that, but it's not quite up to the level I expected from my straight-talking hero.
That's probably because he rightly treats this book as a tool for people dealing with hoarding, mostly from perspective of family and friends. It details stages of hoarding and some of the specific show more situations he has encountered in his years as an "extreme clutter specialist."
As far as it being a tool, I think it serves that purpose admirably. It also has a list of resources at the back. I think he also treats his subjects with respect and empathy.
It just comes off a little dry in the book. As a resource, it's good. I was just expecting more entertainment, though I admit the reference to mermaid pr0n was entertaining. Also in the interest of disclosure, Paxton says at the beginning of the book that some of the people might be composites, but that the stories/situations are all true.
I think this book also shows that even though a lot of us tune in to Hoarders (or that *other show*) to feel better about ourselves, that we really shouldn't.
In the immortal words of Matt Paxton: "I truly believe we are all 5 decisions away from shi**ing in a bucket." show less
Fascinating. Very compassionately told. I was glad that he included follow up, where these folks were now. Not very encouraging if you have a hoarder you are trying to help.
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 178
- Popularity
- #120,888
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 6
- ISBNs
- 8