The secret lives of hoarders : true stories of tackling extreme clutter

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 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 show more 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 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.

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 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 show more 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.

If I'd been living in the US I might have given it 3 stars. The book itself is interesting, however it is probably of more use to someone living in the US and dealing with hoarders than someone living abroad in the same situation, as many of the options it gave you (on the part of what you could do with the hoarder's items, for instance) were US-based.
Otherwise not bad, but not awesome either.