Stuff

Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things

By: Randy O. Frost, Gail Steketee

Narrated by: Joe Caron

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

What possesses someone to save every scrap of paper thats ever come into his home? What compulsions drive a woman like Irene, whose hoarding cost her her marriage? Or Ralph, whose imagined uses for castoff items like leaky old buckets almost lost him his house?

Randy Frost and Gail Steketee were the first to study hoarding when they began their work a decade ago; they expected to find a few sufferers but ended up treating hundreds of patients and fielding thousands of calls from the families of others. Now they explore the compulsion through a series of compelling case studies in the vein of Oliver Sacks.

With vivid portraits that show us the traits by which you can identify a hoarder - piles on sofas and beds that make the furniture useless, houses that can be navigated only by following small paths called goat trails, vast piles of paper that the hoarders churn but never discard, even collections of animals and garbage - Frost and Steketee illuminate the pull that possessions exert on all of us.

Whether we're savers, collectors, or compulsive cleaners, very few of us are in fact free of the impulses that drive hoarders to the extremes in which they live. For all of us with complicated relationships to our things, Stuff answers the question of what happens when our stuff starts to own us.

©2010 Randy O. Frost & Gail Steketee (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This succinct, illuminating book will prove helpful to hoarders, their families, and mental health professionals who work with them." ( Publishers Weekly)

Insightful yet lacking

This book delves into the world of hoarding. It portrays a clear picture of hoarders and their thought processes but stops short of finding resolve for such an issue. The narrator was well spoken but really whiny at times. I definitely found this interesting but I was hoping for a little bit more.

Not Quite

I think these authors struggled to find the balance between an academic piece of work, a self-help guide, and a case study approach to a fascinating illness. The book had moments of highly engaging and insightful content, but this lack of clear identity made it a less than stellar read. The narrator was also mediocre at best, monotonous at points and struggled with an attempt at a feminine pitch at times.

Fascinating explanation of hoarding behavior.

I grew up in a house next to a pair of hoarders. Oddly, I now live in a house that shares a rear property line with another pair of hoarders. Both tended to derelict automobiles. This book offers the layperson tremendous insight into such behavior while at the same time admitting that hoarding is simply not a great way to live. The case studies are illuminating and fascinating. I too now look at my messy desk and sigh in relief.

Great Stuff!

Where does Stuff rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book ranks in to top 30$ of the social science books.

What does Joe Caron bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great read.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The emotional connections people have with STUFF.

Extremely helpful

This book helped me understand and support loved ones in my life that this book adequately describes. Thank you to the researchers for such a gentle approach to a challenging topic

Great book, wooden narrator

This is an excellent, clearly written book about a complex topic. As the daughter of a hoarder, I found it both fascinating and informative. The narrator was annoying, though, with intonation that sounded alternately like a robot and Rainman.

best hoarding book ever

I listened to this book twice in a row. it described me and my family so much I really needed it at this time in my life.

Enlightening, yet hard to understand.

Interesting insights into the mind of the hoarding population. It was hard to hear the details of peoples compulsions.

Good details into the mind of hoarders and other similar behaviors. It is helpful to understand the reasons behind a persons decisions to fill their space or cocoon with things.

I think more compassionately about hoarders than I did before reading "Stuff".

Interesting

This was an interesting book, but not what i had originally hoped for. The authors move through some of the history of hoarding alongside specific case studies. A good book if you are fascinated by hoarders or want to understand someone you know who is a hoarder.

An excellent assessment

This book was very helpful in understanding hoarding largely by hearing the details of case studies. Very, very well narrated!