Destroy This House

A Memoir

De: Amanda Uhle

Narrado por: Rebekkah Ross

“Incredible…riveting.” —Dax Shepard, Armchair Expert podcast

For fans of The Glass Castle and The Liars’ Club, a tender, heartbreaking, and hilarious memoir chronicling the challenges of growing up with a desperately scheming father, a mother plagued by an acute hoarding disorder, and parenting parents while seeking independence.

The Long family’s love was fierce, their lifestyle bizarre, and their deceptions countless. Once her parents were gone, Amanda Uhle realized she was closer to them than anyone else, yet she found herself utterly confounded by the lives they had led.

Amanda’s striving fashion designer mother and her charismatic wheeler-dealer father wove a complex life together that spanned ten different homes across five states over forty perplexing years. Throughout her childhood, as her mother’s hoarding disorder flourished and her father’s schemes crumbled, contradictions abounded. They bartered for dental surgery and drove their massive Lincoln Town Car to the food bank. When financial ruin struck, they abandoned their repossessed mansion for humble parish housing, and Amanda’s father became a preacher. They swung between being filthy rich and dirt poor, devious and virtuous, lonely and loved, fake and real.

In Destroy This House, Amanda sets out to document her parents’ unbelievable exploits and her own hard-won escape into independence. With humor and tenderness, Uhle has crafted a heartfelt and utterly unique memoir, capturing the raucousness, pain, joy, and ultimately, the boundless love that exists between all parents and children.

Couldn’t put it down!

Brutal, compassionate look into the life of a daughter and parents affected by living in and through the challenges of hoarding…and so much more. Very well written. I couldn’t put it down after the first page.

Cathartic

Excellently written & read. Much of it is very different from my own experiences, but certain moments jumped out and I caught myself crying. Or even more often, I'd feel angry. Many times I would see exactly how something was going to unfold later on because it was unfortunately a familiar situation. I find the idea of going back and piecing together her parent's lives fascinating. It was an excellent listen, and I could see myself listening again later on.

A well written memoir that both captivated and spoke to me

Went through this book super fast because it was both a well told story and had points that touched home.

Sad story

3 times she got political it was not necessary… The story line was frustrating so disappointed

Interesting read

Fantastic description. Feels like Uhle wrote it with "show don't tell" in mind. Thankfully. Had it been written with a lot of telling or reflection, I don't think I could have listened to it without wanting to throw my phone across the room. It was pretty hard not to hate her mother and father, though I think because she had a better relationship with her father, even though he's as bat sh*t crazy as her mom, he comes off a little better. Wish there had been more about her brother.

Maybe a little long and repetitive. I was sick in bed when I was listening and frequently dozed off for a bit and didn't "rewind." I don't feel like I missed anything, didn't feel lost. It was like, "different year, different house, same old crazy."