Dr. Randy Frost is Professor of Psychology at Smith College and an internationally known expert on obsessive-compulsive disorder and compulsive hoarding, as well as the pathology of perfectionism. Dr. Gail Steketee is Professor and Acting Dean at Boston University in the School of Social Work. Together they have studied hoarding for more than a decade, and published a clinical treatment manual and a self-help handbook for hoarding. They have appeared on numerous television and radio shows and given hundreds of lectures on the subject nationally and internationally.
"Pioneering researchers offer a superb overview of a complex
disorder that interferes with the lives of more than six-million
Americans. . . . Writing with authority and compassion, the authors
tell the stories of diverse men and women who acquire and
accumulate possessions to the point where their apartments or homes
are dangerously cluttered with mounds of newspapers, clothing and
other objects. . . . An absorbing, gripping, important report."
--Kirkus (starred) "Like those classics of psychological study, A.
R. Luria's The Mind of the Mnemonist and Oliver Sacks's The Man Who
Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Stuff is authoritative, haunting, and
mysterious. It is also intensely, not to say compulsively
readable."--Tracy Kidder "A fascinating book--Stuff is the stuff of
nightmares, of people living in a world subsumed by their obsession
to collect and hoard things. You will surely recognize, to one
degree or another, a part of yourself in these
portraits."--Jonathan Harr, author of The Lost Painting and A Civil
Action "Eye-opening... Frost and Steketee write with real sympathy
and appreciation for hoarders...This succinct, illuminating book
will prove helpful to hoarders, their families, and mental health
professionals who work with them." -- Publishers Weekly
"An excellent starting point for family, friends, and neighbors of
hoarders, but the vivid writing will attract readers who enjoy
fiction or memoirs about extreme behavior." -- Library Journal,
starred review "Very intriguing. . . Most readers will recognize
some aspects of themselves in the people the authors discuss. We
may not be hoarders exactly, but the authors make us take a closer
look at our own lives, wondering (for example) about that very fine
line that divides a collector from a hoarder. Fascinating stuff."
-- Booklist
"Fascinating." -- People
"[The authors] invite us graciously into territory that might
otherwise make us squirm . . .To those who need to understand
hoarders, perhaps in their own family, Stuff offers perspective.
For general readers, it is likely to provide useful stimulus for
examining how we form and justify our own attachments to objects."
-- New York Times Book Review
"Stuff is worth reading not only because of the authors' authority
on the subject, but also because of its elegant prose, and its
nuanced and well-researched take on the subject." -- Salon.com
"[The authors'] examples are rich in storytelling and dialogue, and
they admirably balance a fascination with the psychological
profiles of their subject with a deep sympathy for their plights .
. . The book is a valuable study of a poorly understood condition."
-- Minneapolis Star Tribune "Amazing... Utterly engrossing." --
Washington Post "Gripping . . . A highly readable account of this
perplexing impulse . . . The book succeeds beyond mere voyeurism,
because Stuff' invites readers to reevaluate their desire for
things." -- Boston Globe --
We're not talking the "stuff" of stuffed closets here, but homes so completely packed that their owners can't cook in their kitchens because every surface-including the stove and sink-is covered, can't sleep in their beds for the same reason, and can't have visitors and often lose spouses and children because of the appalling living conditions. Psychologist Frost and social worker Steketee have been working with such troubled souls for a number of years and here introduce readers to some of their clients: Irene, an outgoing and successful real estate agent who hoards because each piece of junk seems beautiful and full of promise; Debra, for whom each piece of junk mail was a piece of herself; and Pamela, who hoarded cats. While mostly intended to enlighten the general public about this problem, the book contains advice for those who wish to help a loved one who is a hoarder. Verdict An excellent starting point for family, friends, and neighbors of hoarders, but the vivid writing will attract readers who enjoy fiction or memoirs about extreme behavior (e.g., Flora Rheta Schneider's Sybil and Hannah Green's I Never Promised You a Rose Gardener).-Mary Ann Hughes, Shelton, WA Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
"Pioneering researchers offer a superb overview of a complex
disorder that interferes with the lives of more than six-million
Americans. . . . Writing with authority and compassion, the authors
tell the stories of diverse men and women who acquire and
accumulate possessions to the point where their apartments or homes
are dangerously cluttered with mounds of newspapers, clothing and
other objects. . . . An absorbing, gripping, important report."
--Kirkus (starred) "Like those classics of psychological
study, A. R. Luria's The Mind of the Mnemonist and Oliver
Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat,
Stuff is authoritative, haunting, and mysterious. It is
also intensely, not to say compulsively readable."--Tracy Kidder "A
fascinating book--Stuff is the stuff of nightmares, of
people living in a world subsumed by their obsession to collect and
hoard things. You will surely recognize, to one degree or another,
a part of yourself in these portraits."--Jonathan Harr, author of
The Lost Painting and A Civil Action
"Eye-opening... Frost and Steketee write with real sympathy and
appreciation for hoarders...This succinct, illuminating book will
prove helpful to hoarders, their families, and mental health
professionals who work with them." -- Publishers
Weekly
"An excellent starting point for family, friends, and neighbors of
hoarders, but the vivid writing will attract readers who enjoy
fiction or memoirs about extreme behavior." -- Library
Journal, starred review "Very intriguing. . . Most
readers will recognize some aspects of themselves in the people the
authors discuss. We may not be hoarders exactly, but the authors
make us take a closer look at our own lives, wondering (for
example) about that very fine line that divides a collector from a
hoarder. Fascinating stuff." -- Booklist
"Fascinating." -- People
"[The authors] invite us graciously into territory that might
otherwise make us squirm . . .To those who need to understand
hoarders, perhaps in their own family, Stuff offers perspective.
For general readers, it is likely to provide useful stimulus for
examining how we form and justify our own attachments to objects."
-- New York Times Book Review
"Stuff is worth reading not only because of the authors' authority
on the subject, but also because of its elegant prose, and its
nuanced and well-researched take on the subject." -- Salon.com
"[The authors'] examples are rich in storytelling and dialogue,
and they admirably balance a fascination with the psychological
profiles of their subject with a deep sympathy for their plights .
. . The book is a valuable study of a poorly understood condition."
-- Minneapolis Star Tribune "Amazing...
Utterly engrossing." -- Washington Post
"Gripping . . . A highly readable account of this
perplexing impulse . . . The book succeeds beyond mere voyeurism,
because Stuff' invites readers to reevaluate their desire for
things." -- Boston Globe --
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