"Keepsake" by Kristina Riggle - A Novel about Hoarding

Keepsake by Kristina Riggle is an interesting read about how hoarding affected the whole family.  Trish and Mary are sisters but different as night and day.  Trish is a hoarder to such an extent that social services came to her house threatening to remove her 7-yr. old son from his home if she didn’t get the house cleaned up—clutter and junk was everywhere!  Trish’s older son left home and lives at his girlfriend’s house because he couldn’t stand all the clutter.  On the other hand, Mary is a single neat freak whose best friend is a good book.  Trish realizes she can’t clean it up by herself so reluctantly accepts help from her family. 

I found it interesting that often people become hoarders after having a traumatic experience that sets them off.  The sisters in this book lost touch after their mother died but through cleaning out the house, got to rebuild their relationship.  My dad had a lot of clutter in his house after my mom died with one narrow path to walk so I could identify with Mary in this book.  If you know a hoarder or are a hoarder, I think you would enjoy this book. It includes discussion questions in the back so could be an interesting book club read.

 (Karen's review

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