Diary of a Hoarder's Daughter: A diary of dealing with an extreme hoarder written with honesty and humour.

Wow! I started reading this because my mother has hoarding tendencies. My grandmother is a hoarder and I have helped empty 2 of her houses. I have a basement full of stuff that I need to pitch because I don't want to be a hoarder too. I was hoping this book would give me some insight or help, but it wasn't about that. It was about her dealing with her father the hoarder, coming to realize things about her father and her mother and her childhood. It was more of a reflection. I don't want to say I enjoyed the book, but I did a little. It hit close to home for me, which was a good thing, but was also a little stressful for me. Overall, a good read. Thought provoking and inspirational for me to be more like her and less like our hoarder parents.

This is a well put together story of a daughter trying to respect her father's life and what her father needs while balancing her own sanity and life. ... This was an interesting read, from the perspective of parent as well as child. Reading brought up childhood memories of piles, though no where near as mountainous (only 2-3 ft in corners at times), still large none-the-less... I did have to take a break a couple times from reading because the inner stress it was churning up. Thank God for EFT tapping to get through and get rid of the rehashed anxiety/other emotions!!!!!!!!! While I have been accused of piling stuff up by my offspring (usually just handfuls of small stuff and extra books on shelves and papers on desks), it is no where near as bad as what I grew up with. In a way, this book has been a way to let go of negative stuff and heal via EFT tapping while reading. ... The other thing this book brought up for me was what I read between the lines about the father. He is a narcissist. A narcissist is absorbed with himself, discusses only himself, thinks only of himself, feels entitled to be served, nearly impossible to be pleased, twists all blame off self, can "clearly" never be in the wrong, and practically never apologize except perhaps to say they are sorry you are offended by the way they are. They are the only one qualified for "xyz". No one EVER "listens to them".... I know exactly how the daughter feels. This is something I have only in the last year been learning about. It is an extremely revealing topic and explains so much about certain people... and 99.99% of the time they can't be changed as it is a mental state. It is difficult to protect oneself from them. You either "kiss up" and please them as much as possible without "rocking the boat" or get blasted for not bowing to their dictates. Neither are healthy...so sometimes getting space away from them...some narcissist survivors call it a "no contact" policy... is the only way to preserve sanity. There are blogs and support groups for this situation as well. (See my comment below.) ... Anyone that thinks the daughter was disrespectful has never dealt with a narcissist. I did not see her as complaining...just venting facts that frustrated her, which I consider healthy. Relationships need to have mutual respect and common courtesy, with interest, understanding, and kindness flowing both ways to be healthy (all foreign concepts to narcissists).

I enjoyed reading this book in as much as it shed light on the life of a Hoarder. I found it interesting in how the author described how her father reacted when she would approach him regarding getting rid of an item. I think all of us have a little "hoarder" in us. Keeping things that mean something to us yet nothing to someone else. My only problem with the book is the way it ended. It just dropped off and did not finish the story. But it is a pretty good read.

My heart went out to Izabelle. With all the stress, anger and pain she must've suffered she still managed to tell her tale with humor and lightness. She sounds like someone you'd love to have for a friend. I can relate to her issue as I'm the daughter of a hoarder too, but didn't have to put up with it my whole life as she did, it was kept in check till my father died. I must say the author went well out of her way to be fair to her father and respectful of not throwing out everything wholesale. Despite her rightful and understandable anger at a selfish and rude old man with a problem very inexplicable to non-hoarders, she kept a strict rule that these were his possessions and had to be honored as such. I really respected her for that. It may sound strange that there is quite a bit of humor in this book, I think Izabelle Winter really has a great talent for writing.

Although my Dad is not a hoarder, your Dads Personality is similar to my 94 year old dad whom I love dearly but cannot understand his way of thinking. Great book!

I like that the author was very honest about her struggles and her father's. Ive seen tv shows of hoarders but i feel its important to get a glimpse of what tv shows don't and can't show us.

What a great read, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't remember laughing out loud so much in a long time. Izabelle has the patience of a saint dealing with a frustrating father.

Hoarding really is such a slippery slope. It is a spectrum and can begin small and turn into a never ending mountain of forgotten promises to sort things, broken furniture forgotten artifacts and hopes for a clear house. Izabelle demonstrates the affects hoarding has on those closest to the hoarder, describing the physical/ medical and emotional toll. She also shows a little how the hoarder feels in those moments when they are asked to part with even the slightest thing in their hoard. I dont understand on this scale how it feels to be a hoarder but on a personal level I like to know where my things are and the uncomfortableness I experience if someone moves them/ takes them with out my knowledge or if they were to throw it/ break damage it if they deem it not important. Maybe I have hoarding tendencies maybe we all do on a level, but what is clear from this book is that hoarders are humans too with an attachment to things and just because it doesn't make sense to us it doesn't mean they are just wrong. As with any change in life the person has to want to change and has to be willing to take the help as it is offered. In this instance "Imelda" has lived a long life this way and it would probably take a long time to break the habits of a lifetime. Patience and understanding goes a long way and there is no place for judgement and shame. This book is an eye opening account of the stuggles people face day in day out and often you'd never even know...

This book gives us an excellent insight to living and coping or not coping with a hoarders lifestyle. It's funny in places , Izabelle has the knack of bringing humour although not always intended into the situation .The fact that her father's hoarding had such an effect on the rest of the family but he couldn't see it. It must have been very un nerving to find things in the house you thought you'd thrown away as a teenager! Why on earth would anyone keep old tights ??? Sensitively written , Izabelle is very protective of her father and brother , this book is not written to take the mickey out of the situation but to on cast some light over it .

I enjoyed reading this book. The author presented the story in an interesting way,giving us insight into the lives of both the hoarder and the frustrations and hazards of those living and dealing with them.