Review: Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Whenever one studies people with behavior at the extreme end of the bell curve, one finds qualities present in most of us. That's my theory. It might not be original. As tool-using apes, there is a definite social utility to be found in collecting stuff and finding new uses for it. This book is mostly about the horrific toll for individuals afflicted with hoarding, and their families and friends. Some of the insights were fascinating: the way people afflicted with hoarding see connections between stuff and people, the way the see utility where I would only see trash, the rich stories associated with every thing.

Weirdly, the section that most frightened me was the one on animal hoarding. These well-meaning folks set out to rescue animals (usually cats) from a dreadful fate (euthanasia at over-crowded shelters). When they invariably become overwhelmed by the necessary care and costs for the animals, they are blind to the neglect, even as they seek to rescue more, even those who may not be strays or neglected at all. And why? They feel a special connection, that they, above other humans, really understand and relate to the cats. I've thought that, because the cats always like me best. And strays (or near strays) can be so sweet, and so appreciative, and it would be lovely to have a cat curl up with me every time I sat down....This chapter in particular gave me a very strong sense of disaster narrowly averted.

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