With vivid portraits that show us the traits by which you can identify a hoarder, Frost and Steketee explain the causes and outline the often ineffective treatments for the disorder while illuminating the pull that possessions exert on all of us.
Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-290).
Formatted Contents Note: Dead body in the Collyer mansion : a prologue to hoarding -- Piles upon piles : the story of hoarding -- We are what we own : owning, collecting, and hoarding -- Amazing junk : the pleasures of hoarding -- Bunkers and cocoons : playing it safe -- A fragment of me : identity and attachment -- Rescue : saving animals from a life on the streets -- A river of opportunities -- Avoiding the agony -- You haven't got a clue -- A tree with too many branches : genetics and the brain -- A packrat in the family -- But it's mine! : hoarding in children -- Having, being, and hoarding.