What We're Reading: A Hoarder's Daughter's Memoir
This week's book takes a gripping look at what it's like to grow up as the daughter of a compulsive hoarder.


A&E's hit show Hoarders has brought to light a fascinating — and simultaneously terrifying — disorder, compulsive hoarding. Even if you haven't seen the show, you've seen those photos of old homes filled with nearly impenetrable jungles of old papers, books, broken electronics, even garbage. It's jarring, and you can't look away; you also can't help but thank your lucky stars that you're not like that, and that your parents and grandparents aren't, either. But what if they were? A new memoir tells just what it's like to grow up as the child of a hoarder.
Dirty Secret: A Daughter Comes Clean About Her Mother's Compulsive Hoarding
Author: Jessie Sholl, a creative writing professor and essayist
Genre: It-could-happen-to-you true story
What Happens: When Sholl's mother is diagnosed with cancer, she must return to her childhood home to help her get everything in order — not so simple a task when her mother is a compulsive hoarder. Scholl delves into her childhood, describing what it was like to grow up depending on someone so extremely disorganized, as well as the fear she's always held that if her mother suffers from such a severe psychological problem, what might be in store for Sholl herself?
Why Read It: Sure, there's the gawker-factor, but beyond that, this tome explores what it really means to be a good daughter, even when that's easier said than done.
Details: Gallery Books, December 28, $15.00
Stay In The Know
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.
Anna Maltby is an award-winning journalist and editor and was most recently the executive editor of Elemental, Medium’s in-house health and wellness publication. She was previously the deputy editor at Real Simple magazine and a deputy editor at Refinery29, and also held staff positions at Men’s Health, Marie Claire, SELF, Fit Pregnancy, Natural Health and Condé Nast Traveler. Her writing has appeared in such outlets as The Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, O, Family Circle, Fitness, Redbook, Vogue.com, TeenVogue.com, MensJournal.com, CondeNastTraveler.com, FastCompany.com_ _and Brides.com. She received her BSJ and MSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Anna is also an American Council on Exercise–certified personal trainer and functional training specialist, a certified prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist, and a certified mat Pilates teacher. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, two children, and two tuxedo cats.
-
Blue Ivy Expertly Fixes an Onstage Mishap at 'Cowboy Carter' Tour
Fans praised the "manager" for acting quickly to avoid imminent disaster.
-
Bella Hadid Suits Up in an Archival Pinstripe Work Dress
The supermodel put her own spin on the work wardrobe.
-
Jennifer Lawrence Secretly Changes Inside Cannes Premiere
The one-shoulder couture gown couldn't have been more different from her first dress of the night.
-
The 30 Best Self-Help Books to Read in 2025
Allow these titles to empower and inspire you.
-
13 Books That’ll Make You Want to Call Your Mom
These must-reads come from literary mothers like Maya Angelou and Amy Tan, as well as our contemporary faves.
-
"Crime Junkie" Host and Mystery Author Ashley Flowers Shares Her Must-Read Crime Books
'The Missing Half' author/podcaster knows a good whodunit.
-
Natural Women
In an excerpt from Amanda Hess's debut memoir, 'Second Life,' she writes about a movement that predates MAHA moms.
-
Ana Huang Is Ready to Rule Over Romance
With the release of 'King of Envy,' the author, who started as a self-published BookTok favorite, is quickly becoming the queen of the genre.
-
The Best Lisa Jewell Books, Ranked—From 'Then She Was Gone' to 'None of This Is True'
Few do page-turners quite like her.
-
Climate Fiction So Earth-Shattering You’ll Never Forget to Recycle Again
These dystopian books imagine a future where the worst has already happened.
-
The 'Fourth Wing' TV Show: Everything We Know About the Series Adaptation
Rebecca Yarros's bestselling romantasy series is getting the Prime Video series treatment.