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Coming Clean
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
46 posts | 64 read | 63 to read
A memoir about growing up in a cluttered and rat-infested home that resulted from her father's struggle with compulsive hoarding, describing how the burden led to the author's suicide attempt and her against-all-odds bond with her parents.
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review
Kitta
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Coming clean is about Kim‘s life growing up in a home filled to the brim. Her father is a hoarder.

4/5⭐️

It was moving and a topic I‘m very interested in, I have some hoarding tendencies and purge everything once or twice a year. After 9/11 I collected 100s of newspapers and magazines about it until my mom found them and threw them all out. It was devastating since it was my way of coping with the tragedy.

Final day of covid infection I hope.

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MatchlessMarie
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Didn‘t really make a TBR for #20in4 but I‘m going to try and squeeze in a few more before July is over. The tagged book was my July #DoubleSpin. This had been on my audible TBR for years. It had been a freebie one year. Going into it, I thought it was going to be a DNF but it was pretty illuminating to read about what navigating hoarding must of been like before we had the vernacular for it.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
Andrew65 Great 👏👏👏 2y
45 likes1 stack add2 comments
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Wife
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

The author grew up with parents that were hoarders (mostly her father, but her mom joined in). She tells her story without slamming her parents, but with understanding and love for them. The hoard was so large that the family had to leave a house behind. It was later discovered that a squatter lived in the house with them in a room they couldn‘t access (he came in via the garage). She‘s had to bail them out of the clutter multiple times. 3/5🧹s

Crazeedi Cant imagine living with a hoarder 4y
65 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Megabooks
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Growing up in an obsessively clean house, it‘s hard to imagine how difficult it was for Kim being raised by hoarders in papers, sludge, bugs and with non-working toilets & showers. Shiver. Also their poor pets.

It‘s unfortunate to have a parent, really two, that severely mentally ill, and I can see why Kim has nightmares and PTSD as an adult. A brave #parentchildmemoir. She‘s one tough lady, and a good #audiobook narrator! #booked2020 4⭐️

blank Sounds interesting! Stacked! 4y
Megabooks @laurenslibrary 👍🏻👍🏻 it‘s on kindle unlimited if you have that. 4y
blank @Megabooks I do have Kindle Unlimited! Thanks!! 4y
See All 16 Comments
BarbaraTheBibliophage Great pick. I‘ve seen this many times and wondered if I could stomach it. 4y
Crazeedi Sounds like a hard one to read 4y
Megabooks @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Crazeedi Her childhood was very difficult, but before middle school, she didn‘t really see it that way. The most difficult part to read was high school and her suicide attempt when she almost couldn‘t afford to go back to college. Her young adulthood seemed positively exhausting, going between career and helping her parents. My new notebook has a difficulty scale where 1 is extremely complex and 5 is simple. This is a 3. 4y
Cinfhen I was wondering the same thing @BarbaraTheBibliophage thanks for the longer explanation, Meg! 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen You‘re welcome! How are you doing? I‘ve been off social media the last few days and feel out of touch! 4y
Cinfhen I was going to ask you the same thing!!!!I‘m fine / how about you??? Things calmer now? I finished Yale Needs Women/ I LOVED it!!! 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen things are calmer. I didn‘t sleep last night, like at all - 0 hours, so I‘m trying to go to bed earlier tonight. We‘ll see... I‘m glad you like Yale Needs Women. I thought it was great. I‘m currently listening to this, which I‘m not sure you want to with an 18 year old son. (The demo in the book is 16-22.) I‘m only mildly surprised by her findings. 4y
Cinfhen I‘m not sure I‘m ready for that one yet 😬this one at home is STILL my baby 👶🏼 #IgnoranceIsBliss 🙄 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Attempt one at sleep failed. 👎🏻 I don‘t think I‘d want to know if I were you either. 😳 4y
Cinfhen 😱I feel so bad that you can‘t fall asleep! Insomnia is terrible 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen Thanks!! I go through phases of it. It was much harder when I was working. At least now I can sleep during the day. I‘ve tried all kinds of meds, but none of them work for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 4y
L_auren I was a big fan of this one!! Highly recommend her second book Beautiful Bodies!!! 4y
Megabooks @L_auren I‘ll have to check it out! 4y
107 likes8 stack adds16 comments
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Reviewsbylola
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

This was my first #kindleunlimited read and it did not disappoint. Kim grew up with a father that had a serious problem with compulsively hoarding and a mother that wasn‘t much better. As a child, their home was so bad as to warrant CPS visits. Infested with bugs, varmint, and a pervasive sludge, Kim suffered long after she moved out. Totally gripping and depressing.

Kappadeemom That picture makes my OCD flare up big-time {shudder} 5y
Reviewsbylola I know. Mess makes my anxiety flare up. This would be unbearable for me. @Kappadeemom 5y
MicheleinPhilly I bought this YEARS ago but have yet to read it. I am a serious germaphobe/messaphobe and just lookin at that photo makes me itch. 5y
See All 7 Comments
LauraJ Ugh. I manage apartments and have a few tenants like this. There is no reasoning with them, they refuse help. It‘s a tough mental disorder. 5y
Centique I made a friend on twitter and when I finally went to meet her at her home it was in this kind of state. Damp and mouldy too. Lovely lady and she was unfazed by it, saw it as eccentric charm, but I couldn‘t relax in there at all. No kids luckily! I‘m gonna stack this 👍 5y
Reviewsbylola Lolol you know I did!! @cinfhen 5y
76 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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Kryssy14
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book! It‘s a memoir about growing up with parents who hoard. Hoarding runs in my family on both my mom and dad‘s side which has made me vigilant of this condition. Also, as a therapist I am interested in things that people struggle with. This is a beautifully written story. If you are looking for gory details though, don‘t read this. This book comes from a respectful place of trying to understand hoarding and anxiety.

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startwithgivens
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
Mehso-so

Did not meet my expectations, but I didn't hate it either. It's definitely worth reading to hear someone else's experiences in life to improve yourself.

CarolynM Welcome to Litsy 🌼 5y
CoffeeNBooks Welcome to Litsy! 📚 5y
5 likes2 comments
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PacingTheCage
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Just a thought. #youshouldseemykindle bookshelves don't tell the whole story 🙄

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OsteoValkyrie
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
Mehso-so

3.5/5 stars
This book hit close to home in some really weird ways. I was able to relate to the author‘s anxiety.
#ov2018reads

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alecia3dixie
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

The book started out pretty slow. It's a painful story to read and you really feel for her. I like how it starts with her as a kid, then into grown up years. It's a really raw story, many parts made me cringe and just feel bad for her. All in all a good book.

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Booknerd222
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Booknerd222
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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I'm not much for memoirs, but this one sounded intreuging.

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QueenBook
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

This book is so crazy I can‘t put it down. It‘s about a girl who grew up with a father that was a hoarder 😳. Her descriptions are insane. You connect when she talks about her discovery that other friends houses were so clean. A quick read in my book!

31 likes1 stack add
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Rissa1
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

I love the narration for this audiobook! The story is enthralling, yet sad. I held onto hope everytime Kim cleaned and continued to feel let down. I cannot imagine being the daugher of hoarders. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

8 likes1 stack add
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Rissa1
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Starting another.Being sick makes room for books.

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AlaMich
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

I listened to this one, read by the author. The story is a bittersweet one, the author having grown up with a hoarder and a compulsive shopper. But her relationship with them is loving one, and the story is ultimately hopeful. Apropos of nothing, this was my first Prime Reading book, really the first time there was something that interested me.

DivineDiana Thank you for the tip! Just downloaded! 6y
AlaMich @DivineDiana Cool! 😊 6y
Rissa1 My first Prime book, as well. 6y
AlaMich @Rissa1 It‘s a nice feature of Prime, but I was getting sort of frustrated that there was never anything I wanted to read. 6y
43 likes4 comments
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I.readalot
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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A memoir by a woman who grew up with parents who were hoarders. "It would be years before I heard the theory that hoarders tend to be perfectionists, that each item they collect is one crucial part of an ideal world they are ever creating for themselves. If that's the case, it's possible I inherited this, too, from my father. The older I got, the more obsessed I became with maintaining the illusion that everything in my life is perfect --".

1 like1 stack add
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AlaMich
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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This was one of the choices for Prime Reading this month through Amazon. After I downloaded it I realized that it came with the the audio version. So this is my first time with a Kindle print book AND the audio version, where they sync up and whatnot. Though I don‘t know how that works exactly. I‘m not sure how it knows where on a virtual “page” I stopped, so it can pick up the audio at that point. 🤔

LauraBeth I‘ve been curious as to how that works too 🤔 6y
AlaMich @LauraBeth It looks like it starts the playback at the top of the page you‘re on, not the actual place you stopped. But I also just realized it won‘t sync with the kindle app on my iPhone; it keeps telling me to go to some non-existent settings>other place. 😠 6y
34 likes1 stack add2 comments
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I.readalot
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Finished this honest and sometimes sad and horrifying memoir by a woman who grew up with parents who were hoarders.
#memoirs

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notsotriplec
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

I love a good memoir and this one did not disappoint. Bless her heart. What a mess.

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Eggs
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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The sting of a dysfunctional and dangerous childhood due to parental obsessions is ameliorated for the reader by a witty, honest author. I am alternately fascinated and repulsed by hoarding behaviors, and its causes/results.

Samplergal I've had this one on my TBR for a while. I want to do a couple finishes before I plow in. Oh why can't I just be a dog mom and read? 6y
Eggs @Samplergal 😌💕 6y
Tkekacs I read this a few years back, it was surprisingly good 6y
LASluvesbooks @Samplergal ... you must an Old Dog lol because I have a 20 month old Golden Retriever who isn't the lover of me reading😉 6y
61 likes3 stack adds4 comments
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PacingTheCage
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller

Already getting the heebie jeebies.

7 likes1 stack add
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ValerieAndBooks
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

This memoir of how the author grew up and dealt with her extreme hoarding parents was very gripping and moving. It did trigger a lot of childhood memories for me (even though my parents weren‘t hoarders, there were similar issues) so I‘m still pondering a lot over all this.

merelybookish Interesting! 6y
L_auren Such a great one! Check out her newest memoir too 6y
WarpedSweetness I read this book also. The audio book was good! My parents weren't hoarders, but this book triggered a lot for me. 6y
See All 9 Comments
Soubhiville Sounds interesting. I think I‘ll look for the audiobook. Thanks! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @merelybookish yes, interesting; and also thought-provoking. 6y
ValerieAndBooks @L_auren I definitely will check out her other work(s)! 6y
ValerieAndBooks @WarpedSweetness yes. One thing I liked is that the author still has a lot of love for her parents, in spite of it all. That‘s how I feel too. But memories can still be hard sometimes. 6y
ValerieAndBooks @Soubhiville I read this as one of Kindle ‘s free e-books (where you can indefinitely borrow books but only ten at a time). It may still be available that way. 6y
WarpedSweetness @ValerieAndBooks I really liked that too, even though I can't relate to that. I want to read her other book, Beautiful Bodies. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited. 6y
77 likes7 stack adds9 comments
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Christine
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this memoir (which I‘d been meaning to read for a while...the availability of the Kindle and Audible versions on Prime Reading was the final push I needed!). Miller grew up with parents who struggled with hoarding, and I think her book does a very good job of staying grounded in her own perspective and experience while addressing her parents‘ issues in a frank but compassionate way.

EchoLogical This sounds like a fascinating read! I'm obsessed with hoarding and always what leads people to it. I don't have the neatest home by any stretch of the imagination but I get overwhelmed when I see too much stuff and rage clean and by that I mean, throw things away angrily, wondering how we got so much stuff. 😥 6y
Reviewsbylola I added this to my TBR after seeing @L_auren post about it! 6y
L_auren @Reviewsbylola ❤️ happy to see this!! 6y
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Christine @EchoLogical I hear you - I definitely felt the urge to purge after reading this myself! She kind of just scratches the surface re: the psychology of hoarding (which was I think was the right choice editorially for her), but I would be very interested in reading more about that elsewhere. 6y
Christine @Reviewsbylola It‘s so good! Now I‘m even more eager to read her latest book too. And I‘ll have to go back and find @L_auren ‘s post! 6y
Christine @L_auren Yay for spreading the word re: this book, and so glad you also loved Beautiful Bodies! Can‘t wait to get to that one soon. 6y
L_auren @Christine you‘re welcome!! Kimberly Rae Miller keeps up the great work in book #2!! Enjoy 6y
47 likes2 stack adds7 comments
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KGlibrarian
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

There is such a soothing vibe coming from the author's narrative that the tragic situation of her childhood is almost easy to minimize. Miller's account of growing up with hoarders is honest, sad, at times funny, and shocking. She reveals herself to be a forgiving victim and a loyal daughter to parents whose love for their child is not enough for them to overcome their disorder. As troubling as her story is, it is compelling and hard to put down.

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WarpedSweetness
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

It took me about a week and a half to finish this book. There were a lot of triggers for me, which why I do not typically read books of this nature. However I really enjoyed this book. I understand so much of how she felt even though my parents were not hoarders. I wouldn't ever read it again, but I would definitely recommend it to everyone who can handle it.

22 likes1 stack add
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WarpedSweetness
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
This post contains spoilers
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I've been listening to this audiobook during my commute to and from work. I am really enjoying it, but man it has so many triggers for me. The day of the eclipse I was stuck in gridlocked traffic while reading it and got to the part where she had tried to commit suicide and I started crying in my Jeep.
Has anyone else read this book? What are your thoughts on it? I don't typically read books like this because they have a lot of triggers for me.

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Born.A.Reader
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Picked up a few books today. The top 2 are gifts for Christmas, but the rest are mine. The Hannah book I found at the dollar store! #bookhaul

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WarpedSweetness
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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I've been trying for two hours to continue listening to this audiobook, eat my lemon filled cupcake, and work on my bingo card for #TBRbingo. The two year old had other plans however. He is finally asleep and now I can have some peace. I think I might find something lighter to read.

WhatDeeReads Awww, toddlers! My family are not respectful of my reading either. 7y
WarpedSweetness @WhatDeeReads It is hard isn't it?! None of my family are readers no much how much I encourage it in the kids. Good thing I can tune them out! Lol 7y
31 likes2 comments
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WarpedSweetness
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Do you see this traffic?! This was at 6pm when I left work. I avoided the highway and took the back road and I didn't get home until 8pm!!! Luckily my copy of the tagged book came with an audiobook version. So I listened to that while stuck in stop and go traffic. While I am really enjoying this book it is making me remember why I avoid books that discuss things that can be triggers for me. Thankfully I have therapy tomorrow.

MinDea Eclipse traffic? 7y
WarpedSweetness @MinDea Yeah, I live and work in an area that was supposed to have the best viewing. So tons of people flocked to the area. Barely two minutes after full totality everyone left and it has been gridlocked traffic ever since then. Last I checked it was still like that. 7y
MinDea Oy! That stinks. 😕 7y
WarpedSweetness @MinDea Yes it does! I avoided the highway and was still stuck in traffic. Smh Glad I have no work tomorrow. 7y
27 likes4 comments
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WarpedSweetness
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Eclipse pictures! I had full totality where I live, but my phone took crappy pictures. (Mine are on the left) So a work friend sent me the pictures she took. My job gave us the hour off to watch it, and paid us! So I sat in my car, removed from people, and read the tagged book until it actually happened.

RealLifeReading Awesome! 7y
WarpedSweetness @RealLifeReading @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks It was really awesome. And it dropped like ten degrees cooler when full totality happened. I'm glad I got to see it. 7y
35 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Readerann
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

A sensitive, and sometimes cringe-worthy portrait of life with a hoarder. I see some tendencies in myself and I am determined to start on my 'piling' system tomorrow!!

LauraBrook I'm a piler too - hmm, will have to see if this is at my library tomorrow, it's been TBR since pub date. Great review! 7y
Readerann @LauraBrook 5 days later... piles not smaller...sigh... 7y
3 likes2 comments
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Victoriahoperose
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

I thought this book was really excellent. It was very unexpected and not what I thought it was going to be. I don't know much about hoarding, but the author did such an amazing job of bringing the reader into her world. There was so much feeling in this book. This one will stay with me for a long time.

17 likes1 stack add
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Megabooks
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Ummm...this is a nonfiction book about hoarding. Go home Goodreads, you're drunk! And you're definitely having some naughty thoughts! 😳😂😂🤦🏻‍♀️

Beckys_Books That's some mistake 😲 7y
Bookzombie 😂😂 7y
Beck9lol lol I was reading that description and wondering how hoarding was involved. 😹 7y
See All 12 Comments
SaturnDoo HMMMM...Well apparently he was hoarding the dirty pics and stashing them in books. Wouldn't that be 😲 to find 🤣🤣 7y
Zelma I've read this book so I was super confused when I saw that description. 🙄😬 7y
Megabooks @Beck9lol They're hoarding dirty images...in the shower! 7y
Megabooks @SaturnDoo 😂😂 7y
Megabooks @Zelma Yes, it was definitely the wrong description!!! 7y
thehooksbookscorner 😂😂😝🙈 7y
72 likes2 stack adds12 comments
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kaitieclark
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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I really enjoyed this book in a way I didn't expect. Though the upbringing of Kim was drastically different than my own, we share the same struggles detaching from our parents in a way that makes everyone happy (spoiler alert: this is impossible).

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Clevercactus
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Excellent. Memoir of a woman who grew up with hoarder parents. The squalor, fear and embarrassment expressed by the author is palpable. Miller was brave to share her story and her heartfelt feelings both good and bad. A very quick and interesting read.

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M-D
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Bought the book, but listened to this on kindle unlimited as read by the author. It was very gut wrenching hearing the author voice the struggles that she went through.

31 likes1 stack add
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M-D
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Nice little after work book haul from JosephBeth. Sometimes you just have to treat yourself.

Reganw Reminded me I wanted to pick up Coming Clean... 7y
M-D @Reganw, if you have kindle unlimited it's on there, and if you don't have unlimited, it's only $2 7y
Reganw Thanks! Will download it on Kindle 😬 7y
5 likes4 comments
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SisterMaryDandelion
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller

I need more recommendations for memoirs. Some of them are required to be funny, at least partly. This one was sort of heavy.

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Wellreadtraveler
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Mehso-so

I had a hard time getting into the book, it wasn't bad, I just didn't feel anything on way or another.

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SarahRotenberry
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Just waiting for my small group of students to join me. Trying to turn some kids into real readers!

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Donnasmiles
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Pickpick

Finished this one today. Hoarding...a memoir that was so sad, humiliating, and life changing for this only child of parents who just could not change. I experienced this with a distant cousin after he passed and I have always wondered how or why this befalls a person. Didn't know there was also a genetic component? Sad.

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Donnasmiles
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Enjoying this one with narration. School starts this week so I will listen during my wait time. A memoir about hoarding...sad

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MaryAnn1
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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My heart breaks for the author and her struggle with keeping the family secret and trying to feel like an average child. The conflict of loving her parents yet feeling so much resentment must be a constant struggle. I applaud her courage in sharing her story.

36 likes2 stack adds
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HardcoverHarlot
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
Pickpick

Blew through this one today. Well written, honest, and put me in the mood to clean!!

Miznanner What did you think? 8y
46 likes1 stack add1 comment
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HardcoverHarlot
Coming Clean | Kimberly Rae Miller
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Up next is Coming Clean, a memoir of growing up with a hoarder parent. Note the dog hair surrounding the book. I'm sure I'll get the motivation to clean up when I read this!!

Miznanner This was a great read--- I bought it when it first came out and made my friends crazy by quoting it and recommending it all the darn time. Harrowing at times but so damn good. 8y
L_auren YES!! 🙌🏻 loved this book 8y
Megabooks Another vote in the loved it column! 8y
55 likes24 stack adds3 comments