Mess : one man's struggle to clean up his house and his act / Barry Yourgrau.
Material type: TextPublisher: New York, NY : W.W. Norton & Company, [2015]Edition: First editionDescription: 276 pages ; 22 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 0393241777
- 9780393241778
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Main Library | Biography | Yourgrau B. Y81 | Available | 33111008044428 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Millions of people struggle with severe clutter and hoarding. Barry Yourgrau is one of them. Behind the door of his apartment, Yourgrau's life is chaos. Confronted by his exasperated girlfriend, he embarks on a heartfelt, wide-ranging and too often uproarious project to take control of his apartment and life, and to explore the world of extreme hoarding.
Encountering a professional declutterer, a Lacanian shrink and Clutterers Anonymous--not to mention Britain's most excessive hoarder--as well as explorations of the bewildering universe of new therapies and brain science, Yourgrau navigates uncharted territory: clearing shelves, boxes and bags; and sorting through a lifetime of messy relationships. Mess is the story of a man's efforts to let go, clean up his space (physical and emotional) and save his relationship.
Prologue with grocery bags -- The Chinese puzzle box -- What's wrong with me? -- Some kind of flâneur -- Let the right one in -- Brothers Grim -- The cut-glass hand bell -- Mastering disaster -- Dodge days, or, Letting go of L.A. -- Home comforting -- The real stuff -- The notorious bungalow --Freud's "dirty" couch -- The red fish -- Gordon's know -- Postscript.
The author draws on his experiences as both a hoarder and an investigator to profile subjects ranging from professional decluttering services and anti-hoarding therapy to the brain science behind hoarding and the way clutter affects relationships.