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Kim Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a beautifully tidy apartment in Brooklyn. You would never guess that behind the closed doors of her family's idyllic Long Island house hid teetering stacks of aging newspaper, broken computers, and boxes upon boxes of unused junk festering in every room - the product of her father's painful and unending struggle with hoarding.
In this dazzling memoir, Kim brings to life her experience of growing up in a rat-infested home, hiding her father's shameful secret from friends for years, and of the emotional burden that ultimately led to her suicide attempt. And in beautiful prose, Miller sheds light on her complicated yet loving relationship with her parents that has thrived in spite of the odds.
Coming Clean is a story about recognizing where you come from and understanding the relationships that define you. It is also a powerful story of recovery and redemption.
"Starred Review. This searing tale of the damage caused by the disease reflects Miller's deep consideration of her experience; a deeply affecting, remarkably thoughtful, and well-reasoned book, yet the horror is always there. One can only admire Miller's courage in coming clean." - Booklist
"Harrowing… As a child Miller realized her family wasn't like other people's families with tidy, presentable homes; far from it. Miller never invited anyone home and had to adopt a 'decoy' house to be dropped off at by friends… Stuff and unused purchases were piled so high that little room was left for the family even to eat or sleep or use the bathrooms." - Publishers Weekly
"An engrossing, sympathetic exploration of living with hoarder parents." - Kirkus Reviews
"Kimberly Rae Miller is a brave and gifted writer, and her insightful examination of her troubled relationship with her parents will speak to anyone who has every struggled to hide a family secret. Coming Clean is a standout coming-of-age memoir. A must read." - Kjerstin Gruys, author of Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall
"Turn off the reality TV and read Coming Clean, an engrossing, beautifully written memoir of growing up in a hoarding family that treats its subject with humanity and grace." - Doreen Orion, author of Queen of the Road
This information about Coming Clean was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Kimberly Rae Miller is a writer living in New York City. She has written for Yahoo's Shine, Figure magazine, and contributed to CBS Radio/CBS New York. In 2012, Kim was featured in Katharine Sise's career guide Creative Girl. She blogs at TheKimChallenge.com.
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