Mess

An absorbing look at a mysterious compulsion. -- People Droll, engaging. -- Wall Street Journal Terrifically funny... What can we say: Hoarders seem to be hot. -- USA Today A fascinating read by a hoarder about the psychology and culture of hoarding. -- New York Times Mess is Barry Yourgrau's autobiography by way of neurosis, a twenty-first-century version of the Confessions of Zeno. Sometimes shocking and frequently self-mocking, it charts the tough negotiation between shame and fixation, between clinging to the past and moving forward, between being devoured by one's demons and facing them down. -- Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree All of us who live-or have lived-in unmentionable and unspeakable abodes owe it to ourselves to have our anti-domestic pathologies turned into something as funny and charming as Mess. -- Lawrence Osborne, author of The Forgiven A funny, smart, and moving memoir about the accumulation of STUFF: what it means to us, why we keep it, and how we deal with our personal 'collections.' (Great book, btw.) -- Roz Chast, author of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? My favorite Bohemian unpacks his life, and his heart. I will never look at clutter the same way again. I love this book! -- Gary Shteyngart, author of Little Failure Barry Yourgrau is America's Kafka, if Kafka were hysterically funny, weirdly relatable, and had just a little bit of a hoarding problem. Mess is a total Yourgrau feast-I wept with laughter (but then why couldn't I throw away my Kleenex?). -- Sandra Tsing Loh, author of The Madwoman in the Volvo With Mess, Barry Yourgrau performs a wonderful sort of double excavation-of his overstuffed apartment but also his past, his pain, his losses, his confusions, his loves. This book is funny, hopeful, and true. Buy it, put in on your shelf, and be sure to dust it regularly. -- Daniel Smith, author of Monkey Mind