How does Kim's description of growing up in a hoarder household compare to what you see on reality TV?

How does Kim's description of growing up in a hoarder household compare to what you see in reality TV shows like A&E's 'Hoarders'?

I answered this in one of the other questions as well. Reality TV is very one-dimensional. I have never been able to watch an entire episode of Hoarders, but what I have watched rarely shows anything other than the negative side of the personalities involved. Kim's ability to still appreciate her parents completely set the book apart for me.

I don't watch television, so I can't compare the two. However, I grew up with a girl whose parents were hoarders. They lived pretty much as Kim did; my friend never invited me into her home. I didn't find out that her parents were hoarders until I put two and two together when I was an adult.

I've never watched Hoarders, but now I'm interested. I've seen some Oprah episodes that dealt with the issue, but compared to what Kim's parents did, Oprah's cases were more a organization issue.

I have never watched any of the reality tv shows so I can't add to this discussion.

I think we don't see the emotional issues the children develop after living in a hoarding environment; this book gave a voice for those exposed to that type environment in which they had no choice to live.

Though I have only watched the show a couple times and really did not enjoy it, I can say that as with most TV I don't think we get the whole story. Things though rather awful do not seem to be at the risk to health and safety that Kim suffered. She could quite justifiably have ended up in protective custody several times in her life and I do not think network TV is willing to expose people to that level of problems with the law.

I don't watch reality television shows and certainly would not watch a show on hoarding. But, I did have a neighbor who was very socially acceptable and fairly prominent. Yet when she had to go into the hospital late in her life, her friends discovered the fact that she was a hoarder. Her home had to be gutted it was so bad and we have no idea how long she had lived like that. You would never have known by seeing her out in public. As she got older however, and after her husband died, we realized we did see less and less of her at public events. It made me sad to think she lived nearby and we didn't know she needed help.

I wonder how they keep from getting terrible diseases from living as they do?

Kim made me painfully aware of what a child goes through living in such an environment. As a retired school teacher, I now wonder how many former students grew up in such deplorable conditions & how this may have affected their grades & social interactions.

I was amazed because when I've seen the reality shows, I really didn't think of the adverse effect that it
would have on innocent children. You're amazed by all the things, the garbage etc but you cant possibly imagine actually living and dealing with it everyday.

I have seen shows about hoarders and their conditions seem believable. I thought they get cleaned up and organized and everything is okay. Now I see it it not okay unless the person gets professional help and that they may always struggle. I didn't realize it would get as bad as what Kim described. Soggy floors and not fixing the plumbing, the inability to shower at home, and the extent the family went to cope with the problems in the house without doing anything to fix them.

I am not a fan of much television, but I have occasionally flipped through the channels and watched a few minutes of different episode of the Hoarder reality TV. I find the television show irritating- trying to reason with people who obviously can NOT reason about keeping things, and then sometimes the narrator seems too condescending when the hoarder appears more mentally ill. I think the book shows how children love their parents and keep hanging on, hoping things will change, and trying to protect their family by hiding the situation as best they can.

I've watched many episodes of Hoarders-type reality tv and have seen both children and adults threatened with protective custody. I've also seen intense pain in some families as they try to help the hoarder. The differences I find in the book are depth and perspective. Obviously, an hour long tv show condenses the story. With this book, we are privy to much greater understanding of the situation, its length and development, its impact on all members of the family. Also, I've read several books on hoarders and hoarding but this is the first one I've read by a child of a hoarder. She gives a different perspective on the impact of hoarding, and has been mentioned, the trials and pain of dealing with someone with a mental illness. I was surprised at the family's complete abandonment of different places and how quickly the hoarding took over again.

Because I worked with a true hoarder, I would occasionally watch tv shows concerning the issue or read books that address the problem. Even with that background, Kim's descriptions made everything more real. I remember when my boss forced my coworker to empty out her storage at work. It took a week of people helping her, and by helping it just meant doing it for her. She could find multiple reasons to keep things.
At the end, my boss asked me if I thought my coworker was done hoarding things. I was shocked that she would even ask. Of course the hoarding would just go on and on, even moreso now that she was forced to get rid of so much so quickly.

I don't watch the show, but Kim's account of growing up in a hoarder household was reminiscent of some of my own experiences growing up with a hoarder father. For example, when she talked about the family's not being able to eat at the table because it was piled with papers, I felt "been there, done that."
One of the reasons I have never watched the show is I am afraid it would all seem too familiar. Now that hoarding is being understood and psychologists are formulating explanations, and after reading Kim's book, I may have the courage to watch the show.