Millions of Americans struggle with severe clutter and hoarding. New York writer and bohemian Barry Yourgrau is one of them. Behind the door of his Queens apartment, Yourgrau's life is, quite literally, chaos. Confronted by his exasperated girlfriend, a globe-trotting food critic, he embarks on a heartfelt, wide-ranging, and too often uproarious project-part Larry David, part Janet Malcolm-to take control of his crammed, disorderly apartment and life, and to explore the wider world of collecting, clutter, and extreme hoarding.
Encounters with a professional declutterer, a Lacanian shrink, and Clutterers Anonymous-not to mention England's most excessive hoarder-as well as explorations of the bewildering universe of new therapies and brain science, help Yourgrau navigate uncharted territory: clearing shelves, boxes, and bags; throwing out a nostalgic cracked pasta bowl; and sorting through a lifetime of messy relationships. Mess is the story of one man's efforts to learn to let go, to clean up his space (physical and emotional), and to save his relationship.
- ISBN10 0393241777
- ISBN13 9780393241778
- Publish Date 21 August 2015 (first published 10 August 2015)
- Publish Status Inactive
- Out of Print 4 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint WW Norton & Co
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 256
- Language English