Coming Clean

Author: Kimberly Rae Miller
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014
Pages: 272
Rating: Recommend


Synopsis: Kim Miller is an immaculately put-together woman with a great career, a loving boyfriend, and a tidy apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. You would never guess that Kim grew up behind the closed doors of her family's idyllic Long Island house, navigating between teetering stacks of aging newspapers, broken computeres, 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 moving coming-of-age story, Kim brings to life her rat-infested home, her childhood consumed by concealing her father's shameful secret from friends, and the emotional burden that ultimately led to an attempt to take her own life. 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 we come from and the relationships that define us - and about finding peace in the homes we make for ourselves.

Review: I'm always impressed by people who turn out better than okay after a rough childhood, or those who thrive despite the odds against them. Compassion, empathy, awe are emotions I felt reading this. Thoroughly enjoyed from page one.