Trash: An Innocent Girl. A Shocking Story of Squalor and Neglect.

by Britney Fuller

‘To it was just me and my mom. I am an only child, and she is a single parent. My mother is a trash hoarder. Ever since I can remember the house was always messy and stunk. At around age 9ish I noticed that something was wrong. I started throwing bags of trash away every day, just to have my mom freak out when she got home. We didn’t eat at home anymore because the fridge was disgusting, and she used the sink as a trash can, so it got clogged. We always ate out, we never had a home-cooked meal, and I’ve never had a family dinner at a dinner table. I had a stool in the corner of the living room. That is what I sat on, and that alone. I kept that corner as clean as I could. Made sure there was foot space, and that there wasn’t dust on the walls. That was my corner, my space. It never seemed to matter though, eventually that spot would get overrun with trash too...’Trash is Britney Fuller's shocking account of growing up in the house of a hoarder.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Abuse

Kindle Edition

First published October 9, 2014

Reviews

[ReadAlongWithSue recovering from a stroke★⋆. ࿐࿔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was granted this book to read from Random House UK, Ebury Publishing via Net Galley

I love books such as Cathy Glass and Casey Watson so I just had to read this one. Its totally different from a child who was sexual abused or the usual type of reads like this.

This is a story about a little girl who grew up with a Mom who was messy, dirty and well, certainly unusual and eccentric. She tended to have mood swings too.

As the child grew she came across the word 'hoarder' and realized that was describing her Mom! The appalling way she had to live was upsetting to read.

I've seen the program 'hoarders' on TV and always wondered how a person could live like that. But this is a knock on effect to the daughter who lived along side her. Who was treated like some sort of slave and then on the other hand, treated nicely which was confusing not only for me but for the little girl!

I have to say that I read this book within a day, its compulsive reading.

Its well written, great details, graphic in that you can imagine all the rubbish surrounding you....urrggghhh and the smells.

I won't tell you any more, if you like books such as this, then I recommend it.

Britney Fuller has done a great job in writing this book.

I would definitely buy it for a friend.

[Marjorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given To Me For An Honest Review


Britney Fuller's book Trash: An Innocent Girl. A Shocking Story of Squalor and Neglect is one that will grab you from the beginning and hold on to you until the end. It is about a young girl and her mother. The child began noticing when she was about 4 that her house wasn't like those of her friends. She knew that something was wrong. She and her mom ate out everyday. There was trash everywhere inside their house. The sink was filled, there were trash bags all over in every room. If she tried to throw out the bags her mother got very angry. There was a small stool in a corner that she called her space. She kept it clean but before too long that area too became just as dirty as the rest of the house. Her mother was a trash hoarder. This is her a story of growing up in a house with a hoarder and how she was able to grow up and get out. This story is very shocking and it will have an effect on you. It made me think of how many other children may be living like this. I gave this book 5 stars but it deserves more that 10+. I highly recommend it to everyone. I look forward to more from Britney Fuller

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very tragic memoir with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. In amongst all of the trash & filth consuming the home and the life of the author are lots of small, tender moments that really make the book stand out to me. My only "problem" with the book was that, after finishing, I was still left asking, why? Why was she hoarding? Her mother was extremely complex, her illnesses were extremely complex. In some ways the book felt very unresolved, as there was little insight ever given as to why her mother was so unclean, possessive of certain trash (and not others) and seemingly unaware of the home's rapid decline. All in all, it was an excellent book, definitely worth the read. The author's voice is strong in this one, and you'll love her immediately and find yourself ruthlessly routing for her the whole way through. I just wish I could have understood the mother a little more, though perhaps some things in life don't have such neat conclusions.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom passed me this book and mentioned some of the more "interesting" moments, stating "I had to read the book". So I did. I picked it up and couldn't put it down! I finished it in a evening which is not normal for me, being a very slow reader...but it was such a page turner. I have been in homes like the book described and I couldn't even fathom how people could live in it so to read and basically experience everything a little girl, then young woman would go through living in that house actually breaks my heart. It is a well written book and a really sad story. I will say the "fish livers" BLARG! I almost died. :(

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

On page 89 absolutely fantastic read
Loved this book was gutted when I got to the end

[LAURA JONES · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant true life story about a girl who was raised by a mother who chose to live in squalor and treated her daughter badly. its very sad to think a mother thought so little of her daughter she chose to make her live in these conditions and treated her as little more than a slave. the implications of this life style were worse in as much as she was teased and bullied at school for smelling wearing old threadbare unfashionable clothes and was friendless. things did change for Britney when she met her bf Adam who offered her salvation but the relationship split for a short while when she was nearly 18 this devastated her as she had been promised as at that age he would rescue her from her living conditions but he chose to move away. in the end she chose to go to college and thoroughly enjoyed the clean living accommodation in the end Adam returned and she chose not to return home again i thought it was a sad book but amazing how she chose not to end up like her mother and did all she could to fight impossible odds a book well worth reading

[Cheri Smallwood-ellerker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trash was a brilliant memoir of a subject that is not usually written about, you see hoarder stories on the TV but this is the first ever book I have seen about it. It was so well written and told that I could not put the book down. I found myself gagging a couple of times when Britney was telling her story.

[J Haywood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very distracting to have an obviously British writer writing about a supposedly American family. I find it difficult to believe this is a true story. That being said, the story doesn't ring true: the mother, who, according to the daughter-author, never bathed,etc. supposedly worked full time as a cook. I find that impossible--her co-workers, supervisors, etc. would have been repulsed and insisted she be clean to work. Also, I find it impossible to believe that school and other local authorities would not have become involved in the author's life during the 14-15 years she spent with her mother.

There have been similar stories much better done, eg, Lisa Jewell's The House We Grew Up In, which doesn't purport to be autobiographical but could be.

[Mrs J Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A no holds Barr account of what it is like for child to grow up in a house where a parent hoards. Her mother who clearly has mental health issues rules her every waking hour with the sheer amount of chores given to the daughter, but in more tender moments shows that the love is there. It is very sad and quite disturbing in places.

You are left wondering why the mother was like this and why the grandparents who knew about the house did not intervene but other than wanting to know more about the back story it was a good read.

[Wendy AV · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talking about disturbing behavior! Kind of depressing but with a nice ending :)

[Charles Pitts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book

I love this book
It was sad but ended on a good note
It proves that even in the worst circumstances
There is hope anything can be changed

[Pamela Carmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read.

Good book. Worth the price. Thank you for sharing... Now I feelike I need to straighten something up! Lol :)

[Jenny McAteer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting read

Such a sad story, from the mother's point of view who has so unwell and desperately needed help and the daughter who was raised in such horrific conditions.

[Katie Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Not my usual type of book but I'm glad to have read it.This book is absolutely heart-breaking. Britney's life of squalor and filth is shocking as well as gut churning. The description of her living conditions surrounded by trash, trapped in a miasma of rotting food and damp as rats and bugs scurry and bite made my skin crawl.

I found that Britney was a likeable character who was easy to root for. Her mother, Gene was much harder to form an opinion of as she is certainly a vile, lazy woman but at the same time she has a mental health problem and is losing the struggle to cope with this as well as being a single mother.

I was glad to see Britney stand up to her mother and make her escape but was a little disappointed at the way she seemed to lose all sympathy for her, even though she recognised her problem. To me Britney became much less likeable when she completely shut out her mother (and the rest of the family) rather than trying to get professional help for her. I certainly understand how it's possible to feel that she needs the distance but I didn't like that aspect of her character.

[Veena · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some books that you come across which make you realize how different our world is from few others and theirs from few others more. I came across this book on net galley and it is about a girl who has always been surrounded by trash. Not because she does not have a place to live in, not because she does not have a family but because her mother was a trash hoarder. Which she happens to realize later in life. Needless to say it caught my attention and I started reading it right away. This is definitely one of the best books that I have read this year. And I am sure you will feel so too after reading it.

to read complete review, visit:
http://acupofcoffeeandafairytale.blog...

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

You just never see books about this subject. Sure, you see TV shows about it, which I don't watch because I feel so sorry for the hoarder. But,this book lets you see if from someone else's perspective. I didn't feel sorry for Britney's mum at all, I just felt so sad for Britney and was rooting for her escape. Hoarding is an awful psychological disease and Britney did an amazing job in detailing the horrific environment she had to grow up in.

[Theweebarrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really enjoyed this book and gave me an insight into people who are hoarders and people who live with hoarders . I felt really bad for the 4yeear old girl having to live
Like that and can't imagine the fear she must have felt when hearing the rats in her room when she was in bed.i got this book from the publisher to review andi I Would am so glad I read it. I would recommend this book

[Tasha Norris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend reading this book . I understand more now what a child deals with when faced with this kind of childhood. Many times I had to put this book down and walk away. However, many times I couldn't stop reading. I appreciate the author sharing her story with us & I wish her well in life. Peace be with you sweet girl .

[Skye Poni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this was an interesting memoir It was terribly written...like reading a 13 year old's English homework...very repetitive and unimaginative when it came to describing anything...better memoirs out there....

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful yet upsetting book. Such an eye opener into other peoples lives

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shocking Story, that had me on the edge of my seat