The Life of Stuff

I found Susannah’s book absolutely fascinating. She writes with admirable honesty and the result is a compelling and moving account of her mother’s life and relationships as told by the apocalyptic accumulation of “stuff” she left behind. Susannah’s book is not only a brave testament to an imperfect but precious relationship, but also a reflection on the similarities, however uncomfortable, between mother and daughter. It is a book I know I shall read again. * Ruth Hogan, author of THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS *
A gripping read… a riveting piece of writing * Saturday Review, BBC Radio 4 *
An excellent memoir… I finished this book in awe of the sheer interest to be had reading about ordinary people and their lives, but perhaps the point is that no life is ordinary; there is always treasure hidden in the rubbish if we look for it. – Cathy Rentzenbrink * The Times *
A moving memoir. * Sunday Times *
Beautifully written … a powerfully evocative description of [Walker’s] interest in the meaning of things. * Charles Saumerz Smith, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy *
This extraordinary, beautiful memoir gripped me from the first page. Susannah Walker writes especially well on home and motherhood, yet never resorts to cliche or sentimentality. I loved this book and it moved me profoundly, whilst also making me look at my own life - and the stuff I carry with me - with a new eye. The mess of her mother’s life might frame this book, but Walker is really concerned with human relationships, and in her writing addresses big questions about what it means to be both a mother and a daughter, the power of memory and the devastating loss all of us feel with the passing of time. * Clover Stroud, author of THE WILD OTHER *
This is a cracking book … Walker is a brilliant writer. * Viv Groskop, author of THE ANNA KARENINA FIX *
If Marie Kondo has taught us all to ruthlessly clear our lives of stuff, then Walker compels us to think carefully about what we’ll hang on to. – Jean Hannah Edelstein * The Pool *
An intimate and moving memoir … a revealing story of a mother/daughter relationship. * Woman & Home *
With bold prose and ceaseless courage, Susannah Walker tells a mother-daughter story like no other… It is incredibly refreshing to finally read something from the perspective of the child of a hoarder. It is a must-read if you have a parent with a serious hoarding disorder or even if you just suspect hoarding tendencies. I really couldn’t put this book down. * Stelios Kiosses, Psychotherapist and Presenter of Channel 4’s The Hoarder Next Door *

Susannah Walker studied English Literature at Cambridge followed by Design History at the Royal College of Art and Victoria & Albert Museum. After starting out as a writer and curator, she then worked in television on programmes ranging from The Late Show to Changing Rooms. She has published three non-fiction books about various aspects of design, and runs a vintage poster blog and website about post-war graphic design and history, as well as lecturing on posters and designers at places as diverse as the National Army Museum, the Art Workers’ Guild and Marks & Spencer Archive.

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