Book Review: Lessons in letting go

Lessons in letting go

Confessions of a hoarder by Corinne Grant    

I first stumbled across this book when searching a website for another book, and what interested me instantly was the front cover. People say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but really that’s how I pick books – if the cover looks interesting I pick it up, and then if the blurb on the back keeps my interest then I buy it.

The interestingly covered book is the story of Corrine Grant – one of Australia’s leading comic talents. It is her story about how she reconciled love, loss and excelled in her ability to keep everything (including all her old high school socks). The bottom line is that Corrine is a hoarder and this book is about the process in which she manages to de-clutter her life, and lets go of the physical things surrounding her.

The biggest hurdle that she needed to overcome was that she personified everything. Every item she owned had a story to it; a connection to some one or some time in her life. As I ponder the plastic tubs full of this and that under my bed, I think perhaps that is a hurdle that I may need to over come too. But that is another story…

Her process was rather extreme, she lost her dearest friend and ran overseas twice – once to a yoga retreat and then to Jordan to see how the country copes with millions of asylum seekers every year – but in the end she realises that maybe learning to let go of things may be possible without having to flee for your life as a gun man barges into your house. Her realisation that she did not need to keep everything from a particular point in her life, and that one (or two) object(s) could be representative of that period was a refreshing perspective.

The end of the book has tips for those hoarders out there to allow them to take control of their life and not be controlled by their possessions. As a church, we find it hard to let go of things – both physically and emotionally, so maybe if we stop and take a look at the things we are holding onto, we may discover there are one or two things there worth holding onto, but also uncover of a few things that we can let go of to allow more space for the future.