Most of us have a general sense of what hoarding is, from popular TV shows such as Hoarders and other news programs. We've seen the pictures and heard the horror stories of the type of conditions that people live in when they live with hoarders. But as a child, author Kimberly Rae Miller had never heard the term, so she never knew what was wrong with her dad. She knew it wasn't normal, but she and her mom spent many years thinking they must be the only family living this way. She longed to have a "normal" childhood, to invite friends over and not be embarrassed if someone happened to drop by unannounced. Walking over mounds of wet trash and never being able to use the family's bathrooms or kitchen was her normal. As she becomes an adult, Miller tries to escape the pain of her past by moving away and trying to maintain her distance, but this proves difficult as she realizes the extent of the dysfunction of her dad's condition, and her mom's inability to handle it. She struggles to find balance between her immense love for her parents and how far she is willing to repeatedly put her life on hold to help them.