Part 4/12:
Amanda recounts how her family refrained from labeling their situation as hoarding—her mother especially avoided the term, perhaps due to shame. It wasn't until Amanda was around eight or nine that she began to grasp that what was happening in her home was more serious than mere messiness. An incident in their Michigan home, with a garage overflowing with food and trash, made the problem starkly clear. The smell alone conveyed the severity, and Amanda knew; this was beyond typical clutter.