As for the character of Seth, I was lucky enough to have gotten back in touch with a former roommate who is a clinical psychologist. I already had the Seth character in the works when we connected again. A wonderful bit of serendipity! She helped me nail down his character and introduced me to the concept of compassion fatigue.
How did you choose the setting?
Trish’s rural house is fictional, but the nearby cities of Grand Ledge and Lansing are real. It’s easy to keep secrets when you have acreage and dense woods surrounding your house. I’ll admit to having thought of my friend Jill’s rural home when I came up with the setting, but she is very neat and has a lovely house! As for me, I live in an older suburb and I’m close to my own neighbors. It would be challenging to hoard on my block without someone noticing—not impossible, though. According to my research, hoarders are surprisingly good at keeping their secret.
Have you ever known a hoarder?
Not personally. Not that I know of, anyway (see above). However, in one of the places I’ve lived (I’m being vague on purpose to protect privacy) there was a house that the neighbors disdained for its extreme outside clutter, along with clutter visible on the enclosed front porch. I have since realized during my research that this could very well have been the home of a hoarder. Some hoarders have neat exteriors, actually, but for others, the disarray extends to the yard.
I also reported in my newspaper days on the city’s dealings with an elderly man whose house was packed to the rafters to the point that it was hazardous. I didn’t think about it then, but now it seems obvious that he was a compulsive hoarder. I never saw the inside of his home myself, however. I can’t remember why I didn’t; it’s likely he would have refused me entrance, though we did talk on the phone several times. I’d handle that story differently now, I’m sure of it, knowing what I know now.
Do you relate more to Mary, the neat-freak, or Trish, the hoarder?
I relate to them both! The older I get, the less tolerance I have for mess and disorder. I can physically feel more relaxed in a neat and clean setting. I’m more sympathetic every day to my mother, who used to insist on a clean bedroom—at the very least the part of my room she could see from the hallway. (My childhood room was at the end of the hall, so anyone in the living room of our little house could see straight in.) Nowadays, it makes me crazy when horizontal surfaces are treated as storage space for random clutter. That said, houses are meant to be lived in by real human beings, and that means messes will happen. Love and fun trump perfect cleanliness any day.
As for Trish, I absolutely relate. In recent years, we cleaned out every bit of our home and purged boxes upon boxes of old, unused items, some of which related to my children and had some sentimental value. It was so hard to watch my first child’s baby toys be carted off at a garage sale! That being said, my house is meant to be lived in by my family as it is now, not exist as a museum to what used to be.
I will admit I still have my children’s crib, though. Make of that what you will.
Questions for Discussion
Before reading Keepsake, what did you know about hoarding, and the mental and emotional issues behind it? Do you know someone who hoards?
Have you watched documentary TV about people who hoard? Do you find these shows to be educational, and do you believe they genuinely help the subjects of the programs? What about the viewers at home? Do you think Trish would have recognized herself if she’d watched a show about hoarding?
Talk about Trish and Mary. Do you relate to either of the sisters, or both? If so, how?
What is your relationship with your own “stuff”? Are you like Trish, in that you might keep things you never use or buy unnecessary things in order to make yourself feel better? Or are you like Mary, in that clutter jangles your nerves and dirt upsets you?
Why do you think the sisters responded so differently to their upbringing by a hoarder parent? Why do you think Mary left to live with their father, while Trish stayed with their mother through the end of her adolescence?
In what ways is hoarding similar to a substance addiction?
Do you think Frances had a genuine choice in whether to keep her baby, or did the culture she lived in force her hand?
How different would their lives have been if Frances had kept her baby? Would Frances still have hoarded? Would Mary and Trish even have existed, or would keeping the baby have altered Frances’s life so much that she never would have married the man she did?
Both Trish and her mother had husbands leave them because of their hoarding. Do you understand why they left? Could they have done anything to prevent what eventually happened to their wives?
In what ways is Mary’s obsession with neatness connected to her discomfort with emotional closeness?
Mary’s relationship with Seth started out as friendship. Have you ever had a friend for whom you’ve grown to have romantic feelings? Do you think that romantic relationships are best begun through friendship, or do you believe in love at first sight?
Discuss Seth and Mary’s relationship. Why did Seth not initially think of Mary in a romantic way? Do you believe Mary can break down her emotional walls long enough to connect with Seth?
What do you think the future holds for Ron and Trish?
Will Trish ever let go of the crib? Do you believe it’s harmful that she kept it? Have you hung on to something for reasons that you can’t fully explain?
After reading Keepsake, do you have a deeper understanding about what makes someone hoard?
Read on
More from Kristina Riggle
REAL LIFE & LIARS
Sometimes you find happiness where, and when, you least expect it.
For Mirabelle Zielinski’s children, happiness always seems to be just out of reach. Her polished oldest daughter, Katya, clings to a stale marriage with a workaholic husband and three spoiled children. Her son, Ivan, so creative, is a down-in-the-dumps songwriter with the worst taste in women. And the “baby,” impulsive Irina, who lives life on a whim, is now reluctantly pregnant and hitched to a man who is twice her age. On the weekend of their parents’ anniversary party, lies will be revealed, hearts will be broken . . . but love will also be found. And the biggest shock may come from Mirabelle herself, because she has a secret that will change everything.
THE LIFE YOU’VE IMAGINED
Is the life you’re living all you imagined?
Have you ever asked yourself, “What if?” Here, four women face the decisions of their lifetimes in this stirring and unforgettable novel of love, loss, friendship, and family.
Anna Geneva, a Chicago attorney coping with the death of a cherished friend, returns to her “speck on the map” hometown of Haven to finally come to terms with her mother, the man she left behind, and the road she did not take.
Cami Drayton, Anna’s dearest friend from high school, is coming home too, forced by circumstance to move in with her alcoholic father . . . and to confront a dark family secret.
Maeve, Anna’s mother, never left Haven, firmly rooted there by her sadness over her abandonment by the husband she desperately loved and the hope that someday he will return to her.
And Amy Rickart—thin, beautiful, and striving for perfection—faces a future with the perfect man . . . but is haunted by the memory of what she used to be.
Kristina Riggle’s The Life You’ve Imagined takes a provocative look at the choices we make—and the courage we must have to change.
THINGS WE DIDN’T SAY
What goes unsaid can sometimes speak the loudest . . .
What makes up a family? For Casey, it’s sharing a house with her fiancé, Michael, and his three children, whom she intends to nurture more than she ever took care of herself. But Casey’s plans have come undone. Michael’s silences have grown unfathomable and deep. His daughter Angel seethes as only a teenage girl can, while the wide-eyed youngest, Jewel, quietly takes it all in.
Then Michael’s son, Dylan, runs off, and the kids’ mother,
a woman never afraid to say what she thinks, noisily barges into the home. That’s when Casey decides that the silences can no longer continue. She must begin speaking the words no one else can say. She’ll have to dig up secrets— including her own—uncovering the hurts, and begin the healing that is long overdue. And it all starts with just a few tentative words . . .
About the Author
A freelance journalist, published short-story writer, and fiction coeditor at the e-zine Literary Mama, KRISTINA RIGGLE lives and writes in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband, two kids, and dog.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors.
Praise for Kristina Riggle
“Don’t open the first page of this novel unless you’re prepared to sacrifice all other commitments for the next forty-eight hours or so! This is Riggle’s best yet. Compelling, believable, and full of delicious twists, this story will forever change how you relate to strangers, friends, and even family—reminding you that everyone you meet might be carrying her own secret struggles.”
—Katrina Kittle on Things We Didn’t Say
“With ease and grace, Riggle walks the fine line between sentimentality and comedy, and she has a sure hand in creating fun, quirky characters.”
—Publishers Weekly on Real Life & Liars
“This delectable read is both irresistible and fulfilling. . . . Riggle mesmerizes and enchants with this hope-filled, honest and remarkably raw tour-de-force. Things We Didn’t Say is a beautiful account of modern family that resonates, restores and charms.”
—examiner.com
“Real Life & Liars, Kristina Riggle’s sumptuous and rich debut novel, examines the complications that arise in family and marriage, love and heartbreak. With lush writing and nuanced, relatable characters, this book is a must-read for anyone who has ever been both grateful and driven mad by the people they love most: their family.”
—Allison Winn Scotch
“The Life You’ve Imagined is a richly woven story laced with unforgettable characters. Cami, Maeve, Anna, and Amy will snag your heart as they explore the sometimes wide chasm between hope and reality. A beautiful book.”
—Therese Walsh
“Written with grace, passion, and insight, Real Life & Liars is a deeply felt novel that draws a vivid portrait of a family in transition and examines the very real fear of leaving behind all you hold dear.”
—Maggie Dana
“In Kristina Riggle’s moving debut, Real Life & Liars, she poignantly portrays the inner workings of a family faced by crisis. Funny, sad, and utterly believable, these are characters that seem like old friends.”
—Elizabeth Letts
“Backed by Riggle’s trademark unflinching honesty and imbued with heart and hope, The Life You’ve Imagined is a terrific novel about love and loss, letting go and holding on. A book to share with family and friends—I loved it.”
—Melissa Senate
Also by Kristina Riggle
Things We Didn’t Say
The Life You’ve Imagined
Real Life & Liars
Credits
Cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa
Cover photograph © by Ilona Wellmann/Trevillion Images
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
KEEPSAKE. Copyright © 2012 by Kristina Ringstrom. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-200307-2
Epub Edition © JULY 2012 ISBN: 9780062136312
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