AFRAID OF THE LIGHT by Cynthia Ruchti, Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

"The emotional darkness that enshrouds a person with a compulsive hoarding disorder keeps them from seeing. Normal to them is darkness. . . . . Your loved one isn't resisting the light. He or she may be afraid of it."

"She wasn't their saving grace. But if she could point them--Point them to it. Pull back the curtain and let in the light."

So many of Dr. Camille Brooks' clients live their lives shrouded in darkness . . . dark rooms, dark houses, dark lives. More often than not, in order to gain entrance into their shadowy domain, Camille is literally required to squeeze through impossibly small cracks in front doors. Determined to ease the pain of hoarders and their families, (which she knows from personal experience is debilitating) Camille is hopeful that her podcast will introduce her to potential clients in such a way, that she becomes trustworthy and approachable, before a face to face encounter ever takes place. And it seems to be working, albeit slowly.

When one of her clients seems to make a quicker than expected breakthrough, Camille gains an unexpected ally when she hires a new garbage retrieval service and meets a man whose impenetrable cheery attitude sets off all sorts of alarms that Camille can't seem to turn off, until she isn't sure that she even wants to. Eli Rand is as enigmatic as his cranberry jumpsuit.
 
This book is a bit like quicksand in the sense that before you realize what is happening, you're sinking deep into issues from which few ever recover. There are certainly no easy answers, and the author understands that true healing from this, or any other addiction, takes an enormous amount of work combined with a willingness to invest in quality counsel; but the missing ingredient is often pulling back the curtains . . . . and letting in the Light.

"Light had a way of piercing all kinds of darkness."

*I purchased this book and was under no obligation to provide a positive review. 

Back Cover Blurb:
She helps others manage their desperate lives--but who will help her?

Clinical psychologist Camille Brooks isn't put off by the lifestyle of her hoarding clients. After all, she lost her mother to the crippling anxiety disorder. She'll go a long way to help others avoid the same pain and loss.Despite Camille's expertise, her growing audience for her Let in the Light podcast, and the national recognition she's gaining for her creative coaching methods, there are some things she isn't prepared for. A client who looks far too much like her mom catches her off guard. And the revelation that she's also hoarding something sends her spinning.

Can she stand to let the light into her own life with the help of a friend who wants to stand by her for life and the God who created and loves her? Or will she find that defeating her demons proves too much to bear?

Kregel Publishing
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