“Unraveling Secrets of the Heart: Deborah Derrickson Kossmann’s Journey in ‘Lost Found Kept’ Reveals the Power of Redemption”
Deborah Derrickson Kossmann: Thanks so much, Leslie. The “why now” was the aftermath of the clean-out and the shame about the situation. I had written pieces of the historical story prior to 2016 when I had shopped a very different memoir around to agents. The feedback was that “something” was missing from the manuscript. I’d been protective of my mother (and, if I’m being totally honest, of myself and the rest of my family). I’d vowed not to write about her until she was gone. But after what occurred with the house, I gave myself permission to shape the narrative around how the hoarding, family secrets and of course, my mother, were very much my story to tell. Ironically, it was the hoarding that organized the book!
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