Haverford psychologist Dr. Deborah Derrickson Kossmann has published a book, “Lost Found Kept,” that details her trauma and eventual understanding of her mother’s hoarding and mental illness, absent fathers, and sexual trauma.
Dr. Kossman had kept journals all of her life. Now, the memoir lets other people understand her stories, writes Pete Bannan for the Daily Times.
“I hope from this book people will recognize their own resilience and have compassion for themselves and for the people who are struggling with their mental health issues,” she said.
She spoke about her book at a recent reading at Moore Books in Havertown.
It details the problematic relationship she had with her mother, who was once a nurse who enjoyed reading and art but developed a hoarding personality.
Her birth father was not there, and a stepfather, who came into her life when she was a toddler, only contributed to the family trauma.
Dr. Kossman noted that her profession does not understand hoarding as well as it should.
“There are a lot of cognitive issues that come up. It’s really complicated, and it’s really common,” she said. “I don’t know if you ever make sense of it.”
Find out more details reported in Dr. Kossman’s book in the Daily Times.
