Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

I listened on a road trip. Fascinating. Heart breaking — but not depressing. Will be recommending to friends.

Gave up at 58%.

First, I appreciate the Galvin family opening up their lives; it's possible that other people who read this book, or even hear about it, may realize they or someone they know may need help.

However, several chunks of the book seemed to focus on whether or not the two sisters were getting along or had a grudge against the other. There's no question that growing up in a family with half of the siblings experiencing mental illness without a clear diagnosis or solution would fray family relations. But, perhaps some of that could have been edited out?

An exercise in mindfulness, to wit, in observing my emotional state and breathing through my anger. I felt angry, to varying degrees, from start to finish: at the horrid parents; at the perverse incentives in the U.S. healthcare system; at religion and at humans and at our so-broken societies that prevent us from moving forward. I truly know deep down that all of us are doing the best we can... but dammit, so often that “best” is just so unspeakably evil.Anger is probably not the reaction the author intended. It probably won't be yours either. The book is thoughtfully written; warmly, even. The interweaving of biography with scientific history is effective in many ways: it's really what made the book so fascinating, informative, and even gripping. (Yes, really. My anger notwithstanding, I enjoyed the process of reading.) But in the end, this is a book I could've gladly lived my life without reading. If you're fascinated by mental health, or know anyone affected by schizophrenia, this is a book for you. If you're angered by irresponsible negligent self-absorbed overpopulators, skip it.UPDATE, few days later: HVR inspired me to reread [b:Angels of the Universe 462680 Angels of the Universe Einar Már Guðmundsson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266182662l/462680.SY75.jpg 451140]. I strongly encourage you to do the same: AotU offers a haunting first-person (semifictional, obviously) perspective into schizophrenia, possibly the closest you and I can come to understanding what it must feel like. With that understanding comes a complex form of compassion, for those who suffer and for those around them.

I couldn't get into this. Stories about obvious neglectful parents drive me up a wall.

This book follows the true story of the Galvin family, who had 12 children- six of which developed schizophrenia. Kolker dives into the struggle that this family had, starting in the 1940s, with not knowing what was happening with their children and how having so many kids with their own unique struggles with schizophrenia in a time in which the illness was not well understood and was heavily stigmatized.

Concurrently, the book goes through the history of mental illness as we understand it, with a focus on schizophrenia obviously.

I really enjoyed this, the blend of psychology history, family drama, and schizophrenia examination checked a lot of my boxes of interest. The Galvins were a big contributor to the study of genetics and schizophrenia; it is extremely rare to have so many documented cases in a family, and their willingness to contribute to research has advanced our understanding of schizophrenia, mental illness, and genetics quite a bit.

However, this book has one huge, glaring flaw. It spends the first 2/3s going through the history of schizophrenia and the history of the family, and the last third just meanders into tangentially related things. There is a LONG section on sexual abuse and the fallout from it. The problem with this section is that it is mostly disconnected from anything else going on- while it does examine the role trauma has on onset of schizophrenia, the section was still quite long and didn't contribute much. The author then spends the entire end of the book giving “closure” to the two youngest daughters and how they have survived their past- obviously the author's main sources, and his favoritism shows. These two things combined makes me think that the author wanted to showcase the struggles of the two daughters more than he wanted to highlight the contributions and suffering of the entire family.

Still though, this was a mostly great read. I highly recommend it if you like learning about mental illness, or if you're into family sagas.

8/10.

I found this absolutely fascinating but also couldn't shake a slight feeling of voyeurism. The author's note said he had consent/permission of the family and that no conversations were fabricated but some of it still felt a little weird. Also, some casual fatphobia thrown in on occasion really took me out of the narrative.

What a book

The book is so powerful and shocking that I was very surprised by the fact that I didn't already know the story of this family. It is brilliant how the author constantly ties this private events to a period of the history of US and to general themes.

Muito bom, principalmente porque dá pra ver que o autor não tirou as informações do nada. O livro foi feito através de entrevistas com a família, pessoas que conhecem a família e também com profissionais da área da saúde. No final tem todas as referências, o que mostra ainda mais a preocupação do autor em sua pesquisa para escrever. 
Me deu muita base para saber mais sobre a doença e indicações de outros trabalhos se eu quiser me aprofundar ainda mais no assunto.
Em relação a família, é um livro muito bem escrito e que faz o leitor se envolver com a história familiar e as relações deles.
Adorei mesmo.

Reviews and more on my blog: Entering the Enchanted Castle

Read this for review on Shiny New Books (coming soon). I was riveted by this account of one family's struggle with schizophrenia, interspersed with information about the history of how the condition has been understood and treated. Some individuals, particularly the father, remained quite shadowy, but I thought the author overall did a fine job of presenting the information he gathered as a fluent narrative, allowing the reader a way into this complex drama. There is so much to learn and the willingness of at least some of the Galvins to share their story can help us to inch forward in understanding and hopefully treating this mysterious disease.

This book is part family memoir/biography and part history of schizophrenia treatment and research. The Galvan family included 12 children, six of whom developed schizophrenia. This tragedy ultimately created a perfect sample for the study of schizophrenia's potential genetic roots and played a key role in the nature vs nurture debate for this disease.

I enjoyed this book but thought it could have been shorter. It was somewhat fragmented and repetitive at times. It was interesting to learn more about how schizophrenia has been researched over time, and heartbreaking to learn about how difficult life was for all of the Galvans. It provides a more nuanced and realistic view of schizophrenia than most mainstream media, which makes it seem way more prevalent and dangerous than it actually is. Schizophrenia is actually a very rare disease compared to other types of mental illness.

If you like memoir-type books or want to learn more about schizophrenia, then you will probably like Hidden Valley Road.

A devastating, fascinating story, well-told.

DNF just not in the mood for such sadness. The disorganization of the story telling didn't help.

This was an incredible non fiction. I always have so much respect for non fiction authors as so much research and referencing has to take place to shape a non fiction book. Also with the rise of narrative non fiction, hungry readers like myself are expecting more and more from our non fiction reads. But this book certainly delivered!

This story focuses on the Galvin Family. A wealthy all American family, Don and Mimi become notorious in their friendship circles for having a huge family. 10 sons and 2 daughters. But this fascinating family only become more compelling when it becomes apparent that around half of the sons seem to be developing schizophrenia in young adulthood. How is this possible? Is their a genetic component to schizophrenia? How can some siblings develop symptoms/ diagnosis of schizophrenia while other siblings seem to be unscathed by the mental illness?

This non fiction is a deep dive into the intimate lives of the family and each individual family member. It also looks at how the consent of the family to have their blood samples and DNA studied by scientists,has helped us understand more about the elusive mental illness schizophrenia.

This was so compelling and infinitely fascinating. The structure and writing was brilliantly composed and comprehensive. This is another favourite non fiction author to add to my list. I was so impressed with the compassion and sensitivity in which he dealt with the Galvin families story.

This book is gripping as narrative non fiction. But fundamental as an academic resource adding to the cannon of schizophrenia research. Kolker, through the Galvin sisters was able to get first hand accounts of events within the family that gave a plausibility and respectability to this study of a family. A fantastic book that I deeply admire.

Thanks to the author Robert Kolker, Quercus and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was fascinating. I think Kolker does a good job of explaining the research and also conveying the family's experiences without it feeling too voyeuristic. It was a little hard to keep track of all the brothers at times simply because there were so many, but when I was through I did feel like I had a good handle on the family. This was just well researched without feeling too clinical or giving you so much information that you check out. I was hooked from start to finish.

Half of the Galvin family's 12 children (incl 10 boys!) have schizophrenia. A riveting read into the Galvin family, the toll schizophrenia takes, and the advances made in the research of schizophrenia over the last 50+ years.

Commendable that the many of the Galvin family came forward to give interviews for this book. They suffered a great deal. I hope this book helps them to heal and/or gives them some consolation that their family ended up being a help to the advancement of schizophrenia research.

On the surface the Galvins were the picture perfect family. Mimi comes from upper-crust Texan wealth while Don, soon to become an Air Force Academy official, exudes confidence. They will grow their family until it encompassed 10 boys and 2 girls. But turmoil is a constant companion to the family. Six of the boys would eventually be diagnosed with schizophrenia bringing chaos, abuse, murder and lots of denial to the family. Honestly I'm still not sure whether Mimi Galvin was an absolute narcissistic monster or a tireless crusader hell bent on keeping the family together. It's a testament to Kolker's empathy that he can write this story where both are possible.

This is also a medical mystery - following the varied research and theories over the years. It's heartbreaking to see how advances are stymied by a lack of clear profit to be made. And to see how, even decades later, the illness still proves difficult to define.

For all the madness on display, the endless tragedies and erosion of normalcy, Kolker manages to pull hope from the mess, bookending the story with how the youngest takes on her mother's mantle and works to keep the family together. Years in the making, this is meticulously researched, pulling from extensive interviews with the entire family and the researchers looking to uncover the mysteries of this ill-understood disease.

Engrossing, fascinating, and sad.

Fascinating, devastating look at a deeply disturbed family with 12 children, 6 of whom became seriously mentally ill. The first half is almost like a suspense novel - who will break next? Will it be the hippie son or the hockey playing son? Which symptom will they display - violence, hallucinations, delusions, withdrawal? Kolker lists all of the family members are the start of each chapter, which helps keep track of all of the similar-sounding, all-American names (Peter, Mike, Joseph, James, etc.), although several of the boys make such strong impressions that I won't soon forget them.

The harrowing family saga is interspersed with chapters that present how the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia have changed over the years. Unfortunately even if the Galvin boys had come of age in the 21st century, they might have been diagnosed sooner and received slightly better treatment, but there is still no cure.

The book's second half is weaker. There's only so many times you can read about the sons' revolving door of going in and out of psychiatric hospitals. But the latter part of the book really belongs to the two Galvin daughters, the youngest of the 12 children, and their disparate reactions to the chaos around them. Margaret tried to distance herself as much as possible from her family, while Mary/Lindsay became a second caretaker, especially after their mother's death. Kolker doesn't judge about which one of these reactions is the healthier response to an intolerable situation.

At the heart of the entire book is the Galvin matriarch, Mimi, who fought fiercely for her family even though her protection included a veil of secrecy that haunted the younger children especially for life. Kolker points out the few options available for parents dealing with seriously mentally ill children in the 1960s and 1970s; there was a strong emphasis on the effect of poor nurturing and the “schizophrenogenic mother” whose illogical behavior caused schizophrenia in her offspring. So while it's not always easy to admire Mimi, you have to admit that she had few options at the time.

A fascinating, dark and compelling book that deserves the attention it is receiving.