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Reviews tagging 'Suicide'
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
160 reviews
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence
Minor: Suicide, Murder
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicide, Murder
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
I thought the blend of family biography and history of schizephrenia research (and how the two end up intersecting in the 80s onwards) was very effective. The family is large, and I appreciated the list of names (and their dates, spouses, children) and indicator at the top of each chapter on who the focus would be.
Much like the Galvins' experiences, you're in the thick of it with them and it's only at the end, years later and with the benefit of therapy and distance (physical and temporal) that you understand all the events that had to go the way they did to end up with such a unique situation. And all the ways it could've been different for everyone if the family had different resources, lived in a different time, or made different choices. Had Mimi and Don not had 12 children, or raised them differently, or if the brothers were not quite so abusive to each other and their sisters, or if the mental health care system was not the shitshow it was (and in many ways still is), etc.
Reading the book reminded me to continue unpacking my assumptions and immediate reactions -to continue navigating in that gray zone of multiple truths and causes. Almost everyone was responsible for some element of this family's experiences - and yet everyone was also a victim. Both can be true.
If I had to quibble, I would have appreciated seeing more discussion around the cost of mental health care - it's quite experience in the States and I think an overview of how state-led and private patient care differs would be helpful for us non-American readers. Same with the income disparity between the Galvins and Garys - a deeper look at how many of the choices (or lack thereof) that the Galvins had compared to their richer friends/counterparts would have been beneficial (it was only explored in the final chapter briefly).
Hidden Valley Road is a microcosm of society and biomedical/clinical research. And much like in the book, the discussion between nature and nurture continues. We know <i>so</i> much more than we did 50 years ago (in large part thanks to families like the Galvins), but we have so far to go in terms of treatment, social supports, and destigmatizing mental illnesses like schizophrenia.
Sidenote - I really appreciated that the author remained removed from the story. It's obvious in parts that he would've been present in those interviews/scenes, but he never includes himself as a character.
Highly recommend - but please check out the content warnings.
CW: sexual abuse and molestation of family members within the family (and separately by a priest), violence, domestic abuse (between siblings and between couples), murder, horrific treatment of mentally ill humans in the mental health care system (including restraints and sedation), discussions of mental health and illness (depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.), sexism
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexism
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape
Graphic: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse