Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

W ciemnej dolinie. Rodzinna tragedia i tajemnica schizofrenii by Robert Kolker

101 reviews

gretchenplz's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

4.0

I'm glad I read this after watching the "documentary" about the family. 

The production and narrative laid out by the documentary really rubbed me the wrong way, and I feel so much better after hearing this much more humanized version of the Galvin family. 

This story is incredibly sad, but at its heart, it's about 14 people who are just trying their best, all dealing with incredibly deep levels of trauma in the only ways they know how. 

My criticism is that Mary/Lindsey is very much an unreliable narrator. Very much gives a martyr complex. Again, I empathize with her trauma, her feelings of responsibility for her sick brothers, and her frustration with her non-sick siblings, but I feel conflicted, especially knowing the trauma she inflicted on her own kids. However, I think the author did a great job researching and writing from all POVs and not just relying on one person for the story.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lisettemarie's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative sad tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

mokmu's review against another edition

dark informative sad slow-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

luunacy's review against another edition

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I came across the documentary and knew I needed more information about this fascinating family. With this book I have learned a lot about schizophrenia's history and treatment options. I'm someone who's amazing by genetics and it's unfortunate the Galvin's had to go through such a tough time with so many sick sons. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Minor: Animal cruelty

fanchera's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition

challenging sad tense slow-paced

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and War

au_conn1's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

thisisntfarmlife's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

haileyeh's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion

sierrah_2101's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

Robert Kolker's Hidden Valley Road is a deep cut into the way we view schizophrenia, mainly in the past half-century. His story follows that of the Galvin family, headed by Mimi and Don in which they parented 12 children - yes, 12 - where half of them are eventually diagnosed with varying degrees of schizophrenia.

For me, this book was a fairly slow start as Kolker first sets up the history between Mimi and Don, where we can already see cracks forming in their partnership. But, once Donald - their first son - was born, things quickly spiraled from there. My main appreciation for this book was Kolker's writing. Whether it comes to complicated family interactions or translating complex technical and medical discoveries for the layman. It very rarely dragged, and at times, it almost felt like time was moving too fast through the pages. I never felt lost or overwhelmed until the

gene

discoveries were made, but that's probably because my eyes glaze over during that subject at any time, so that's not Kolker's cross to bear. He also handles very sensitive topics, such as

sexual assault

, tactfully, and it's clear Kolker took great care in making his interviewees comfortable when discussing these events.

As for the downsides, there were only two major ones. One of which other reviewers have also brought up multiple times, but I wish that there was more discussion of the personal thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of other family members other than the two youngest daughters, which are Kolker's focuses throughout the story. I understand the difficulty in interviewing people with schizophrenia, especially people with as severe cases as some of the Galvin sons had, but it almost felt like half the story was missing without their opinions and ideas presented really at all. 

The other is that, despite the many decades of devoted scientific work it feels as though... Not much happened? Again, I can't blame this on Kolker at all, I went into this book understanding it wasn't going to "crack the case on schizophrenia" at all, but there sadly wasn't much more than,

"It's genetic! Don't know much more beyond that!"

that I was already fairly aware of before I cracked this open. However, it was very intriguing to learn the details, and how there's already been steps taken to "cure" schizophrenia before it can even manifest, which was properly mind-boggling. I can tell Kolker put in an immense amount of research and time interviewing to condense that much scientific labor in such a readable and condensed format, and I suppose the slight frustration with feeling like no progress has been made is also kind of the point too.

Overall, this is a fascinating and very digestible read that will leave you just as hopeful as upset with everything these parents and twelve children went through. An enlightening and humble book, I would highly recommend Kolker's work to anyone interested in the history of mental illnesses and the monumental cultural and scientific changes that America has seen in the past 60 years. 4.25/5 stars.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and War