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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Finished it extremely fast. The Galvin Family has such a rich and dark/sad history that was wonderfully told by Kolker. Reading about each of the six brothers slowly succumbing to schizophrenia and how the family managed their schizophrenia in a time where schizophrenia was much less understood felt like I was a part of the journey too. To be honest, I did get a little loss when the focus shifted over to the researchers, but it was still overall an extremely good to learn about this extraordinary family as well as their resilience and strength.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Suicide attempt
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
This book is one of the only non-fiction books that I have read, as of late, that I can truly say that I really gained a significant amount of knowledge about a particular topic. This well written narrative delves into the rich and complicated history of schizophrenia and other mental illness as well as the associated research, theories, and treatments or lack thereof. One can learn and easily grasp just exactly how the brain of someone diagnosed with such an awful disease works fundamentally different than someone without it. The road of discovering, defining, observing, and treating schizophrenia is indeed a bumpy, but utterly fascinating road. However, beyond the intellectual curiosities, and at the core of this book, is a family absolutely wrecked with the unfortunate circumstance of six out of twelve children becoming diagnosed with schizophrenia or another related mental illness. The complex and often somber story places a face, a real person, a real family dealing with this extremely difficult situation. At times their actions are frustrating, disappointing and disheartening, but nevertheless makes for great reading. It’s heavy and can even make you feel a little down, but for me, by the end you feel hopeful that finally all the research may be paying off.
dark
informative
sad
slow-paced
A disturbing look at a large family plagued by schizophrenia... I alternated between pity and disgust. The story of the Galvins is interspersed with a brief history of the study and treatment of schizophrenia that can get a little heady. It’s definitely a tough read, but if your life or family has been touched by schizophrenia (as mine has), it’s a necessary one.
4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book was a fascinating and incredibly well written book on the study of both mental illness and, specifically, schizophrenia in the United States. I learned so much, starting with how schizophrenia is widely misinterpreted as multiple personalities in our media and culture. It is really a disease where the brain cannot decipher fully between what is real and what is delusion and it affects so many more people than we think.
I appreciate the hopeful, but honest story telling. Truly fascinating if you’re interested in mental health! Only deducted .5 stars as I didn’t feel it had appropriate trigger warnings (see bottom of my post for suggestions) and I felt it went on a bit too long.
TW: schizophrenia, family member with schizophrenia, BPD, family member with BPD, rape, rape of a child
This book was a fascinating and incredibly well written book on the study of both mental illness and, specifically, schizophrenia in the United States. I learned so much, starting with how schizophrenia is widely misinterpreted as multiple personalities in our media and culture. It is really a disease where the brain cannot decipher fully between what is real and what is delusion and it affects so many more people than we think.
I appreciate the hopeful, but honest story telling. Truly fascinating if you’re interested in mental health! Only deducted .5 stars as I didn’t feel it had appropriate trigger warnings (see bottom of my post for suggestions) and I felt it went on a bit too long.
TW: schizophrenia, family member with schizophrenia, BPD, family member with BPD, rape, rape of a child
Though not exactly a pleasant read due to the subject material, I was so impressed with the story’s scope, following psychiatric advancements alongside the Galvin family’s struggles across multiple generations. This read really well and taught us readers quite a lot.
Compelling nonfiction about a very large family (12 children) who experience various hardships and mental health issues at a time when America was exploring how schizophrenia should be treated professionally.