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Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker
26 reviews
semeyers's review against another edition
4.0
Hidden Valley Road was riveting, heartbreaking, and infuriating all in one. The Galvin family, made up of Mimi, Don, and their 12(!!) children - 10 boys and 2 girls - had the extraordinary misfortune to have 6 of their boys diagnosed with schizophrenia at a time when mental illnesses were treated as shameful and were not well understood by the medical community. We learn that even having a single child sent to a mental institution could ostracize an entire family from the community. As a result, the Galvin parents desperately try to keep up with the Jones' while their home life is falling apart. Don throws himself into his work and charitable causes, while Mimi focuses so much on her sick boys - determined to keep them at home - that her well children are left to endure horrifying neglect and abuse by their siblings.
Throughout the novel you bounce back and forth between the family and the medical professionals working behind the scenes, researching treatments for schizophrenia. You learn that the treatments were sometimes worse than the symptoms themselves and regularly led to patient deaths from the side effects.
As stated in other reviews, the author here does have a clear bias towards one of the family members. Whether from a true bias or just as a consequence of only having access to so few living Galvins, I could not tell. I also felt the author went a little easy on Don, often laying blame solely on Mimi unfairly. These instances are what made me take off a star.
Overall, this one is a highly recommended read. It is a heavy one though!
Graphic: Mental illness and Addiction
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Sexual assault
onewoman_bookclub's review
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, and Medical trauma
kellyofcali's review
2.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Pedophilia, Violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Incest, Grief, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction and Drug use
katielaine_w's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence
taymarie6's review
5.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Ableism, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Drug use
awalker97's review
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Murder, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
jennifer_bush_73's review
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
chloemakesbooks's review
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
megancj's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Suicide, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Incest, and Adult/minor relationship
alaina's review
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence