Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

109 reviews

dashes101's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

My first 5 star review of this year. I was so not expecting this when I picked up Kolker's book. However, I was quickly thrown into a deep dive of the family: the boys battling their disorders as well as the stigma, the parents fighting to keep their family intact, the daughters' own trauma from growing up in the Galvin household. The book was harrowing, riveting, and impossible to put down. A fascinating mix between the research efforts of the time, and the personal story of the family blended perfectly. Not only does this book show the horrific tragedy of schizophrenia separating people from reality, it shows the hope of a family, the difficult choices we make in the face of hardship, and the healing process. There are so many things this book explores, and I can't put them all in a review: this is simply a must-read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Violence

booklistqueen's review

dark sad slow-paced

3.0

Shortly after World War II, Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American Dream, raising their twelve children in Colorado Springs. Until one after another, six of their ten sons were diagnosed with schizophrenia. The tale of an American family of utmost importance to proving a genetic component to schizophrenia, Hidden Valley Road was one of the top nonfiction books of 2020.

Knowing this was an Oprah book club pick, I was excited to pick up Kolker's bestseller. Although the story is told well, it's extremely depressing: a litany of horror stories detailing mental breaks, violence, and sexual abuse, especially of the two younger sisters. The science was interesting but also extremely depressing since it is still so little understood. All in all, Hidden Valley Road was just too traumatic for me to enjoy reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Sexual assault

Moderate: Rape and Child abuse

avno13's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

This is a long-haul; you have to be willing and interested to confront the troubled and misunderstood history of schizophrenia. Underlying the biographical narratives of 1) research into the disease and 2) the Galvin's as a case-study are the commentaries on forgiveness, acceptance, and destigmatization of an unrelenting grip the disease has on its victims. I really enjoyed the varying perspectives, lack of judgment from the author, and truthful but sensitive retelling of the Galvin's history.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, and Murder

gmd316's review

emotional informative fast-paced

4.75

Such an interesting read on the history of Schizophrenia research intertwined with one family's battle with the illness and the mental health industry in America. Highly recommend even if non-fiction is not for you usually, it is mainly told through narrative!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Rape

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

cghegan's review

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Mental illness, Suicide, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Abandonment, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Cursing

sunbearbeam's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Murder

Minor: Death

onewoman_bookclub's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death of parent, Dementia, and Medical trauma

kbweis's review

challenging dark informative slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Mental illness, Medical content, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Murder

foreverinastory's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative slow-paced

4.0

Very informative and interesting! Definitely hard to read at times and dry.

CWs: Ableism, blood, child abuse, child death, death, death of parents, drug use, fire/fire injury, gaslighting, grief, gun violence, incest, mental illness (bipolar), murder, physical abuse, pregnancy, rape, schizophrenia/psychosis, sexual assault, self-harm, suicide attempt, suicide, terminal illness, violence. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence

pagesandplannersabroad's review against another edition

challenging emotional

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest and Rape