Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

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

17 reviews

amelew's review against another edition

emotional informative tense slow-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Rape, Pedophilia, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Drug use, Stalking, Gun violence, and Medical trauma

alaina's review

challenging dark emotional informative slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

slantrhymes's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

5.0

I couldn't put this book down. It's sad and fascinating. Kolker  tackles extremely fraught subjects clinically and delicately, always giving the utmost respect to the people he's writing about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Abortion, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Cancer, Car accident, Drug use, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness

The author discusses all of the very, very difficult subjects as clinically and respectfully as possible--there is nothing sordid here--but he is honest about things that happened to and between the family members he interviewed for the book. Some of those things are stomach-turning.

eflatkey's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

Insightful into the world of mental illness and how very little we know about the disease. Interesting to read from multiple family member perspectives. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship

caseyrk's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Animal cruelty

what_katie_read's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia

Minor: Addiction

kimgravy's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence