Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

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

41 reviews

nothingforpomegranted's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

Mimi and Don Galvin married and moved to Colorado after World War II, giving birth to twelve children in a twenty-year span and watching their lives unravel as six of those children were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Alternating between a family portrait and interviews with the family's youngest daughter, Mary, this book was impossible to put down and felt like the craziest dinner party story of all time. The Galvin family history is tragic and horrifying but utterly fascinating. Kolker perfectly balanced the interviews and recollections of the family as they grew up and grew apart with the tremendous medical research and development that has taken place over the decades that the family has been experiencing the horrors of schizophrenia. 

This book was phenomenal. I loved every aspect of the story and was equal parts horrified and intrigued by this entire family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gun violence, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Medical trauma

freethefrican's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

As someone who is just getting into non-fiction, it’s a little difficult for me to be overly critical as I am just learning what I’m looking for and what I want from the genre. That being said, I don't have a lot of criticism for this book. I enjoyed it. I thought the writing style was pretty good in how it read like non-fiction and I liked that a lot of effort was put into crafting a cohesive story from such a painful experience.

Schizophrenia is not one of the more talked about mental illnesses and I'm glad a book like this exists, not only to inform and mildly educate about the recent research into the disease’s treatment but to also show what it's like to live with a person or people who suffer from rather extreme forms of it. 

Growing up and living around people with a disease at a time when not enough was known about it from cause to treatment to long-term management, meant that a lot of mistakes were made. The enormity of this family’s affliction is something I don't think many of the readers of this book—including me—will be able to truly appreciate. One family member with a chronic illness is difficult enough. Now imagine 6 family members with a chronic, debilitating, and socially-ostracising illness. It's almost too painful to fathom. 

My first criticism is about the language of blame used. After making some effort to condemn the earlier beliefs by psychiatrists that mothers were largely responsible for the development of mental illness in their children, the author went on to craft a narrative (maybe as a result of his assessment of the situation or maybe it was him directly affirming the biases of his informants) that pointed a big arrow at the mother. 

Then there was this: “It is possible, maybe even likely, that the genetic flaw that caused schizophrenia in the Galvin boys might not be Mimi’s fault or Don’s fault, but both of their faults together—an entirely original cocktail, powerful enough to change all of their lives.”  This rubbed me off the wrong way. Was this necessary? Unfounded speculation (SHANK2 mutation be damned) that needed to point fingers at people who had been dealt terrible cards and who had their lives swallowed by this illness.

The second is how the transition from the family’s story to the scientific discussions was rather abrupt a lot of the time. As someone in the medical field, they weren’t too difficult to follow but I could see how those parts would feel a little tedious and sometimes dragged out to other people. But I did appreciate the author’s effort to simplify and directly correlate the different researches to the family’s timeline. 

This story is not for the faint of heart. It is difficult and sometimes full of despair. But I am glad that the Galvins have been able to find some semblance of sanity in the middle of their turmoil and continue to support each other. I hope the rest of them who are still with us can heal and live happy lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Chronic illness

dashes101's review against another edition

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

avno13's review

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

onewoman_bookclub's review against another edition

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

kellyofcali's review against another edition

challenging dark informative sad slow-paced

2.5

This is a fascinating look at mental illness and schizophrenia based around a single family's experience - the author clearly did a lot of research, and it's truly informative. At times, it does feel a bit long/repetitive, but if you are interested in (and not triggered by) mental health it's a good nonfiction read.

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Content Warnings

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

mandi4886's review

emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, and Torture

Minor: Cancer, War, Abortion, Chronic illness, Dementia, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Sexism, and Terminal illness

katielaine_w's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

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

alrauna's review

challenging emotional informative tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion, Blood, Bullying, Death of parent, and Violence

ka_ke's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

4.0

Good read if you’re interested in the impacts of schizophrenia. It’s slow moving but each detail proves important. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Infidelity, Self harm, Stalking, and Toxic relationship