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thegourmetbookworm 's review for:
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker
The true story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s greatest hope in the quest to understand the disease.
Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream in Colorado Springs with their twelve children. But behind the closed doors of their house on Hidden Valley Road were psychological breakdowns, shocking violence, and hidden sexual abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after the other, were diagnosed with schizophrenia. And the other six children stood by, horrified, with no way of knowing whether they would be next.
The family has a scientifical legacy. They are so statistically unusual that they were one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of mental Health as part of the search for the genetic origins of schizophrenia.
I picked up a copy of this book to research schizophrenia for a client’s memoir I’m writing. Parts of it were absolutely fascinating – albeit horrifying – as though I was peering into the private confines of the Galvin’s lives without being invited. Except that I was invited. Why, I’m not sure.
First the pluses:
The amount of research that went into writing this book is mind-blowing and the author has my immense respect for the amount of work required to write his book. To me, it is unimaginable that the family members (well, primarily the sisters) had the guts to share such private trauma. How could they even remember details of the events that took place over decades? Thankfully, the medical community has found better ways to treat mental illness.
The minuses:
Mr. Kolker is clearly a very accomplished journalist. In this case, however, I thought the writing was a hot mess. At 400 pages, Hidden Valley Road was too long, too rambling, too dry. The behind-the-scenes research was overly detailed and could have used serious editing. I couldn’t keep the sick brothers straight. They were each hospitalized so many times it became almost like a broken record. I don’t know how I would have organized the content differently, but the redundancies were frustrating. Much of the book was excruciatingly dull, and I found myself fast forwarding through the second half it to reach the conclusion. With all the heartbreak, I expected to feel some emotion, but it read more like a textbook.
The author doesn’t need my accolades, though. In 2020, Hidden Valley Road was an Official selection of Oprah’s Book Club, A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post Top Ten Book of the Year and People’s #1 Best Book of the Year. It was also named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Time, Slate, Smithsonian, Forbes, Audiophile, Parade, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and The New York Post.
Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream in Colorado Springs with their twelve children. But behind the closed doors of their house on Hidden Valley Road were psychological breakdowns, shocking violence, and hidden sexual abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after the other, were diagnosed with schizophrenia. And the other six children stood by, horrified, with no way of knowing whether they would be next.
The family has a scientifical legacy. They are so statistically unusual that they were one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of mental Health as part of the search for the genetic origins of schizophrenia.
I picked up a copy of this book to research schizophrenia for a client’s memoir I’m writing. Parts of it were absolutely fascinating – albeit horrifying – as though I was peering into the private confines of the Galvin’s lives without being invited. Except that I was invited. Why, I’m not sure.
First the pluses:
The amount of research that went into writing this book is mind-blowing and the author has my immense respect for the amount of work required to write his book. To me, it is unimaginable that the family members (well, primarily the sisters) had the guts to share such private trauma. How could they even remember details of the events that took place over decades? Thankfully, the medical community has found better ways to treat mental illness.
The minuses:
Mr. Kolker is clearly a very accomplished journalist. In this case, however, I thought the writing was a hot mess. At 400 pages, Hidden Valley Road was too long, too rambling, too dry. The behind-the-scenes research was overly detailed and could have used serious editing. I couldn’t keep the sick brothers straight. They were each hospitalized so many times it became almost like a broken record. I don’t know how I would have organized the content differently, but the redundancies were frustrating. Much of the book was excruciatingly dull, and I found myself fast forwarding through the second half it to reach the conclusion. With all the heartbreak, I expected to feel some emotion, but it read more like a textbook.
The author doesn’t need my accolades, though. In 2020, Hidden Valley Road was an Official selection of Oprah’s Book Club, A New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post Top Ten Book of the Year and People’s #1 Best Book of the Year. It was also named a Best Book of the Year by NPR, Time, Slate, Smithsonian, Forbes, Audiophile, Parade, Kirkus, Library Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, and The New York Post.