A review by mark5327
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

dark emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

 Hidden Valley Road was kind of a ripper. A family had 12 kids, 10 of whom were boys, 6 of whom grew up with varying degrees of schizophrenia. This book acts as both a scientific case study of the various programs of treatment and discovery and a humane but frightening history of what it was like to exist in the household. Reads like a thriller, a solid recommendation with the caveat of dark content. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting