Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 2020; vuoden 2020 painos)

A very interesting true story that at times made me gasp. It is not a light read by any means but learned a lot about this awful condition that still is a mystery to medicine. It took the bright futures of these boys and wrecked their lives and the lives of so many others. ( )

This riveting read is a deep dive into the history and science of schizophrenia, delivered largely as a biography of a Colorado family where 6 of the 12 midcentury-born children have been diagnosed. It’s a harrowing story of chaos, violence and denial, with a poignant closure that I was going to characterize as resilience, but really it’s more like endurance. ( )

(6) This is a heartbreaking story of a post-War American family - typical American story in many ways - military, Catholic, middle class, lots of kids (12 to be exact), stay-at-home yet educated mother. The tragedy comes as we learn that ultimately 6 of the boys in the family have a psychotic break and are ultimately diagnosed with schizophrenia. So through the generosity and frankness of the Galvan family the reader comes to know the devastating effects of mental illness on a family.

It is such a cruel disease: striking in the prime of people's lives and stealing them - in a way almost worse than death. The way it derailed those boys one by one . . . the devastation and the fear the parents and other siblings must have felt. Interspersed with the Galvan family story, there are chapters about the state of the science surrounding the disease - from the idea that its the fault of a controlling mother, to genomics and the promise (not yet realized) of novel targeted pharmaceuticals.. These chapters, in some respects, went too far into the weeds (e.g. towards the end lots of focus on minutiae gene research that went nowhere) and in some respects, not far enough (eg. I really don't recall an actual definition of schizophrenia and exploration of the "typical" case) If not for the poignant word-for-word dialogue the author includes from conversations with the adult affected Galvan boys, I am not sure a coherent picture of the disease would emerge for the reader. Maybe that is intentional by the author - but from a medical perspective; schizophrenia is quite strikingly recognizable and can be defined/described.

In summary, the book is affecting and will stick with me. I do think it started much better than it ended and the last third or so seemed a bit more dispiritedly written - but overall - what a tragic story. I am impressed with the honesty and the access the family gave to the author. I am so sorry for all that happened to them and applaud the youngest daughter especially for recognizing the humanity left in her sick brothers and sticking with them along with her mother. There was a part at the end that haunted me the most about the loneliness of the sick brothers. The brothers locked in their delusions and their medicated fog became inaccessible to others - but "the mistake is to confuse inaccessibility with loss of self." ( )

Oh dear god.
Overall, this is a book about perseverance. And living hell. One family-12 kids- 6 of the boys diagnosed with schizophrenia. Kolker successfully gave each family member a personality with warmth, confusion, hope and despair.
No one can write a simple synopsis for HIDDEN VALLEY, there are simply too many swirling emotions mixed with the reality of 'what is'.
( i gave myself a headache attempting to put myself in the deluded shoes of the mother..... ) ( )

Extensively researched, well-written book about severe mental illness and abuse in a family with 12 children. Includes a lot of information about medical research related to schizophrenia. Harrowing and tragic, but it provides an honest view into the life of this family ( )