This is an emotional, harrowing, and absolutely fascinating book, rooted in psychology, neuropathology, and the age old debate of ‘nature vs nurture’.

Whilst it is firmly non-fiction, many parts of this read more like fiction, or a biography style portrait of the Galvin family. They have 12 children (10 boys, two girls), and of those 10 boys, 6 went on to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. This remarkable prevalence is discussed and dissected in depth, and multiple theories and potential casualties for such a rate of diagnoses are explored. One researcher is cited as calling schizophrenia a “disease of theories” given the complex web of potential genetic factors, neurological discrepancies, environment and compound interactions that may contribute or indeed be attributed to the development of such a disorder. It was also fascinating (if also horribly depressing) to be reminded of how dismal understanding and available provision or support for mental health / psychiatric disorders was in America then (and how much the mother was often held to account) - but also how lacking it still is to this day in many places.

Whilst the persons and emotional investment in the ‘storyline’, per se, is compelling, there’s no way around the fact that this book is dense in parts. I found the balance to be pretty good between the scientific portions that focused on research (both proposals and process), theories and technology - alongside the individual stories of the brothers who received diagnoses of schizophrenia, as well as accounts from the brothers who did not and the two Galvin daughters - but there is a lot of information and I can understand why some reviews have said they found it a little too long and / or dry in places.

There is no ‘happy ending’ to this book, and there is still no absolute clarity around schizophrenia as an illness, but there is a glimmer of hope and light that as our awareness and understanding grows and technology advances, that we can deepen our comprehension of causes, and potentially cures (or at least better management) of such complex disease. If you have any interest in psychology, or even just want to read a fascinating account of a truly unique family, then this is well, well worth a read.

Prior to reading this make sure your read about possible TW. This book won’t be for everyone.
I found it interesting but in some parts I did feel a little uncomfortable however I’m a firm believer that some topics to need to be written about and therefore discussed.

This was an absolutely gut wrenching read.
Before you start, make sure you check the content warnings and really think if you are in a place to emotionally cope with what you are about to embark on.

This is one that will stick with me for life. I don’t have much to say, I’m still processing exactly what I’ve read. To put it into words is difficult.

Read it and you will understand what I mean.

Oof.

This was an emotionally taxing but for the most part worth it read. Following on the one hand the Galvin family where of the 12 children six were diagnosed with schizophrenia and on the other hand the development of schizophrenia research and psychiatry in general, this is harrowing and sad and surprisingly readable. I prefered the more science history aspect but thought the focus on the family managed to put that part into greater focus. I would have prefered to have more emphasis given on the voices of people diagnosed with schizophrenia but I am also very aware of the limitations there. Well worth reading, but beware of the very very grim topics.

This is a difficult book to read, with a lot of truly gut wrenching and heart-breaking moments. It is not an easy read, and if you are thinking of picking it up, I would suggest checking content warnings and being aware going in there is a lot of difficult moments. There are a lot of content warnings for this book, and I likely won’t be able to cover them all. But I want to include some of them here because, again, though this is an excellent work of non-fiction, it’s very heavy in content.

Content Warnings:

Mental illness including bipolar, depression, anxiety and schizophrenia. Physical violence and abuse. Sexual abuse including child abuse. Suicide. Murder. Domestic violence.

The book serves almost like a biography of an extraordinary family. Through diaries, letters, and interviews Kolker has put together a detailed account the Galvin family, from Don and Mimi’s childhoods and marriage, through their twelve children and beyond. The first child, Donald, was born in 1945, and their twelfth and final child was born in 1965, spanning the baby boom. Out of the twelve children, ten were boys, and six of the boys were diagnosed with schizophrenia. The family faced circumstances beyond what most would, and the book delves not only into their own struggles, but the struggles of those trying to treat this illness, fighting against outdated ideas and companies which have no interest in research where there is no cash cow at the end.

The work of the researchers and psychiatrists is presented alongside the story of the family. The biggest drawback is that the children at the heart of the book – the six boys – aren’t really in a position to tell their own stories, either due to death or because by the time Kolker was researching, they were too ill through years of mistreatment, breaks, and long-term drug use to really present their own side.

However, Kolker does get a lot of information mostly from the mother, Mimi, and the two daughters. Through their stories, we do get an insight into the brothers, one that shifts and changes as we find out more. Mimi is an almost typical matriarch figure in unusual circumstances, guided not necessarily by what is right for all family members, but what she thinks is right based on her own upbringing and the culture of the time.

Similarly, the perspective we get from the daughters is shaped by their own experiences of their brothers. Although six of the children were diagnosed, we also see the mental health issues dealt with by the other members of the family, and the directions it took them.

Again, this is not an easy read, but it is at times incredibly moving, as we see each family member on their own journey, as we gain a deeper understanding of the parents and children and, through the book, get to see many of them grow up to start families of their own. The book discusses the constant arguments in psychiatry over nature versus nurture, focused on schizophrenia. Something else which really stands out, too, is how many key events and people this family were involved in.

There is a tangle of emotions throughout this book, especially when it comes to the women of the family, and the two daughters who often felt neglected and overlooked in favour of the boys, and the mother who really couldn’t handle everything that was going on. Mimi also faced the period in psychiatry when a lot of issues were ‘pinned’ on the mother and upbringing, putting her in a position where she often felt attacked. Although there are instances when it feels she maybe could have handled things better, it’s also easy to understand the position she was in, and it’s an important element to the book – the ability to see and understand both sides.

It also spends time showing what all the boys went through, what they endured. It’s a really excellent book, balancing the story of the family with the story of schizophrenia treatment, and emphasising how much this single family contributed to the research. Although the ending isn’t ‘satisfying’ as such, with still a long road ahead in terms of research, it is hopeful, with progress being made and more of a desire to look at alternative treatments. Well worth a read, especially for those already interested in these sort of topics.

Thank you to publishers Quercus for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley. All views remain my own.

Let me start by saying that this time it's totally me, not you.

If I would've rated this non-fiction book objectively I would've given it 5 stars. I'm going to keep rating books subjectively though and my 3 stars show that the subject matter was just not for me.

I really like non-fiction, especially if it's regarding scary subjects like crime or impossible human feats. I though HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD might also fit in that category, but alas it does not.

The set-up is brilliant. ROBERT KOLKER tells us the heart rendering family history of the Galvins. Mimi and Don have birthed 12 kids, of which six are diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the children start showing symptoms one by one, Kolker weaves the tale of what psychology looked like in that era.

The most interesting part for me was the story about the family then and now.

The book itself is a little bit too long for my liking and I found it hard to focus on the psychology parts. Like I said though, I think this account has been really well-written, it's just not for me.

This is one of the best non fiction books I have ever read.
I was a compelling and engaging read from page one. Telling the story of a large American family plagued by mental illness it gives a brilliant look from day one to present day of how the whole family coped and how they were handled my the medical community as well as society and the children not affected by schizophrenia.

This was an absolutely fascinating account of the Galvin family. 12 siblings, 6 diagnosed with schizophrenia. It is also an account of the state of mental health care (or lack thereof) in America spanning a time period from the 1960's until present day. A much misunderstood and misdiagnosed illness, the Galvin family were let down time and time again by the lack of knowledge surrounding schizophrenia. So when researchers were looking for families to take part in a study to try, the Galvins seemed the perfect case study. As the human genome project was completed, researchers were hoping to gain an insight into possible genetic mutations that could be the key to unlocking the mystery, but political machinations and lack of funding halted progress time and time again. There is however hope as technology improves and this may be the key to early intervention and better treatment than the drugs traditionally prescribed that cause potentially life changing/limiting side effects.

A brilliant read for anyone interested in mental health as well as a sad tale of a family in freefall.

Such a fascinating read and I can see why this made Obama’s list of his favourite books of 2020. The book is beautifully written, and handles the family’s mental health issues with care and precision. The book at times was heartbreaking seeing how schizophrenia had debilitated this family. I liked how the author gave us everyone’s experience of the mental health issues, whether they suffered with schizophrenia or not. Would highly recommend.

This book deals with a family ravaged by mental illness. It’s the story of the Galvins, an Air Force family living in Colorado. In this family of twelve children (ten boys, two girls,) six of the boys were diagnosed with schizophrenia. We learn of the struggles of each of the diagnosed children and the stories of the daughters as well as the four brothers who were not suffering from schizophrenia.

A significant portion of the book is devoted to the incredible scientists who had and are working to not only find improved treatments for schizophrenia but to find the means to prevent it in the future. Some of the most hopeful work being done to this day includes the contributions of the Galvins who provided DNA as well as brain scans to these scientists. Remarkable that in the midst of all this tragedy, they agreed to participate in the name of science. The amount of research done by the author is extraordinary and making all this readable to a non-scientific audience is quite a feat.

I can see why this is a book recommended by Obama himself!!

This is an absolutely fantastic read. It was so so good. What some people went through, and accepted without the full understanding and support of society was incredible. They persevered though, to try understand and it is because of their dedication and permission for their blood samples to be used for scientific research, that people today have a better understanding of schizophrenia. It is not an easy read but it’s incredibly interesting and very very enlightening,

Wow.

This book was a fascinating real-life account of the Galvin family. High school sweethearts Mimi and Don were true baby boomers and with the arrival of Mary, their 12th child, the family was completed. But her arrival also marked the deterioration of their eldest son's mental health. One by one, the Galvin's male children developed schizophrenia until 6 out of the 8 boys were affected.

Working with Mary, Kolker gives a full history of life in the Galvin household and how the family dealt with each diagnosis. He also intersperses the biography with the progression and evolution of mental health as a science and how treatments for the condition have changed throughout the years. Although the Galvins were hit with so many tragedies, their contributions toward the research of schizophrenia and mental illness has been invaluable.

This book goes a long way to showing that there is not one singular experience with schizophrenia or mental illness, and that the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness is still very much in its infancy.

This book was really interesting and I can see why it gets so much praise. I don't want to say enjoyable because it wasn't that type of book but it definitely kept me interested throughout and I'd recommend others to pick this up.

Few reviews, interviews or awards could have prepared me for the experience of actually reading this book. Weaving together the story of one extraordinary American family with the history of a deeply complex, misunderstood illness and a reflection of society’s changing treatment of mental health, Kolker has succeeded in writing a tour de force of research that manages to be both approachable and deep. It struck me with its intelligence, clarity of purpose and refusal ever to venture into melodrama or voyeurism – territory it would be all to easy to stray into, given the subject matter – as it both offers a fresh perspective on a little-explored subject and thoughtfully examines several more common themes. Astute, assured and filled with unexpected insight, Hidden Valley Road is also a work of undeniable compassion.

[. . .]

Hidden Valley Road (which takes its title from the street on which the Galvin family home stood) is a book that deals with immensely complex and painful material, sourced from first-person testimonials, interviews, diaries, family photographs and letters, as well as from the numerous scientists who have dedicated their life’s work to understanding schizophrenia. Kolker’s clear-sighted approach sees the story of the family, which is told chronologically and in a compelling tone, interspersed with more scientifically minded chapters that explain the history of schizophrenia in America and the genesis of medicine’s current attitude towards it. The period in which the Galvin boys were first being diagnosed overlapped very much with the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate on schizophrenia’s causes, timing that would have severe consequences for how the affected boys and their mother in particular were seen by society. This lack of understanding also did irreparable damage to the remaining six children, some of whom all but turned their backs on the family, some of whom threw themselves into battling their brothers’ illness. Much to his credit, Kolker manages to draw out all sides of the story with clarity and consideration, empathising with every member of the family and giving the reader a profound understanding of the effects mental health can have on not just the person directly affected but also those who surround them.

[. . .]

Not just in terms of the treatment the Galvin boys and many others received at the hands of society and from the doctors meant to help them, Hidden Valley Road can be a tough book to read. Kolker is unflinching in his exploration of a devastating family story, which is studded with deeply poignant moments in which parents and siblings watch on helplessly as ‘the cure becomes as damaging as the disease’. While never less than clear about the narrative thread that runs throughout the entire book – that ‘for a family, schizophrenia is, primarily, a felt experience’ – he manages at regular intervals to provide the necessary distance, preventing his work from becoming voyeuristic and instead binding it to wider themes such as family and memory, or a sobering view of the care system and scientific research attached to mental health. Few authors, I think, could pull off the right balance of empathy and cool level-headedness, but aside from the odd drift towards a narrative cliché, such as the apparent desire to find a neat ending where there isn’t really one to be had, Kolker seems to have an innate feeling for these things. Moments of symbolism rooted in real life – the falcons, for instance – are drawn upon with sensitivity, and his handling of what is essentially a heartbreaking story is nothing short of graceful.

Well deserving of its place on the ‘best of’ lists, Hidden Valley Road is an eye-opening and entirely approachable account of a difficult subject that requires a lot more attention. It is a book that spoke to me on a very personal note, one I found hard to put down thanks in part to its elegant prose style, an admirable attempt to illuminate a shadowy area of mental health, and an impassioned call for better human understanding. The surviving members of the Galvin family have done both science and literature a great service in so bravely allowing their story to be shared with the world – and at least as far as the latter is concerned, they couldn’t have found themselves in better hands.

[Review shortened for ease of reading. The full version is available on my blog, via the link provided.]

This was an incredible non fiction. I always have so much respect for non fiction authors as so much research and referencing has to take place to shape a non fiction book. Also with the rise of narrative non fiction, hungry readers like myself are expecting more and more from our non fiction reads. But this book certainly delivered!

This story focuses on the Galvin Family. A wealthy all American family, Don and Mimi become notorious in their friendship circles for having a huge family. 10 sons and 2 daughters. But this fascinating family only become more compelling when it becomes apparent that around half of the sons seem to be developing schizophrenia in young adulthood. How is this possible? Is their a genetic component to schizophrenia? How can some siblings develop symptoms/ diagnosis of schizophrenia while other siblings seem to be unscathed by the mental illness?

This non fiction is a deep dive into the intimate lives of the family and each individual family member. It also looks at how the consent of the family to have their blood samples and DNA studied by scientists, has helped us understand more about the elusive mental illness schizophrenia.

This was so compelling and infinitely fascinating. The structure and writing was brilliantly composed and comprehensive. This is another favourite non fiction author to add to my list. I was so impressed with the compassion and sensitivity in which he dealt with the Galvin families story.

This book is gripping as narrative non fiction. But fundamental as an academic resource adding to the cannon of schizophrenia research. Kolker, through the Galvin sisters was able to get first hand accounts of events within the family that gave a plausibility and respectability to this study of a family. A fantastic book that I deeply admire.

Thanks to the author Robert Kolker, Quercus and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fascinating story, and one that I will be likely to go back to again and again. 12 children in one American family, 6 with schizophrenia. The book explores the family dynamics and how different treatments came into play. The family's unique set up gave scientists the chance to trial medicines in a way that they could not before.
There is so much scientific wonder and knowledge to take in, psychology, psychology and mental health issues.

A fascinating read that encompasses what it is like to live in a family where significant mental health issues and the role of science in discovering the cause, and hopefully, the best treatment for those suffering.

I was caught up in how hard it must have been for the entire family. Twelve children born between 1945 and 1965, six of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia. A matriarch who during the phase in psychotherapy was labelled as the cause and the hidden secrets that were kept, especially from the two youngest children, both girls, for decades.

However engaging the personal stories, and they are, the story of where the science leads is equally interesting. Large pharmaceuticals are less willing to champion new drugs for this particular illness because of the difficulty in trials and therefore scientists who studied the family (amongst others) trying to find a genetic cause find themselves going round in circles.

The book took ten years in the writing and it shows, the depth of the stories, although that means the narrative often points in different direction, is what makes it so compelling. A story of a family overcoming more than you think anyone could bear is told with overwhelming compassion.

A tremendous piece of work that offers insight into schizophrenia and a family enduring its complexities and horrors. Twelve Galvin family kids and six, all male, find themselves battling the disease and struggling to maintain while in and out of hospitals, on and off medications, and growing up in a challenging (to say the very least) household. The structure here allows for individual investigations in the lives of the Galvins while providing information about historical and developing studies in schizophrenia and mental health, in general. As terrifically informative as this is, and as emotionally draining as it can be at times, this is a cracking read. It's truly awful to consider the traumas here, and Kolker handles them delicately. He also makes the highly complex medical information both accessible and gripping. A fascinating and well-researched (and deeply sad) story.

Interweaving the lives of the Galvin family and the ongoing battle in the development and treatment of schizophrenia, Hidden Valley Road is an heartbreaking and emotional look into what could possible cause six members of the same family to develop the condition.

The author does a great job of presenting the Galvin family as down to earth, and the information we are given about them is well researched and sensitive to the subject matter. We really get to understand what made this family tick, what they loved doing and how schizophrenia ultimately teared them apart. A family with ten children is meet going to be 'normal' by any standards, with a mix of characters, but Robert Killer manages to make all of them stand out in their own right - especially the two eldest boys, Don and Jim and the youngest girls. The writing is easy to follow and easy to fall into, which I find is the best route for non fiction to take for me to engage with it.

I also liked the chapters scattered throughout that document the struggle to recognise schizophrenia as a mental illness and the still ongoing battle into determining if the condition is hereditary. The Galvin family are a shining example of how the condition must be linked to genes in some form, however we still don't know much about schizophrenia at all. For a long time there was (and still is) an astounding amount of prejudice against individuals with the condition, with many health professionals linking it to nurture rather than nature. IE it was caused due to upbringing. I can't imagine the hurt this must have caused mothers of individuals suffering from schizophrenia, to see them be blamed for what was happening to their children.

At times deeply harrowing and upsetting, this is still a vitally important read that documents schizophrenia unlike anything else I've ever read.

Hidden Valley Road is a book that will stay with me for a long time.

I knew very little about schizophrenia beforehand, but Robert Kolker’s fantastic writing style made it easy to understand this complex illness. My heart broke for the Galvin family as even the non-ill children suffered from seeing their siblings’ illnesses and struggles to get suitable treatments. It was inspiring to read about the research taking place and how families like the Galvin’s have helped scientists.

I would definitely recommend this book and can see why it was on Barack Obama’s top reads of 2020. Thank you to Quercus for putting this back on NetGalley in exchange for reviews.