That alone would of course make for a great read in and of itself, but we are given more as we are taken into the world of this illness, how it has been treated in the past, and what progress has and has not been made over the years. This book then tells the story of what happened, and the different coping strategies used by various members of the family. Tragedy was to strike though, because as the children started growing up so certain symptoms were starting to show, which led to six of the boys becoming mentally ill, with schizophrenia. Taking us into the Galvin family so we have mum and dad, with twelve children, only two being girls. The author definitely shows compassion for those who he is telling the story of, and an understanding of other factors, which gives this non-fiction book a greater immediacy. It is thanks to the two daughters of the Galvin family who wanted their story told and working to get the other surviving members of the family to cooperate that this book came about. With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope.Īmerican journalist Robert Kolker gives us here a book that is truly a fascinating read and is sure to be pondered over by many, not only the general reader, but those who have schizophrenia or know of someone who has, those interested in mental disease, and professionals. And unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. How could all this happen to one family? What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse.

In those years, there was an established script for a family like the Galvins-aspiration, hard work, upward mobility, domestic harmony-and they worked hard to play their parts. After World War II, Don's work with the Air Force brought them to Colorado, where their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR PEOPLE'S #1 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF GQ 's TOP 50 BOOKS OF LITERARY JOURNALISM IN THE 21st CENTURY Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, TIME, Slate, Smithsonian, The New York Post, and Amazon The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science's great hope in the quest to understand the disease.

Hidden valley road