Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

Fantastic view into the current state of mental illness research. Not a very positive trend, but thankful to be able to see it put together so well.

Fascinating! Led to an incredible discussion at one of my bookclubs. HIghly recommend for groups.

Great job by the author integrating decades of history of science, mental health, and this family’s remarkable life journey!

As a Psycholoy major who has worked with people who suffer from Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder I found this book fascinating and sad. Twelve children and ten boys, six of whom were diagnosed and treated for Schizophrenia. And this was during a time when experts didn’t agree on how to help or what was causing this. I actually admired Mimi (the mother) for continuing to try to help her sons, even when she was being blamed for their condition. The author did a great job portraying the stress on the “well” siblings. The chapters dealing with the medical research became more and more detailed until I wasn’t really able to follow them.

A honest, empathetic account of the Galvin family. Extraordinary resilience by the two sisters who advocated to preserve their family history. Having relatives with schizophrenia, I have a newfound understanding of the disease. The hope of research and medicine and mental health counseling is indelible.