Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family presents the Galvin family, a married couple with twelve children. The oldest child was 20 years older than the youngest, with 10 boys and 2 girls. Eventually six of the sons would be diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Award-winning journalist Robert Kolker tells this heartbreaking true story about a family’s secrets, and how they coped with the onset and aftermath of the tragedy this mental illness can bring. Alongside this picture of a family in crisis, Kolker describes the history of schizophrenia from the 1950’s to the present, along with promising medical advances. The Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health, and analysis of their unique DNA offers the hope of one day eliminating schizophrenia forever.
Find interviews with the author and reviews of the book:
- Sam Dolnick. (April 3, 2020 Friday). Good Looks Ran in the Family. So Did Schizophrenia. The New York Times.
- Chahal, S., & Deep, R. (2021). Book Review: Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 43(4), 371–372. https://doi.org/10.1177/0253717621996216
- In ‘Hidden Valley Road,’ A Family’s Journey Helps Shift The Science Of Mental Illness. (April 5, 2020 Sunday). NPR Weekend Edition Sunday
Find Hidden Valley Road on the 1st floor of the John. T. Richardson library (Lincoln Park Campus) in the Haber Lounge. Call Number: 616.8980092 K813h 2020