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Inside the Mind of an American Family
by Robert Kolker
Book Reviewed by: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.
Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. 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. 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. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdown, sudden shocking violence, hidden abuse. By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. 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. 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. 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.
With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family's unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope
Kolker's writing is clear and concise throughout the narrative, with prose that keeps the nonfiction account moving at a good clip. He vividly describes the chaos of the Galvin homestead and the trauma of growing up in such an environment. The sections of the book that delve into the relevant medical research are equally fascinating and written in such a way that the science can be easily grasped by readers with no prior knowledge of the subject. Although Hidden Valley Road is a page-turner, it's not an easy read emotionally. Nevertheless, it's highly recommended for those who enjoy science books that overlap with real-life family tragedy (it compares well to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks)...continued
Full Review
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(Reviewed by Kim Kovacs).
In Hidden Valley Road, Robert Kolker writes about the Galvin family's experience with schizophrenia and discusses early research into the disorder performed under the auspices of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
The NIMH's website states it's the "lead federal agency for research on mental disorders," with a mission "to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery, and cure." It has a budget of almost $2 billion (2020) and lists over 1,300 employees, contractors and research fellows as current collaborators.
In support of its mission, NIMH generates research and promotes research training to fulfill the following objectives:
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David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon
Hidden Valley Road contains everything: scientific intrigue, meticulous reporting, startling revelations, and, most of all, a profound sense of humanity. It is that rare book that can be read again and again.
