Book Review: Hidden Valley Road

What a tragic, yet hopeful, tale of an unusual family! Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family, by Robert Kolker, shares a somewhat frightening and always intriguing outline of the lives of the Galvin Family in Colorado. The father, Don, worked for the Air Force, while the mother, Mimi, raised their twelve children - ten sons and two daughters. Of the ten sons, six fought schizophrenia or bipolar. I could not look away, immediately caught up in the story and horrified by what madness and chaos the family experienced.

I appreciated the structure of the book. Each chapter begins with a list of their names and highlights the individuals covered in that chapter. The stunning cover photograph of all the boys with their parents on a long spiral staircase makes an impressive lure. Many parts were excruciating to read (abuse, fighting, murder, horror of mental illness). Yet, I was glad that researchers discovered this family and have been able to use their DNA, their experience, and their demise to increase our understanding of these dreadful diseases. I hope their losses will lead to new treatment and prevention for the world-at-large.