Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

Cover of first edition
Author	Robert Kolker
Audio read by	Sean Pratt[1]
Cover artist	Air Force photo, 1961[2] John Fontana (design)[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Subjects	Galvin family schizophrenia
Publisher	Doubleday
Publication date	April 7, 2020
Media type	Print (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audiobook
Pages	400
ISBN	978-0-385-54376-7 (hardcover)
OCLC	1148170726
Dewey Decimal	616.89/80092
LC Class	RC514 .K648 2020
Website	hidden-valley-road.com

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family is a 2020 non-fiction book by Robert Kolker. The book is an account of the Galvin family of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a midcentury American family with twelve children (10 boys and 2 girls), six of whom were diagnosed with schizophrenia (notably all boys). The family became the subject of researchers investigating a genetic origin for schizophrenia.^[3][4][5]

The book was selected for the revival of Oprah's Book Club.^[6][7][8][9] It debuted at number one on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list.^[10] The book was also named one of "The 10 Best Books of 2020" by The New York Times Book Review and as one of the year's most critically acclaimed non-fiction books.^[11]

Robert Kolker was originally approached by the two Galvin sisters, Margaret Galvin Johnson and Lindsay (née Mary) Galvin Rauch, to write about the family's struggle and ordeal; he used it as a backdrop to explore the medical research and understanding about mental illness. Kolker interviewed Mimi Galvin, the matriarch of the family, as part of his research. She shared the various theories and rumors that had spread about their family and how they all struggled to get answers about the condition.^[12][8]

Plot

Hidden Valley Road is a true story about an American family with twelve children, 6 of whom are diagnosed with schizophrenia. The oldest child, Don Galvin, was born in 1945, and the youngest, Mary (who later changed her name to Lindsay) was born in 1965. By the mid 1970s, six of the ten boys were diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health, with their DNA samples and experiences forming the cornerstone of research for the disease in the mid-1900s. ^[13]

Reception

The book received critical acclaim.^[14] Kirkus Reviews praised its "astounding depth and empathy" and Kolker's account of schizophrenia's history and the complicated atmosphere and relationships between members of the Galvin family.^[15]

In a review for The New York Times, Sam Dolnick wrote, "Kolker tells their story with great compassion" and that the author "is a restrained and unshowy writer who is able to effectively set a mood".^[16]

Similarly, in her review for The Washington Post, Karen Iris Tucker described Kolker's retelling of the Galvin family as " deeply compassionate and chilling" further noting that, "the book gives much space to how difficult the disease has been to diagnose and treat. Yet it ends in 2017, as a story of hope."^[17]

Publishers Weekly called the book a "haunting and memorable" account of multi-generational mental illness and praised Kolker's "taut and often heartbreaking narrative."^[18] Former president Barack Obama listed the book as one of his favorite books of 2020 on social media on December 17, 2020.^[19]

References