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alexijai98's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
The narrator of the audiobook was fantastic. I’d love to read this same book from the lens of societal attitudes toward schizophrenia and mental illness in general.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
sofia_fig4's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
swaye's review against another edition
4.0
Extremely well-researched. Hidden Valley Road reads like fiction even though it's a horrifying, heartbreaking true story.
trin's review against another edition
3.0
A brutal and heartbreaking story, mostly vividly presented, though it gets way bogged down at the end -- it felt like Kolker couldn't figure out where to close the narrative, because life rarely provides a neat little bow. The frustrations of a lack of resolution on the medical side -- congrats to Pfizer for once again swooping in to be the Big Bad! WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT a pharmaceutical giant might be evil? -- is especially felt.
As a general note/warning: I did come into this expecting and prepared for trauma, but there is a truly horrific amount of child sexual assault that I wasn't prepared for. It's handled as sensitively as it can be, but still, be aware. I had to read this slowly, in small pieces, because that was the only way I could manage it.
As a general note/warning: I did come into this expecting and prepared for trauma, but there is a truly horrific amount of child sexual assault that I wasn't prepared for. It's handled as sensitively as it can be, but still, be aware. I had to read this slowly, in small pieces, because that was the only way I could manage it.
mhverney's review against another edition
5.0
This is an extraordinary book, the story of the Galvin family in Colorado from the 1950s until today, a family of twelve children of which six end up diagnosed with schizophrenia. It is an astonishingly balanced take on what we know and dont know about the disease - syndrome, condition, spectrum? - as well as the story of a family. I listened to it on Audio and the narration is superb. I went through it as if it were a thriller except that I feel now like I have learnt so much I did not know about mental illness. Brilliant.
1jessml's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.0