Nonfiction

Los chicos de Hidden Valley Road

Los chicos de Hidden Valley Road

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-08-26 02:52:43
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Robert Kolker
  • ISBN：8419261157
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Summary

Doce hermanos， seis diagnosticados con esquizofrenia。 Una tragedia familiar， la gran esperanza de la ciencia para entender la enfermedad

N。º 1 de la lista de libros más vendidos del New York Times

Don y Mimi Galvin encarnan como nadie el espíritu ingenuo y entusiasta de los Estados Unidos de su época。 Jóvenes y llenos de sueños y ambiciones， el futuro es para ellos un horizonte abierto。 Los hijos no tardan en llegar: en 1945 nace Donald， el primero de los doce que tendrá la pareja a lo largo de dos décadas。 Atléticos， inteligentes， talentosos， atractivos y felizmente instalados en la idílica casa de Hidden Valley Road， los Galvin se dirían la perfecta familia americana。 Hasta que un día， tras una serie de extraños comportamientos， diagnostican esquizofrenia a Donald。 En los años sucesivos， nada menos que otros cinco de los chicos de Hidden Valley Road desarrollarán la enfermedad， y la amenaza siempre penderá sobre la cabeza del resto。 Pese a que su singular caso llegará a llamar la atención del Instituto Nacional de Salud Mental， Mimi se pasará media vida tratando de mantener la impoluta fachada de familia modélica e intachable， mientras de puertas adentro la desdicha y el horror no hacen sino acrecentarse: crisis nerviosas， episodios de violencia descontrolada， secretos abominables…
Los chicos de Hidden Valley Road es una portentosa crónica con un pulso narrativo tan sólido y adictivo que se lee como una novela: una saga familiar llena de amor， sufrimiento y esperanza que se desarrolla en paralelo no solo a los grandes episodios de la historia estadounidense del siglo xx， sino también a los avances en la visión， comprensión y tratamiento de la esquizofrenia。 El libro de Kolker es una lectura apasionante que nos habla de la tragedia de una familia devorada por la esquizofrenia en una época en la que nadie sabía demasiado bien qué era: ni los doctores， ni los investigadores， ni mucho menos los Galvin。

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Reviews

Brett ，

Interesting book and family！ I'm amazed that they could deal with those problems in an era where very little was known about schizophrenia and how to treat it。 Maybe a little too much detail about all the family issues。 I think it could have been better to replace some of that with more detailed information on the medical front in their efforts to figure out schizophrenia， coinciding with the timeline of the family。 Interesting book and family！ I'm amazed that they could deal with those problems in an era where very little was known about schizophrenia and how to treat it。 Maybe a little too much detail about all the family issues。 I think it could have been better to replace some of that with more detailed information on the medical front in their efforts to figure out schizophrenia， coinciding with the timeline of the family。 。。。more

Dawn Kovacovich ，

Fascinating documentary information about the tragedy of mental illness， both within one large family and within the profit driven pharmaceutical industry that had the control to drive or limit research into treatment and prevention。 Brain research has been abysmally ignored for far too long。 The one area the author neglected to tap into is the lack of appropriate care and support systems available to people with mental illness and their families。 It is a HUGE and desperate problem and there was Fascinating documentary information about the tragedy of mental illness， both within one large family and within the profit driven pharmaceutical industry that had the control to drive or limit research into treatment and prevention。 Brain research has been abysmally ignored for far too long。 The one area the author neglected to tap into is the lack of appropriate care and support systems available to people with mental illness and their families。 It is a HUGE and desperate problem and there was an opportunity here to at least allude to it， but the author barely touched on it。 。。。more

David ，

A really nuanced study of an extraordinary family dynamic， weaving in a social and medical history of mental illness。 Really well done。

Em P ，

One of the better nonfiction books I've read recently。 Deeply moving。 One of the better nonfiction books I've read recently。 Deeply moving。 。。。more

Julie Felberg ，

Difficult but fascinating and eye opening。

Mary P ，

DNF

Inés Gómez ，

Tengo mucho que decir sobre este libro。 Primero， por la parte formal; después， por el tema que trata。 No solo es un ejercicio de periodismo narrativo de investigación de primer nivel， es que hacía AÑOS que no leía nada tan bueno en este campo。 El autor， como periodista， debe sentirse orgulloso， puesto que consigue que el lector se mantenga pegado a su asiento y necesite seguir leyendo para descubrir cuál será el siguiente paso， el siguiente drama， la próxima sorpresa。 Todo ello aderezado con cap Tengo mucho que decir sobre este libro。 Primero， por la parte formal; después， por el tema que trata。 No solo es un ejercicio de periodismo narrativo de investigación de primer nivel， es que hacía AÑOS que no leía nada tan bueno en este campo。 El autor， como periodista， debe sentirse orgulloso， puesto que consigue que el lector se mantenga pegado a su asiento y necesite seguir leyendo para descubrir cuál será el siguiente paso， el siguiente drama， la próxima sorpresa。 Todo ello aderezado con capítulos explicativos que ayudan a que entendamos un poco mejor el desarrollo de las técnicas y el tratamiento de la esquizofrenia desde comienzos del siglo XX。 Por otra parte， la trama no deja indiferente a nadie。 Una familia perfecta de doce hijos， de los cuales seis resultan padecer una enfermedad mental que les destroza por dentro y por fuera。 Cada uno de ellos， con sus propios problemas y personalidad， necesitan el apoyo de sus padres， que hacen lo que pueden （sobre todo la madre， que es la gran heroína de esta historia， a pesar de que hace cosas que no debería para protegerse a sí misma del dolor。 Y no quiero contar más， porque es importante que este libro sea leído y compartido， pero。。。 vaya DIEZ。 。。。more

Cindy ，

Wow。 Thanks for writing this book in a readable way。 First， you connect us to a family and then to the science。 Then our hearts and minds develop a hope for a cure and empathy for the families and persons with this disease。 I think “fear of the unknown” in dealing with people with mental Illness will still be a thing， because if you don’t have to ‘deal with psychosis’ it is hard to imagine （for me） why you would。 Thanks to the Galvin family for being open and raw。 Forthcoming in agonizing issues Wow。 Thanks for writing this book in a readable way。 First， you connect us to a family and then to the science。 Then our hearts and minds develop a hope for a cure and empathy for the families and persons with this disease。 I think “fear of the unknown” in dealing with people with mental Illness will still be a thing， because if you don’t have to ‘deal with psychosis’ it is hard to imagine （for me） why you would。 Thanks to the Galvin family for being open and raw。 Forthcoming in agonizing issues and helping the rest of us in the human genome get a glimpse of love and compassion of family and forgiveness， of getting through immense hurdles and obstacles and still being able to stand with grace。 Hats off to you all！ 。。。more

Jocelyn ，

This wasn't an easy read， but it was excellent。I learned a lot， too。 This wasn't an easy read， but it was excellent。I learned a lot， too。 。。。more

Jaqi ，

Wow！ What a fascinating read， I recommend to everyone who doesn’t know much about schizophrenia。 All the different extensive types of research that went into this book are incredible。A good mix of narrative of this family and a general history of research and treatment of the illness。One star taken off for being slightly too long， going into a little too much detail about the parents’ early lives before I was invested enough to really care， and a bit of a confusing timeline at points。

Montzalee Wittmann ，

Hidden Valley Road:Inside the Mind of an American FamilyBy Robert KolkerWow！ This book is fascinating but also sad， terrifying， and heartbreaking。 It's about a Catholic family that had 12 kids。 Six of the kids ended up with schizophrenia。 Now I had four boys and they were enough of a handful but 10 boys and 2 girls！ This is totally non-fiction！ The conversations were verified by the family or friends。 This describes the family， parents， and each child as they first become under the grip of the d Hidden Valley Road:Inside the Mind of an American FamilyBy Robert KolkerWow！ This book is fascinating but also sad， terrifying， and heartbreaking。 It's about a Catholic family that had 12 kids。 Six of the kids ended up with schizophrenia。 Now I had four boys and they were enough of a handful but 10 boys and 2 girls！ This is totally non-fiction！ The conversations were verified by the family or friends。 This describes the family， parents， and each child as they first become under the grip of the disease and how it effected their life and those around them。 One by one， the disease went through the family。 The view from the youngest daughter is described as she is the one that was in charge after the parents died。 It's was exhausting to read at times， although interesting。 So stressful！The family's blood and tissues were used in studies to further understand schizophrenia。 It seems schizophrenia has spectrums like autism。Very interesting book！ 。。。more

Nancy Higgs ，

The Galvin family lived in Colorado。 There were 12 children and many had schizophrenia but all had issues in life。 The father worked at the Air Force Academy for awhile。 Mimi and Don were the mom and dad。 Only 2 of the children were girls。 There were many hospital， doctor visits and inpatient treatment。 Interesting book but never uplifting。

Susan ，

Very interesting and quite sad what the family members endured。

Nicole Miao ，

I will give A++ for this book， or work to be more precise。 It’s a page turner。 It’s hard to stop following chapters by chapters。 There are no right or wrong here in the book。 I believe everyone is a victim at the end。 It’s the BEST book I have read in the most recent years。

Greta ，

Have to admit that I listened to this as an audiobook and sometimes tuned out。 It was long！ And some of it was very brutal and some of it described lots of receptors and neurotransmitters that were hard to keep track of。 But I ultimately did find this a moving portrait of a very complicated family dealing with mental illness， transgenerational trauma， and the internalized weight of America’s expectations for its children。

Allara ，

I love a good medical narrative nonfic read， and Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker delivers on all aspects of the genre。 Don and Mimi Galvin had 12 children （ten boys， two girls） between 1945 and 1965; if the idea of having 12 kids isn’t already terrifying enough to you， six of the ten boys come to be diagnosed with schizophrenia over time。 The reader sees firsthand the devastation caused both by schizophrenia itself， but also its treatment， which has evolved little in the past decades。 Kolker I love a good medical narrative nonfic read， and Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker delivers on all aspects of the genre。 Don and Mimi Galvin had 12 children （ten boys， two girls） between 1945 and 1965; if the idea of having 12 kids isn’t already terrifying enough to you， six of the ten boys come to be diagnosed with schizophrenia over time。 The reader sees firsthand the devastation caused both by schizophrenia itself， but also its treatment， which has evolved little in the past decades。 Kolker weaves together the story of the Galvin family with the history of schizophrenia， from it becoming a named disease in the early 1900s to researchers who have made it their life’s work to better understand causes and potential treatments。 I thought that Kolker structured Hidden Valley Road well – the family and research chapters eventually come together as the Galvin family has featured prominently in schizophrenia research， due to the large number of affected and non-affected children。To tell the story， Kolker immersed himself into the Galvin family。 He seems to have been closest to the two girls， which does skew the story towards them and create a biased narrative at times。 The girls， who were the two youngest children， clearly suffered through both parental neglect and physical and sexual abuse at the hands of some of their brothers。 Parents Mimi and Don often had their heads buried in the sand。 They raised their family during a time when the mother was often blamed as the root cause behind schizophrenic children; still， the family’s problems were almost certainly exacerbated by Mimi and Don’s denial。 Hidden Valley Road shows how the girls were impacted by their family and childhood as they grow to become adults and have families of their own。Schizophrenia comprises a wide umbrella of symptoms， and “whether you even had schizophrenia or not often depended on the priorities of the institution where you were being examined。” This…squishiness…of definition when it comes to mental illness raises a slew of questions about what it means to diagnose and treat those afflicted， especially when the treatment can also have harmful effects over time。 。。。more

Fernando Jimenez ，

Ya decía Tolstói que cada familia era desgraciada a su manera。 La manera de los Galvin es ser la que más enfermos mentales tiene en Estados Unidos。 Su historia a lo largo de gran parte del siglo XX podría ser material de otra Gran Novela Americana， pero el libro de Kolker se queda en los límites de la no ficción。 La esquizofrenia， la enfermedad más específicamente humana y filosófica， supone “una escisión entre la vida interior del paciente y la exterior， entre la percepción y la realidad”。 Seis Ya decía Tolstói que cada familia era desgraciada a su manera。 La manera de los Galvin es ser la que más enfermos mentales tiene en Estados Unidos。 Su historia a lo largo de gran parte del siglo XX podría ser material de otra Gran Novela Americana， pero el libro de Kolker se queda en los límites de la no ficción。 La esquizofrenia， la enfermedad más específicamente humana y filosófica， supone “una escisión entre la vida interior del paciente y la exterior， entre la percepción y la realidad”。 Seis de los doce hermanos Galvin padecieron esquizofrenia y el resto sufrió las consecuencias de un ambiente en el que las secuelas para todos acaban siendo tan terribles como la enfermedad。 Una de las grandes cuestiones que propone el texto es la investigación sobre las causas de este mal， entre lo ambiental y lo adquirido。 Aunque con el paso de las décadas las investigaciones genéricas van aclarando la predisposición de algunos individuos a padecer la enfermedad， no puedo dejar de pensar en algunas de las instituciones que supuestamente estructuran el orden social。 La educación católica de los Galvin y la influencia de la institución militar en plena Guerra Fría （la familia vive en una base militar de Montana dedicada a la defensa nuclear） quizás si darían para una novela de ficción， una Gran Novela Americana llena de ruido y de furia contada por media docena de locos。 。。。more

Aisa ，

A fascinating look at schizophrenia from all angles: the personal stories of a Colorado family who had 6 out of 12 children develop the disease， as well as the evolution of both research and public opinion from the 1950s until today。 These stories are braided together in a pleasing way， neither too much dry science or too much rambling personal history at once。 As I'm diving into the literature of schizophrenia for work， this has been a great starting point。 A fascinating look at schizophrenia from all angles: the personal stories of a Colorado family who had 6 out of 12 children develop the disease， as well as the evolution of both research and public opinion from the 1950s until today。 These stories are braided together in a pleasing way， neither too much dry science or too much rambling personal history at once。 As I'm diving into the literature of schizophrenia for work， this has been a great starting point。 。。。more

angela ，

dnf @ 41%may come back to finish this one bc i still think the book’s concept is super interesting。 unfortunately， the author’s writing style is boring af and i could never get through more than a few paragraphs without falling asleep

Fran Mayor ，

This book is fascinating， the story unbelievable。 The fact that this couple had twelve children is in itself hard to grasp， but the mental illness rampant among the family is unfathomable。 It took me a long time to finish Hidden Valley Road because of all the medical/psychological descriptions including treatments， experiments， and medications。 I actually skimmed over most of those parts， especially in the final quarter of the book。 But the stories of the lives of the Galvin children and parents This book is fascinating， the story unbelievable。 The fact that this couple had twelve children is in itself hard to grasp， but the mental illness rampant among the family is unfathomable。 It took me a long time to finish Hidden Valley Road because of all the medical/psychological descriptions including treatments， experiments， and medications。 I actually skimmed over most of those parts， especially in the final quarter of the book。 But the stories of the lives of the Galvin children and parents was so interesting。 Not for everyone。 。。。more

Una Cooper ，

4。5 rounded down

Joy F ，

“Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” was recommended to me by a friend。 I have read quite a few nonfiction books lately and have been enjoying learning about new things， and this was no exception l。 It’s the true story of the Galvins， a Colorado family with 12 kids。 While that itself is enough to fill a book， the interesting part is that six of the children were diagnosed with schizophrenia and six were not。 Therefore， the scientific community took a lot of interest in the “Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family” was recommended to me by a friend。 I have read quite a few nonfiction books lately and have been enjoying learning about new things， and this was no exception l。 It’s the true story of the Galvins， a Colorado family with 12 kids。 While that itself is enough to fill a book， the interesting part is that six of the children were diagnosed with schizophrenia and six were not。 Therefore， the scientific community took a lot of interest in their family， trying to determine if there is a genetic or biological component to schizophrenia and why half of the children had that gene and the other half seemed not to。 Again， all 12 children had the exact same parents and the exact same upbringing， so why the split？I don’t know a lot about schizophrenia so this book was interesting to me。 Yes， the science part of it to get a little old toward the end but I appreciated it。 I never realized just how little we know about this mental illness， especially compared to others， and it made me realize how much we need a breakthrough for people and families suffering with this。 I thought the book was well written， telling the story of each of the children， whether they had schizophrenia or not， and the toll it can take on the parent-child relationship when there are so many special needs in the house。 Overall I enjoyed this book。 If you are looking for a good non-fiction read， I would recommend it！ 。。。more

Ric ，

Stunning account of a Colorado family with 12 kids--6 of whom turned out to be schizophrenic！ Alternating between first hand accounts of family members and interstitial chapters about the history of medicine's attempts to gain understanding and treatment of the disease， it is fascinating from start to finish。 Stunning account of a Colorado family with 12 kids--6 of whom turned out to be schizophrenic！ Alternating between first hand accounts of family members and interstitial chapters about the history of medicine's attempts to gain understanding and treatment of the disease， it is fascinating from start to finish。 。。。more

Elizabeth ，

A fascinating read on family dynamics and the science around mental health。

Matt Zalman ，

What a fascinating， yet heart-wrenching book about a family and the nature/nurture battle of schizophrenia。 The author balances the art of telling the family’s story with education about and the history of the disease well。

Rachel B ，

4。5 starsMy favorite nonfiction read of the year， so far！I learned more about schizophrenia and the search for a cause， treatment， or cure， which was really interesting。 The Galvin family was incredibly dysfunctional， even apart from the mental illness， which was sad。 There is a lot of sexual abuse recorded。Note: There's some profanity， and a brief reference to evolutionary theory as fact。 The sexual abuse of children is referenced very frequently， and was sometimes a bit too detailed， in my opi 4。5 starsMy favorite nonfiction read of the year， so far！I learned more about schizophrenia and the search for a cause， treatment， or cure， which was really interesting。 The Galvin family was incredibly dysfunctional， even apart from the mental illness， which was sad。 There is a lot of sexual abuse recorded。Note: There's some profanity， and a brief reference to evolutionary theory as fact。 The sexual abuse of children is referenced very frequently， and was sometimes a bit too detailed， in my opinion。 。。。more

Eileen ，

This book focuses on a family with 12 children six of whom have schizophrenia。 They were part of a study to find a gene for schizophrenia。 The author included many actual instances of disfunction that read like a medical journal。 Many of my bookclub struggled to read it and only two of us finished the book。 I was excited to read about the scientists who were studying the family and other families to locate a common gene。 The book does illustrate how mental illness of one or more children impacts This book focuses on a family with 12 children six of whom have schizophrenia。 They were part of a study to find a gene for schizophrenia。 The author included many actual instances of disfunction that read like a medical journal。 Many of my bookclub struggled to read it and only two of us finished the book。 I was excited to read about the scientists who were studying the family and other families to locate a common gene。 The book does illustrate how mental illness of one or more children impacts the rest of the family。 There is no perfect medication that will provide relief from voices and delusions。 Each child suffered in different ways so no one treatment plan worked。 The healthy children suffered and received very little support as the ill children require so much attention。 I felt the author could have left out some of the details about the schizophrenic episodes。 。。。more

Sami Harrell ，

I really enjoyed this book， a fairly well fleshed out family history， with the scientific meaning and relevant markers interspersed。 The topic is in its nature heavy so it took me a while to work through it。

Kara Putrino ，

I couldn’t put this book down。

Carly Schofield ，

A very interesting story but told in such a drawn out way I lost interest。 Didn’t love as much as others did。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Los chicos de Hidden Valley Road

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Los chicos de Hidden Valley Road&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Los chicos de Hidden Valley Road&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0