Hidden Valley Road Inside the Mind of an American Family
📅 Finished on: 2024-11-19
Living with a person with schizophrenia is really, really tough. Imagine 6.
An interesting book recommended on Reddit, about a family in which at least five of the children had schizophrenia. It can be a way to better understand this complicated situation.
Beautifully written. A gripping story that explores the different points of view of the mother and the many children (12), especially the two younger sisters, who went through an ordeal. I loved how the chapters are interspersed with developments in medicine regarding schizophrenia (not much progress) and the stories of the various members.
Highly recommended, a story that makes you think about what they went through. Meticulous research, and we still do not know the cause of schizophrenia, but the Galvins helped science and deserved some recognition. I am intrigued by the final hypothesis of intervening before the symptoms appear, and the mix of hospitalizations and medications clearly did not help; it wore them down.
The final scene with Mimi and the funeral was moving. You can say many things about the mother, but she truly did everything she could for the family.