Hidden Valley Road

This is a fascinating but rough read. The trials that this family goes through are not easy to stomach, but it is a fantastically empathetic window into the experience of growing up around mental illness, particularly at a time when it was even less understood than it is now. The story is largely woven together via anecdotes and documents from the members of the Galvin family that were never diagnosed with mental illness, so it doesn't provide as much of a window into the mind of those experiencing schizophrenia (or, in one case, bipolar disorder), which feels like a missed a opportunity, but an understandable one, given that many of the still living brothers had been institutionalized and heavily medicated for decades by the time this author found them, making parsing their experiences incredibly challenging.

Additionally, there are some really interesting insights into how institutional misogyny, ableism and a touch of a classism contributed to the decades of hardship the family experienced.

An exercise in mindfulness, to wit, in observing my emotional state and breathing through my anger. I felt angry, to varying degrees, from start to finish: at the horrid parents; at the perverse incentives in the U.S. healthcare system; at religion and at humans and at our so-broken societies that prevent us from moving forward. I truly know deep down that all of us are doing the best we can... but dammit, so often that “best” is just so unspeakably evil.

Anger is probably not the reaction the author intended. It probably won’t be yours either. The book is thoughtfully written; warmly, even. The interweaving of biography with scientific history is effective in many ways: it’s really what made the book so fascinating, informative, and even gripping. (Yes, really. My anger notwithstanding, I enjoyed the process of reading.) But in the end, this is a book I could’ve gladly lived my life without reading. If you’re fascinated by mental health, or know anyone affected by schizophrenia, this is a book for you. If you’re angered by irresponsible negligent self-absorbed overpopulators, skip it.

UPDATE, few days later: HVR inspired me to reread [b:Angels of the Universe|462680|Angels of the Universe|Einar Már Guðmundsson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1266182662l/462680.SY75.jpg|451140]. I strongly encourage you to do the same: AotU offers a haunting first-person (semifictional, obviously) perspective into schizophrenia, possibly the closest you and I can come to understanding what it must feel like. With that understanding comes a complex form of compassion, for those who suffer and for those around them.