Also, check out my printable bookmarks and Book Club Journal Pages in my Etsy Shop. If you have any interest in learning about schizophrenia, I would definitely recommend this book!įor more book recommendations, be sure to subscribe to the blog (look to the right) and follow me on Goodreads thebitterlemon – where I share more of my book picks. There was so much about this story that had me sitting there with my jaw hanging open, but Kolker paired it so nicely with the timeline of research behind it. I have read a few other books that focus on mental illness and medical research, but within the first few pages of reading this book, I realized I know nothing about schizophrenia. It took months for my name to come up on the list at the library, and then obviously I waited until the last minute to read it, but… I read it and wow! I read Kolker’s previous work, “Lost Girls” and it was riveting, heartbreaking, and so very well written.īut, even after I put this newer release on my TBR list, I kept seeing more and more good things about it: it was on Oprah’s list, and won some awards. I was originally drawn to this book because of the author. With clarity and compassion, bestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family’s unforgettable legacy of suffering, love, and hope. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophrenia, from the era of institutionalization, lobotomy, and the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the disease, always amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself.Īnd unbeknownst to the Galvins, samples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues today, offering paths to treatment, prediction, and even eradication of the disease for future generations. The Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health.
By the mid-1970s, six of the ten Galvin boys, one after another, were diagnosed as schizophrenic. The Galvin’s twelve children spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945, the youngest in 1965. This is the story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, and they became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease. I took a break, ate, and then was determined to finish it before the end of the night. And, I ended up reading about half of it in one sitting. I had the book, “ Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of the American Family” by Robert Kolker, and it’s about 550 pages, due in two days.īut, I figured I would get comfortable, start reading, and see how far I got. I don’t know why I do it, but it usually means I have to read an entire book in a day or two. I know I’ve mentioned it here before, but I have a really bad habit of checking out library books and waiting until just a few days before they’re due to read them. I also spent the majority of my day reading! Over the weekend, I finally watched some Christmas movies and baked some cookies. Am I right? That was always a BLAST.īut, I’m going to try and have a little fun while I can. The following post contains affiliate links, which sends me a small percentage of any sales at no cost to you.Īre you on holiday break yet? Today is my first day off, and although I’m very grateful to be able to take time off, it’s never quite the same as when we got two weeks off of school.
0 kommentar(er)
