"The Galvin family curse is the stuff of Greek tragedy."
The New York Times

"Deeply compassionate and chilling."
The Washington Post

"Kolker is a refined writer and a first-rate researcher."
The Times

"An astonishing and compelling chronicle, brimming with intelligence and empathy... Kolker tackles this extraordinarily complex story with such brilliance and efficiency that readers will be swept away by it. An important, exceptional and unforgettable work that should not be missed.
Booklist

Don and Mimi Galvin embody like no other the naive and enthusiastic spirit of the United States of their day. Young and full of dreams and ambitions, the future is an open horizon for them. The children were not long in coming: Donald was born in 1945, the first of the twelve that the couple would have over the course of two decades. Athletic, intelligent, talented, attractive, and happily ensconced in their idyllic home on Hidden Valley Road, the Galvins would call themselves the perfect American family. Until one day, after a series of strange behaviors, Donald is diagnosed with schizophrenia. In the years to come, as many as five more of the Hidden Valley Road boys will develop the disease, and the threat will always hang over the heads of the rest. Despite the fact that her unique case will come to the attention of the National Institute of Mental Health, Mimi will spend half her life trying to maintain the impeccable façade of a model and impeccable family, while behind closed doors the misfortune and horror only increase: crisis nervousness, episodes of uncontrolled violence, abominable secrets...

The Boys from Hidden Valley Road is a powerful chronicle with a narrative pulse so strong and addictive that it reads like a novel: a family saga filled with love, suffering, and hope that unfolds alongside not only the great episodes of American history. of the 20th century, but also to advances in the vision, understanding and treatment of schizophrenia. Kolker's book is an exciting read that tells us about the tragedy of a family devoured by schizophrenia at a time when no one really knew what it was: not doctors, not researchers, much less the Galvins.