Mimi and Don Galvin married in the early 1940’s and in twenty years had a dozen children-10 boys and 2 girls.  What began as a charmed life-handsome family, ambitious father, caring mother-slowly unraveled into a nightmare.  Eventually it was discovered that six of the Galvin sons suffered from schizophrenia.  Life was not only a living hell for Mimi and Don and the six sons with schizophrenia, it was also unbearable for the healthy siblings.  Although Mimi tried to present to the outside world a perfect family, the Galvin household was filled with violence, abuse and chaos.

I read Hidden Valley Road while I was suffering from the corona virus.  It is such an intense, interesting, alarming work of nonfiction that I couldn’t put it down even when I should have been napping.  Hidden Valley Road is a must read for anyone interested in mental illness and dysfunctional families.