Fourth Grade Journey

A Fourth Grade Teacher's Journey Through the World of Books

Sunday, May 17, 2020

Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker

How I Heard About It:
*I had read about this "narrative nonfiction" story in a few different publications.  Then Oprah announced the title as her next book club selection.  I downloaded the book and began reading.  


What It Is About - FIVE Things You Need to Know:
1. *The story centers around the Galvin family who raised their family of twelve children in Colorado Springs.  

2.  *As the years went by, they realized six of their twelve children had schizophrenia.



3.  *Don and Mimi raised all their children with strict rules, routine, and rigid expectations.  

4.  *Don at times focused more on his career which left Mimi to raise the children as best she could.

5.  *During the telling of the family saga, the author explores the development of research into the unknown world of schizophrenia.  


What I Thought Of It - Five Observations/Reflections:
1.  *Captivating, surprising, shocking, and horrifying.  All words that describe the journey the Galvin family took.

2.  *I really enjoyed the sections of the book about the Galvin family and their interactions.

3.  *The more nonfiction sections were interesting, but some of the technical stuff bogged me down and confused me a bit.

4.  *It was fascinating to read about the progression the medical field took in order to decide what truly "caused" the horrific disease of the mind.

5.  *Overall, I enjoyed the story; but certainly felt sad and disturbed during different sections of the book.


Who Should Read It:
*Readers of nonfiction, memoir, biography will definitely want to put this new title on their TBR list.  I think you will find it a satisfying and unique read.  I enjoyed how the family sections read as fiction.  I had to keep reminding myself, this was a real family.  Happy Reading!


Rating:   4 STARS out of 5 Stars







No comments:

Post a Comment