Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

Kolker notes early on that “[i]t is hard enough to individuate oneself in any family with twelve children” (xix-xx). With that in mind, how does Kolker flesh out the different Galvin children, including those with schizophrenia?

Discuss the relationship between the theory of the “schizophrenogenic” mother and mid-20th century social norms. What impact did this have on the Galvin family?

While trauma alone doesn’t cause schizophrenia, trauma is intertwined with the Galvin family’s experiences of schizophrenia. What does Kolker suggest is the relationship between the two?

According to Hidden Valley Road, in what ways has the dehumanization of people with mental illness shaped the history of psychiatric research and treatment? What does the book suggest a more tolerant approach might look like in the realm of psychiatry?

What are some of the “stories” people tell themselves in Hidden Valley Road? How are these stories compare to the delusions associated with psychosis?

Kolker often references alternatives to the medical model of mental illness—for instance, the idea that psychiatric diagnoses are a way of penalizing nonconformity and maintaining control, or the fact that in some culture and historical eras, people who experience psychotic symptoms “treated as people with special insight into an otherwise unnoticed world” (238). What point do you think Kolker is making about the nature of mental illness and its relationship to social context?

Kolker says the following of Margaret and Lindsay’s differing attitudes towards attempting to deinstitutionalize Peter: “Where Margaret wanted to reconstruct the sense of a normal childhood, to get back what she lost, Lindsay had resolved never to be a child again” (231). Discuss this quote in light of each sister’s attitude towards family, trauma, and healing.

Compare and contrast DeLisi’s storyline to Mimi’s. How does Kolker use these parallels to give structure to Hidden Valley Road?