OPRAHΓÇÖS BOOK CLUB PICK #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TOP TEN BOOKS OF THE YEAR PEOPLE’S #1 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR ONE OF GQ’s TOP 50 BOOKS OF LITERARY JOURNALISM IN THE 21st CENTURY Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by The New York Times,The Washington PostNPRTIMESlateSmithsonianThe New York Postand Amazon The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve childrensix of them diagnosed with schizophreniathat became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease. Don and Mimi Galvin seemed to be living the American dream. After World War IIDon’s work with the Air Force brought them to Coloradowhere their twelve children perfectly spanned the baby boom: the oldest born in 1945the youngest in 1965. In those yearsthere was an established script for a family like the Galvins–aspirationhard workupward mobilitydomestic harmony–and they worked hard to play their parts. But behind the scenes was a different story: psychological breakdownsudden shocking violencehidden abuse. By the mid-1970ssix of the ten Galvin boysone after anotherwere diagnosed as schizophrenic. How could all this happen to one family? What took place inside the house on Hidden Valley Road was so extraordinary that the Galvins became one of the first families to be studied by the National Institute of Mental Health. Their story offers a shadow history of the science of schizophreniafrom the era of institutionalizationlobotomyand the schizophrenogenic mother to the search for genetic markers for the diseasealways amid profound disagreements about the nature of the illness itself. And unbeknownst to the Galvinssamples of their DNA informed decades of genetic research that continues todayoffering paths to treatmentpredictionand even eradication of the disease for future generations. With clarity and compassionbestselling and award-winning author Robert Kolker uncovers one family’s unforgettable legacy of sufferingloveand hope.