“Hidden Valley Road offers a combination of two things that are often in short supply in storytelling about schizophrenia—rigorous research and deep compassion for all involved. In clear and insightful prose, Kolker spins an utterly absorbing tale of one family grappling with the profound personal costs of the illness, alongside a scientific history of an America largely at sea about how to conceive of schizophrenia or to help those who live with it. In a narrative that is at once gripping and humane, Kolker offers a nuanced consideration of schizophrenia’s many complexities, telling an ultimately hopeful story of one family’s small victories and the slow progress of research that may someday benefit millions.”
