Just to give you a sense of how February has gone: on more than one occasion this month, I’ve put the dirty clothes in the washer, added detergent, set the temp and time, then walked away before ever hitting “start.” There is nothing quite like opening the machine, sticking your arms in to gather the clothes, then realizing they are bone dry.
I’ve was on the waiting list at the local library for 6 weeks for Hidden Valley Road. I am halfway through this book and can’t believe I’m still reading. I couldn’t wait to read it but it reads like a textbook to me. There is no skilled language in the writing. My feelings for the parents went from feeling for them to not understanding them to just not giving a care for these people. More harsh than I need to be, but there you have it.
I read Hidden Valley Road, and was kind of horrified— by the parents’ callousness, perhaps, or self-absorption? But my biggest take away was the idea that, regarding mental illness, there can be a predisposition that is never manifested or “triggered” or the opposite— but either way it is quite an enigma. I felt perhaps most sympathetic for those poor daughters that were/are the victims of systematic physical and verbal abuse by their own brothers. It got to me, that book.
I was also on the waiting list for Hidden Valley Road from the library, then it arrived and I was like "meh" and stopped reading pretty early on. I didn't find the writing very compelling.
I enjoyed Hidden valley road, but maybe more because I’m a physician as was very fascinated (but yet horrified) by this families plight. We really do have a very long way to go on our treatment of schizophrenia unfortunately.
I’ve was on the waiting list at the local library for 6 weeks for Hidden Valley Road. I am halfway through this book and can’t believe I’m still reading. I couldn’t wait to read it but it reads like a textbook to me. There is no skilled language in the writing. My feelings for the parents went from feeling for them to not understanding them to just not giving a care for these people. More harsh than I need to be, but there you have it.
I think that's just as harsh as you needed to be. I didn't have quite that strong of a reaction but can see how you got there.
I read Hidden Valley Road, and was kind of horrified— by the parents’ callousness, perhaps, or self-absorption? But my biggest take away was the idea that, regarding mental illness, there can be a predisposition that is never manifested or “triggered” or the opposite— but either way it is quite an enigma. I felt perhaps most sympathetic for those poor daughters that were/are the victims of systematic physical and verbal abuse by their own brothers. It got to me, that book.
Those daughters. Ooof. I wanted to go back in time and kidnap them.
I was also on the waiting list for Hidden Valley Road from the library, then it arrived and I was like "meh" and stopped reading pretty early on. I didn't find the writing very compelling.
That is what I should have done.
I enjoyed Hidden valley road, but maybe more because I’m a physician as was very fascinated (but yet horrified) by this families plight. We really do have a very long way to go on our treatment of schizophrenia unfortunately.
That might be the best lesson from the book. We have only just begun figuring out how to treat schizophrenia.
Ugh. Last week I hit a wall every single day. This article is the best summation of how I feel about it all: https://gen.medium.com/i-hate-talking-about-the-pandemic-wall-f66fd716f2fd
We are all going to be so very weird after we emerge from our pandemic cocoons.