Robert Kolker and Milagros Pérez Oliva

In his book Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family (published in Catalan by Periscopi and in Spanish by Sexto Piso, 2022), Robert Kolker recounts the life of Donald and Mimi Galvin and their twelve children, six of them with diagnosed schizophrenia. In an example of the best narrative journalism, Kolker links the family story with the history of this disease, tracing the shocking abyss that "becoming a stranger to oneself" generates, especially in a society in which deviation from normality is hardly accepted. The American journalist will talk with Milagros Pérez Oliva about the importance of breaking the silences that have surrounded this mental illness in order to explain it from the point of view of empathy and hope.

This conversation takes place at the stage 1 of the Moll de la Fusta in Barcelona as part of the 40th edition of the Catalan Book Week, which takes place from September 9 to 18.