Kriti Mehrotra
“To be a part of the Galvin family is to be a part of a tragedy,” is an extremely powerful statement made by none other than Mark Galvin in Discovery +/HBO Max’s ‘Six Schizophrenic Brothers.’ Unfortunately, it holds true because they were essentially torn apart between the 1960s and the 1980s owing to the fact that six out of 12 siblings ended up developing the titular mental illness. Mark was not amongst them, but he did understand almost everything it came with since he grew up witnessing a lot of the breakdowns, stages of psychosis as well as volatile tendencies.
Mark Galvin Used Drugs as a Way to Cope
Born in 1957 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to devout Christian Mimi and Air Force Officer turned art patron Donald “Don” Galvin Sr., Mark’s early years were picture-perfect from the outside. He was number 8 in a line of 12, yet he received the same love, care, and affection almost all the others did, and sometimes even more from their mother, considering he was the peacemaker amongst all siblings. No matter what the situation may have been, he was great as diffusing them so as to allow his siblings to actually talk.
However, everything turned upside down when he was around 10 or 11 years old as his eldest brother, Don Jr., got sick while attending college – so much so that he ultimately moved back home. But alas, things didn’t really improve as he began talking to himself in biblical terms, walked around with a brown robe, hallucinated, and often lashed out at their mother when she was administrating his medication. This led Mark to grow a little afraid and create some distance between them, only to soon also find solace in drugs – he started by smoking weed at a relatively early age.
Yet, because marijuana alone did satiate the sense of belonging or normalcy Mark was looking for, he ended up dabbling in a lot of hard drugs as well. Whether it be cocaine or, LSD, or many more, he tried them all at one point or another, sometimes even together, until he eventually realized he needed to focus more on his personal as well as professional life. Nevertheless, no matter what happened, he was right there for his parents as well as siblings whenever they needed him – he might not have a great relationship with all of them, but he was always ready to lend a helping hand.
Where is Mark Galvin Now?
From what we can tell, Mark is currently based in Windsor, Colorado, where he’s happy to reside alongside his loving wife, Lisa Lankford. He also has three children; Emily, Blake, and Luke as well as three adorable grandchildren – Emily welcomed a son named Henry into their lives around the late 2010s, whereas this University of Colorado-Boulder graduate’s youngest Luke has two daughters. They’re actually a very tight-knit family, which is evidenced through his social media platforms, even as his son Blake and daughter in law Laura lead life on the road in an RV – they’re all unwavering supportive of one another.
Yet, it’s imperative to note the past of his family continues to hang over Mark’s head like a dark cloud. The fact he lost his father to cancer in 2003, his mother in 2017, and several siblings to issues related to their schizophrenia weighs heavy on his heart, right along the fact he knows he alone can’t care for the ones dealing with their mental health in the way the require. Nevertheless, he tries to maintain a positive outlook on life and is even raising awareness on mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, as well as other mental health diagnoses.
Read More: Richard Galvin: The Glavin Family Sibling is Now a Proud Family Man Himself
