A NEW YORK TIMES NONFICTION BOOK EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT IN 2026 | A PEOPLE BEST NEW BOOK | A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST OF SEPTEMBER
“A gripping real-life horror story of dementia, love and grief. . . . Kolker displays his genius for the immersive detail: calm, purposeful prose that builds to an extraordinary sense of knowing an entire family quite well — especially their sibling dynamics under extreme duress. . . . Kolker gives us a sweeping view of evolving brain research.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“Robert Kolker’s new book is at once a tragedy, a mystery and a testament to a family’s love.”
—NPR
“[S]earching and suspenseful. . . . Kolker’s granular portrait is interwoven with enlightening snippets of scientific history, but the book’s most powerful strand is about two sisters, one of whom, Sue, begins caring for the other, Christy, in her early thirties, and does so for decades.”
—The New Yorker
“Kolker burrows deeply into the psychological impact of an inherited disease on a single family and interweaves the personal tragedy with a more hopeful tale of scientific progress and discovery. . . . The author’s greatest achievement is once again reportorial. . . . This precarious, battered family doesn’t so much vanish as reconstitute itself. . . . Thanks to their passionate involvement, a sprawling, disease-haunted family becomes, if anything, more unified—bonded, however incompletely and imperfectly, by love.”
—The Atlantic
“As we follow a family dealing with the devastating diagnosis and its heartbreaking aftermath, Kolker delivers an astute, ultimately inspiring triumph.”
—People
“Mr. Kolker is a keen interpreter of the science and subjective experience of mental illness. . . . [He] has written the biography of a family, making sure that each member is memorialized as a full person before disease enters the picture. Yet even as the siblings lose their sophistication and their self-control to a degree that mortifies their loved ones, Mr. Kolker sees more than tragedy in his subjects’ second selves. . . . Mr. Kolker handles complex neuroscience deftly but also remains attuned to the unique philosophical questions raised by FTD.”
—The Wall Street Journal
“[A]n unlikely page-turner, a dual-track narrative by turns absorbing and wrenching, informative and inspiring. . . . Thanks to Kolker’s intimate, empathetic writing, the fate of individual family members takes on great urgency. . . . The scientific chapters of The Vanishing Family contain their own drama and poignancy. . . . The Vanishing Family provides a fascinating window on innovations the future could hold, but also what might happen to any of us as we — and our loved ones — change over time.”
—The New York Post
“[E]ngrossing. . . . Kolker builds tension not unlike that found in a twisty murder mystery novel — who will be struck next? What Kolker also does brilliantly is weave in all kinds of fascinating threads about the study of dementia. . . . The Vanishing Family really is non-fiction of the highest calibre, every bit as well constructed as Patrick Radden Keefe or Barbara Demick’s better-known books. . . . Even before finishing, I’d started recommending it to anyone who would listen.”
—The Times (London)
“[An] outstanding book, which is paced like a thriller and will stay with the reader for a long time.”
—Science
“Heartbreaking.”
—Woman’s World
“[A] heartbreaking journey into a poorly understood illness that slowly chips away at our very selves.”
—Psychology Today
“With his breathtaking chronicle of a family with a rare form of dementia, Robert Kolker claims his title as the Ann Patchett of nonfiction family dramas. . . . Powerful, harrowing. . . . A gold mine for readers, providing endless insights into the many ways individuals react to an ongoing health crisis, especially one as devastating as FTD. . . . He infuses intimate, cataclysmic moments with emotional acuity, allowing readers to feel both embedded and invested in his subjects’ unimaginable challenges.”
—BookPage (starred review)
“This is a triumph of reporting and an absolutely compelling exploration of neuroscience and genetics. At its heart, though, it’s a poignant, heartfelt story about family and how love sustains even in the most difficult circumstances. Like Kolker’s other work, it is full of deep humanity. It’s a beautiful book.”
—Susan Orlean, New York Times-bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and Joyride
“Robert Kolker has somehow done it again. The Vanishing Family is an extraordinary investigation of the forms of silence and denial that come to structure a family redefined by dementia. It is also a riveting family saga about sisters and brothers trying to understand who they are as they gradually lose their memories and attachments.”
—Rachel Aviv, Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times-bestselling author of Strangers to Ourselves
“Kolker hits it out of the ballpark again. He writes about brain disorders the way great war correspondents write about battle: through the intimate lives caught in the crossfire. This book is gripping, devastating, illuminating, and impossible to put down.”
—David Eagleman, neuroscientist at Stanford University and New York Times-bestselling author of Livewired and Incognito
“An extraordinary and deeply human story about the long and twisting road to a scientific cure for dementia. Drawing on one family’s harrowing genetic legacy, Bob Kolker illuminates not only the promise of gene-targeted therapies but also the brutal calculus of learning your biological fate. The Vanishing Family reads like a gripping medical mystery and an intimate family diary, forcing all of us to confront what it means to lose, and perhaps preserve, the self. This book is unforgettable.”
—Sanjay Gupta, MD, associate professor of neurosurgery at Emory University, CNN chief medical correspondent, and author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Keep Sharp
“It is a marvelous paradox that Robert Kolker possesses in abundance exactly the qualities that frontotemporal dementia erases: warmth, engagement, generosity, empathy. Because he cares so deeply about every member of this ill-starred family, we care too. This is a memorably humane book whose power grows as, page by page, we cheer for each winner of the genetic coin toss and grieve for each loser.”
—Anne Fadiman, award-winning author of The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
“The Vanishing Family is a deeply intimate portrait of a family confronting a shared genetic fate, and the love, courage, and choices that follow. Robert Kolker brings clarity and compassion to frontotemporal dementia, offering both insight and urgency through his storytelling. His deep commitment to the FTD community makes this an important contribution, and this family’s willingness to share their story is both powerful and generous.”
—Emma Heming Willis, New York Times-bestselling author of The Unexpected Journey and advocate for FTD and caregivers
“Robert Kolker has written a deeply moving portrait of a family trying to outrun a mind-ravaging disorder, the researchers who can identify the genetic mutation that causes it — but can do nothing to prevent or slow its progress — and the courage of those who persist despite research roadblocks and the terror and sorrow of knowing they have inherited what cannot be averted. What gives The Vanishing Family its haunting power is the deep humanity the author brings to a story that, like the specter of dementia itself, has urgent implications for us all.”
—Jonathan Rosen, author of The Best Minds, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize
“Those who have already read Robert Kolker’s work know what to expect from The Vanishing Family — a timely, urgent story in which one family’s personal history provides a window on larger medical/ethical issues. Those who have not are in for a treat. Deeply empathetic, this book reads like a thriller, but Kolker doesn’t pretend there are any real answers for families affected by this particular form of dementia. Moving, haunting, and profound.”
—Laura Lippman, New York Times-bestselling author of Lady in the Lake and What the Dead Know
“Kolker’s trademark empathy is evident on every page. . . . The Vanishing Family is an important, compelling, compassionate, and breathtaking journalistic achievement.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“A moving account of one Pennsylvania family’s struggle with a rare inherited form of frontotemporal dementia. . . . Kolker skillfully translates complex neuroscience into accessible prose and balances scientific discovery with intimate family drama. . . . It’s a powerful examination of inheritance, resilience, and the human cost of medical uncertainty.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A compelling view of dementia and its devastating effect on victims and family alike.”
—Kirkus Reviews
