Overview

A “thought-provoking and powerful” study that reframes everything you’ve been taught about addiction and recovery—from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Myth of Normal (Bruce Perry, author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog). A world-renowned trauma expert combines real-life stories with cutting-edge research to offer a holistic approach to understanding addiction—its origins, its place in society, and the importance of self-compassion in recovery. Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with people with addiction on Vancouver’s skid row, this #1 international bestseller radically re-envisions a much misunderstood condition by taking a compassionate approach to substance abuse and addiction recovery.   In the same vein as Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts traces the root causes of addiction to childhood trauma and examines the pervasiveness of addiction in society. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout—and perhaps underpins—our society. It is not a medical “condition” distinct from the lives it affects but rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs and behaviors of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. Dr. Maté argues persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and how they perpetuate the War on Drugs. The mix of personal stories—including the author’s candid discussion of his own “high-status” addictive tendencies—and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.

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9781556438806

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Reviews

A riveting account of human cravings, this book needs to get into as many hands as possible. Mate's resonant, unflinching analysis of addiction today shatters the assumptions underlying our War on Drugs. <br>--Norm Stamper, former Seattle Chief of Police and author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing <br> In this brilliant and well-documented book, Gabor Mate locates the source of addictions in the trauma of an emotionally empty childhood, making it a relational rather than a medical problem. Such a radical thesis of cause leads to human connection rather than traditional treatment as the cure. This passionate and compassionate book, filled with scientific evidence and personal narratives, should be on the shelf of every person interested in the pervasive challenge of addiction. <br>--Harville Hendrix, PhD, author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples and cofounder of Imago Relationship Therapy <br> Dr. Mate's latest book is

Praise for Hold on to Your Kids : <br> Mate has expressed [Neufeld's] ideas in precise and hard-hitting prose that makes complex ideas accessible without dumbing them down. The result is a book that grabs hard. <br>-- Edmonton Journal <br>Praise for When the Body Says No : <br> When Mate witnesses and testifies to human suffering, including his own, he is compassionate and compelling. <br>-- The Globe and Mail <br> Written with clarity and compassion. . . . The book's characteristics seem to describe Mate himself: armed with knowledge and straight from the heart. <br>-- Georgia Straight <br> [An] enthralling exploration. . . . Mate probes deeply into the life histories and psyches of [his] many patients. . . . What emerges is nothing short of a revelation. <br>-- Edmonton Journal <p> From the Hardcover edition.

A riveting account of human cravings, this book needs to get into as many hands as possible. Mate's resonant, unflinching analysis of addiction today shatters the assumptions underlying our War on Drugs. <br>--Norm Stamper, former Seattle Chief of Police and author of Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Expose of the Dark Side of American Policing <br> In this brilliant and well-documented book, Gabor Mate locates the source of addictions in the trauma of an emotionally empty childhood, making it a relational rather than a medical problem. Such a radical thesis of cause leads to human connection rather than traditional treatment as the cure. This passionate and compassionate book, filled with scientific evidence and personal narratives, should be on the shelf of every person interested in the pervasive challenge of addiction. <br>--Harville Hendrix, PhD, author of Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples and cofounder of Imago Relationship Therapy <br> Dr. Mate's latest book is a moving, debate-provoking, and multi-layered look at how addiction arises, the people afflicted with it and why he supports decriminalization of all drugs, including crystal meth.... [ In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts ] reads not only as a lively textbook analysis of the physiological and psychological causes of drug addiction, but also as an investigation into his heart and mind. <br> -- The Globe and Mail <br> It's time to give Mate ... the Order of Canada for this erudite and sensitive book about the lives of Downtown Eastside intravenous-drug users, the neurobiology of addiction, and the folly of the war on drugs. It's compulsively readable and packed with new scientific discoveries about addiction. If you know the parent or sibling of an addict--or the prime minister, for that matter--please give him this book. <br> -- The Georgia Straight <br> I recommend this wonderful book for anyone struggling with the heartache of addiction personally or professionally. Dr. Mate makess

Author Information

Gabor Maté, MD, is a physician, author, seminar leader, and acclaimed public speaker. His bestselling books include Scattered, When the Body Says No, and Hold onto Your Kids. In 2022, he also co-authored The Myth of Normal, the instant New York Times bestseller, with his son, Daniel Maté. A former medical columnist for The Vancouver Sun and The Globe and Mail, Dr. Gabor Maté lives in Vancouver, BC.   Peter A. Levine, PhD, holds doctorates in both medical biophysics and psychology. He developed Somatic Experiencing, a body-awareness approach to trauma treatment, and his bestselling book Waking the Tiger has been translated into 22 languages. His other works include In an Unspoken Voice, Healing Trauma, Trauma and Memory, and Trauma Through a Child’s Eyes. He lives in Encinitas, CA.

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