Myth of Normal

Western countries invest billions in healthcare, yet mental illness and chronic diseases are on a seemingly unstoppable rise. Nearly 70% of Americans are now on prescription drugs. So what is 'normal' when it comes to health?Over four decades of clinical experience, renowned physician and addiction expert Dr Gabor Maté has seen how health systems neglect the role that trauma exerts on our bodies and our minds. Medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today's culture stresses our bodies, burdens our immune systems and undermines emotional balance.Now, in his most ambitious and urgent book yet, Dr Maté connects the dots between our personal suffering and the pressures of modern-day living - with disease as a natural reflection of a life spent growing further and further apart from our true selves. But, with deep compassion, he also shows us a pathway to health and healing.Filled with stories of people in the grip of illness or in the triumphant wake of recovery, this life-affirming book, co-written with his son Daniel, proves true health is possible - if we are willing to reconnect with each other and our authentic selves.

Review

Gabor Mate takes us on an epic journey of discovery about how our emotional well-being, and our social connectivity (in short: how we live), is intimately intertwined with health, disease and addictions ... This riveting and beautifully written tale has profound implications for all of our lives, including the practice of medicine and mental health ― Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the ScoreWise, sophisticated, rigorous and creative: an intellectual and compassionate investigation of who we are and who we may become ― Tara Westover, author of EducatedA book literally everyone will be enriched by - a wise, profound and healing work that is the culmination of Dr Maté's many years of deep and painfully accumulated wisdom ― Johann Hari, author of Stolen FocusAn astonishing achievement, epic in scope and yet profoundly down-to-earth and practical. I will read this book again and again ― V (formerly Eve Ensler), author of The Vagina MonologuesBrilliant, compelling and groundbreaking. Gabor Maté offers us a way to bring clear seeing and a greatness of heart to the crisis of our times ― Tara Brach, author of Radical CompassionA book in which readers can seek refuge and solace during moments of profound personal and social crisis ― Esther Perel, psychotherapist and author of Mating in CaptivityGabor Maté's connections - between the intensely personal and the global, the spiritual and the medical, the psychological and the political - are bold, wise and deeply moral. He is a healer to be cherished ― Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock DoctrineA compelling book that will challenge your views and help lift the veil of illusion to what is truly happening in your mind and in your body ― Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real HappinessGripping ... a powerful call for change in how we live with, love, understand, treat, and think about each other ― Rebecca Solnit, author of Men Explaining Everything To Me

About the Author

A celebrated speaker and bestselling author, Dr Gabor Maté is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics, such as addiction, stress and childhood development. Dr Maté has written several bestselling books, including the award-winning In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, When the Body Says No, Scattered Minds and (as co-author) Hold On to Your Kids. His works have been published internationally in more than thirty languages.Daniel Maté is an acclaimed composer-lyricist who has received the Kleban Prize for Lyrics, the ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award and a Jonathan Larson Grant. His musicals include The Longing and the Short of It, Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Gu¨nter, Middle School Mysteries and a forthcoming adaptation of the Russell Banks novel The Sweet Hereafter. He also runs a popular 'mental chiropractic' service called Take a Walk with Daniel.