In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
The award-winning bestseller on the root causes of addiction – and how to heal it – from the author of When the Body Say No, Dr Gabor Maté
‘[Maté] is a healer to be cherished’ Naomi Klein, bestselling author of The Shock Doctrine
'One of the most important, wise and compassionate voices in the world on addiction. Everyone should read this profound book' Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections
What causes addiction? And how can we truly heal from it?
In his profound and compassionate book, leading voice in trauma and addiction recovery, Dr Gabor Maté, explores the psychology of addiction and the path to self-understanding and healing.
As one of the world’s most revered thinkers on the psychology of addiction, his radical findings – based on decades of work with patients challenged by catastrophic drug addiction and mental illness – are reframing how we view?all?human development.
In his groundbreaking work, now updated with a new chapter on the Opioid crisis, Maté takes a holistic and compassionate approach to addiction, whether to alcohol, drugs, sex, money or anything self-destructive. He presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to a weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs through (and even underpins) our society; not as a medical ‘condition’, but rather the result of a complex interplay of personal history, emotional development, and brain chemistry.
Distilling cutting-edge research from around the world, Maté avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness.
Blending personal stories and science with positive solutions, and written in spellbinding prose, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts is a compassionate must-read that has transformed how we think about healing, trauma, and addiction.
A celebrated speaker, and bestselling author, Dr Gabor Maté is highly sought after for his expertise on a range of topics including addiction, stress and childhood development. Rather than offering quick-fix solutions to these complex issues, Dr Maté weaves together scientific research, case histories, and his own insights and experience to present a broad perspective that enlightens and empowers people to promote their own healing and that of those around them.
Dr Maté has written several bestselling books including When the Body Says No, Scattered Minds and co-authored Hold on to Your Kids. His most recent book The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture is a New York Times bestseller. Dr Maté's works have been published internationally in over twenty languages.
Supporters of Dr Maté include Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Bessel van der Kolk, Johann Hari and Esther Perel. He was recently featured in the highly publicised livestream conversation with Prince Harry where they discussed loss, trauma and the importance of healing.