In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

Description

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. Read more

Features:

Product Details:

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ North Atlantic Books; Illustrated edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 536 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 155643880X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 06
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.58 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.02 x 1.15 x 8.98 inches
• Best Sellers Rank: #7,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #5 in Sociological Study of Medicine #5 in Drug Dependency & Recovery (Books) #11 in Substance Abuse Recovery
• #5 in Sociological Study of Medicine
• #5 in Drug Dependency & Recovery (Books)