The instant New York Times bestseller
By the acclaimed author of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts, a
groundbreaking investigation into the causes of illness, a bracing
critique of how our society breeds disease, and a pathway to health and
healing.
In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Maté eloquently
dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their
healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the
rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription
drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high
blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30
percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is
on the rise. So what is really "normal" when it comes to health?
Over four decades of clinical experience, Maté has come to recognize the
prevailing understanding of "normal" as false, neglecting the roles that
trauma and stress, and the pressures of modern-day living, exert on our
bodies and our minds at the expense of good health. For all our
expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails
to treat the whole person, ignoring how today's culture stresses the
body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance. Now
Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths
about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of
individuals and the declining soundness of society--and offers a
compassionate guide for health and healing. Cowritten with his son
Daniel, The Myth Of Normal is Maté's most ambitious and urgent book
yet.
