Based on Gabor Mate’s two decades
of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with the
severely addicted on Vancouver’s skid row, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
radically reenvisions this much misunderstood field by taking a
holistic approach.
Dr. Mate 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; not a
medical "condition" distinct from the lives it affects, 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.
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts argues
persuasively against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice
policies toward addiction and those impacted by it. 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.
