Myth of normal : trauma, illness, and healing in a toxic culture / Gabor Mate with Daniel Mate

Includes index.

Introduction: Why Normal Is a Myth (And Why That Matters) -- Part I: Our Interconnected Nature -- Part II: The Distortion of Human Development -- Part III: Rethinking Abnormal: Afflictions as Adaptations -- Part V: Pathways to Wholeness -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index.

"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. 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."