In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

By Gabor Maté

Categories: Health, Fitness & Dieting, Self-Help

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts (North Atlantic Books, 2010; first published 2008) is physician Gabor Maté's study of addiction, drawn from his work with patients in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Maté tells the stories of patients whose lives were shaped by childhood abuse and neglect, and admits his own compulsive spending on classical music recordings. Drawing on neuroscience, he argues that addiction grows from trauma and stress that alter the developing brain, criticizes the war on drugs and calls for compassionate, harm-reduction treatment.