Gabor Maté: The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture

In his revolutionary new book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture, renowned physician Gabor Maté, MD 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, Dr. 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 Dr. 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.
Dr. Maté, the bestselling author of four books published in over thirty languages, is an internationally renowned speaker highly sought after for his expertise on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness. He will be in conversation with Nancy Burgoyne, Ph.D., chief clinical officer at The Family Institute at Northwestern University. Dr. Burgoyne previously appeared for FAN in January 2022 with her colleague Maru Torres-Gregory, Ph.D. on the topic of mental health throughout the pandemic.