IPS Book Club

Join our bi-monthly book club in discussing the latest work from Dr Gabor Maté, the bestselling author of four books and expert on addiction, trauma, childhood development, and the relationship of stress and illness.

You do not have to have completed the book to attend. We encourage listening to the audiobook version narrated by Daniel Maté. Use our affiliate link with Bookshop dot org to support our organization when you purchase this book. 

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.

Coming Up:

December's Book: Good Chemistry by Dr. Julie Holland