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

5.0

Excellent, excellent, excellent. A dense book for sure, but full of valuable insight. I feel mostly the same way I feel about Bessel van der Kolk’s book as I began reading them around the same time. The use of Maté’s personal experience and anecdotes from interviews allow for the reader to gain an empathetic understanding of trauma in the mind, body, and soul. I also deeply appreciate how Maté’s structure of the book includes possible pathways we can take towards healing at individual and collective standpoints.

I also want to point out how this book goes beyond the scope of trauma within the self but also includes thought-provoking focus on culture and how that connects with trauma. Very well written and although it did take me a while to get through this, but I will definitely be revisiting this book in the future with my counseling career.