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A review by vivalasvaiva
In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Gabor Maté
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
Prefacing my rating my with: I think that this book maybe isn’t meant for people who already have a background in psychology/neuroscience. A lot of the ideas will feel familiar.
It feels like the intention of the book is to inspire compassion in the masses, which it does really well. Maté is skilled at weaving information through a readable narrative. At times, he does veer into language that feels somewhat dehumanising of people with addictions (e.g. viewing them as our own “dark mirrors”) and the white collar-ness of his own behaviours did inspire a groan. However, on the whole I believe his intentions are good and his message is sound.
It feels like the intention of the book is to inspire compassion in the masses, which it does really well. Maté is skilled at weaving information through a readable narrative. At times, he does veer into language that feels somewhat dehumanising of people with addictions (e.g. viewing them as our own “dark mirrors”) and the white collar-ness of his own behaviours did inspire a groan. However, on the whole I believe his intentions are good and his message is sound.