This should be required reading for everyone who encounters people struggling with addictions, and all addicts struggle. Mate tells stories about patients he has known as the physician to many drug addicts and alcoholics, but he also tells of his own and others behavioral addictions. He is sensitive to the people he describes as people and honest about the times his awareness of themas troubled and traumatized people slips into judgement. I have ordered my own copy because this book is inspiring and filled with excellent ideas about harm reduction and addiction. ( )

Full of information and insight, some of which I knew and believed in broadly, but with much less specific knowledge. This is a book that will convnce your parents of the importance of harm reduction and broad drug decriminalization, but may be less useful if you already have a strong understanding of those concepts.
Dr. Maté does occasionally overreach in his analysis--particularly, I noted, in his understanding of overeating as an "addiction"; the passages in which he posits this are some of the most consistently under- or unsourced sections of the book. I also think this book could have used a tighter edit, as it is sometimes repetitious. ( )

enlightening, I understand so much more about addictions now. It shifted my perception completely. ( )

I finished this a while ago but since then have gone back to it on multiple occasions to reread sections, to make notes of things that particularly resonated with me, and to continue processing what it taught me. I have found an awful lot in this book that is of immense value to me. ( )

Awful.

A good look into the addicted mind - a fair blend of science, psychology, and reviews of therapies such as harm prevention to improve quality of life and better long term outcomes for those who suffer.

( )

Revolutionized my views on drug addiction. I believe that all politicians or anyone thinking of influencing society should read this book. ( )

This is an account of a doctor who treats narcotics-addicted down-and-out people, narrates the lives and circumstances that led them to addiction... and (among other things in a very, very thorough book on addiction) develops his theory that addiction is directly correlated to how the developing brain adjusts or malforms in the context of childhood abuse or neglect.

If it's abuse, typically that results in substance addiction; if it's neglect, typically that results in behavior addiction.

He theorizes that all addiction is one; it just takes multiple forms.

And he suggests a number of mindfulness-based techniques to overcome the pull of addiction. ( )

Eye-opening and insightful!

Goodreads star rating system is as the following:
1 Star equals Did not like it
2 Stars equals It was okay
3 Stars equals Liked it
4 Stars equals Really liked it
5 Stars equals It was amazing

A friend and I were talking about Safe Injection Sites. We discussed the normal stuff that always comes up, like whether these sites were truly safe? Should taxpayer money fund these sites? What real advantages/disadvantages are there? Yada, yada, yada… Anyhoo, I realized I really didn’t have enough informed facts to have a well-versed opinion. I can say that after reading Mate’s, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction, I now have a solid, unwavering opinion. For me this book is a 3.5- 3.75 but Goodreads doesn’t allow for such options. This book is an incredibly insightful read where every chapter offers something to learn. The information is on addiction, neurological development, brain chemistry, emotional impact, struggles and so much more. Gabor Mate’s book is highly technical but written for a layperson like me to understand. With this information, I have formed a whole new outlook towards addiction, be it drugs, sex, food, nicotine, basically all addictions.

The reason for not giving 4 or 5 stars, I found a couple areas dry and had to revisit the paragraphs that I zoned out on. Also, a few things I feel were a bit repetitive or lengthy and could have been shortened.

Overall, this was a great, informative book that answers the questions I was looking for.

"Perhaps there’s a fascination in that element of outrageous, unapologetic pseudo authenticity. In our secret fantasies, who among us wouldn’t like to be as carelessly brazen about our flaws?"
~Gabor Mate, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction ( )

This is the second book by Gabor Maté I've read. The first was about stress and the immune system. He has a way of using himself as a very human example of his subject so that the people he tries to help are human too, before they are seen as "cases"
This is not a self-help book for anyone in the depths of addiction but a plea to all of us to realise we're probably all on a spectrum of addiction. A plea for compassion in our lives and in government policy.
Recommended. ( )

I liked the first part of the book the best and then it seemed to become more about the authors belief in the decriminalization of drugs and then the author throws in some philosophy ad well quoting Jesus, Buddha and others. It would have been a better book if he had told more about his experience at Downtown Eastside ( )

I was really glad to chose this book from Audible last year. I have once had a discussion with a good friend about "addictive personality" and this book was promising to explain what it all was about. I found out that I too have it, and how we grow to become addicted to something.
My addiction to buying books/yarn/fabrics is not very different from the addiction to drugs I found out, and the author, who is also an addicted himself (his drug of choice is classical music CDs) practically demolishes the belief that addictions are originated by chemical imbalances, genetics, or bad choices, and shows that after all it is our society, by depriving depriving human beings of what they need to thrive, that causes addiction, to then then persecute and punish these people when they turn to drugs to relieve their pain.
Dr. Mate' has a new fan in me now, and I look forward to reading more from him on the topics of ADD and the ties between stress and illness in our modern society. ( )

An excellent book that challenged my view of addiction. ( )

It would be a far more compassionate world if everyone read this book. Everyone can benefit from it. ( )

There is both good and bad to report about this book. First, the best of the good: I highly recommend this book along with Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow, to get a thorough reexamination of America's War on Drugs. If you're still believing Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign along with massive armies of law enforcement outfitted with military weaponry is working out just dandy, then ignore that last comment...and good luck with all that. In fact, stop reading this review. Now, for a bit of the not so good. While both this book and Alexander's book approach the drug war issue comprehensively with intelligence, Alexander's civil rights book is the epitome of lucidity and succinctness, this author shifts gears several times and occasionally fails to make himself clear, making this a rather disjointed but still valuable assessment. Concentrating in the drug addicted community of a Canadian big city, the book starts as a sort of memoir of working there with the addicts, drawing the reader in. After a brief pause to explain the author's own background and addiction -- though not with drugs -- he shifts to being a bit of a college professor on a definition of addiction and the intricacies of the human brain, relating it to addiction. Another shift takes place -- with things starting to get squishy -- as issues of personality traits, social trends, political policy, etc. get discussed. Eventually, the book shifts gears abruptly into an addict's self-help manual, finally ending rather quickly with what might be described as a cross between a religious revival meeting and a serene workshop at a far eastern school of spiritual enlightenment. The author is clearly intelligent, empathetic, self-aware, and hard-working, so I forgive his transgressions. He's a nice guy, maybe even a great guy, and I give him credit. I just wish he hadn't made me go through so much effort. ( )

This work interprets addiction in a broader context. Not only is this an intensely Canadian resource, based on Dr. Maté’s experiences running a safe injection clinic in Vancouver, it also tackles popular understandings of addiction and includes insights that will encourage the reader to learn more about the topic. For example, Maté explodes the commonly held notion that substances are inherently addictive. They are not. The insights shared in this book have implications beyond the personal; one can see how public policies could (or should) be changed to better address addictions at a social level. An excellent introduction to anyone wanting to better understand addiction.

Is Dr. Gabor Mate real? Has there ever been a better book about addiction? Mate is a humanitarian, compassionate beyond belief, and spot-on about addiction. My only concern about him would be the possible neglect of his family for all the time he spent with addicts, his own practice, writing and his classical music addiction (ha ha). What an amazing human being. I only hope he has been able to mentor other people who have chosen to work in the field of caring for active addicts. ( )

Intimate and engaging book exploring Mate's personal search, exploration, and medical cases in the field of addiction. If you've never read one of these, then this would rate at least a 4; however, I've read several with this one revealing nothing new. It was also interesting to note his 12 step research showed results but because he had some personal quips doesn't give it the weight his research did. My biggest complaint is he is running a methadone clinic and at some point you'd think he'd realize he is part of the problem and not the solution. His journey beyond the book does this so it would be good to see an updated edition. ( )

I rate this book 4.5 Stars.

From Amazon: "He would probably dispute it, but Gabor Maté is something of a compassion machine. Diligently treating the drug addicts of Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside with sympathy in his heart and legislative reform in mind can't be easy. But Maté never judges. His book is a powerful call-to-arms, both for the decriminalization of drugs and for a more sympathetic and informed view of addiction. As Maté observes, "Those whom we dismiss as 'junkies' are not creatures from a different world, only men and women mired at the extreme end of a continuum on which, here or there, all of us might well locate ourselves." In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts begins by introducing us to many of Dr. Maté's most dire patients who steal, cheat, sell sex, and otherwise harm themselves for their next hit. Maté looks to the root causes of addiction, applying a clinical and psychological view to the physical manifestation and offering some enlightening answers for why people inflict such catastrophe on themselves.

Finally, he takes aim at the hugely ineffectual, largely U.S.-led War on Drugs (and its worldwide followers), challenging the wisdom of fighting drugs instead of aiding the addicts, and showing how controversial measures such as safe injection sites are measurably more successful at reducing drug-related crime and the spread of disease than anything most major governments have going. It's not easy reading, but we ignore his arguments at our peril. When it comes to combating the drug trade and the ravages of addiction, society can use all the help it can get."

Having had the opportunity to meet Maté and hear him give a talk and reading was an amazing experience. He is truly a remarkable person trying to improve a flawed system while advocating to empower those within society who continue to be marginalized. He offers dignity, humanity and understanding to a complicated issue, complex people and a down-and-out neighbourhood.

Maté has also addressed the issues of illness and learning disorders in other books. He offers insight and information that is sometimes interpreted as controversial but I feel he thinks, speaks and writes from a place of truth and is a person who is genuinely trying to enact positive social change. It is a rare individual that does not judge others and has the strength of empathy to put himself in another's shoes. I recommend all of his works very highly. ( )

"My soul, sick and covered with sores, lunged outward instead, in a mad desire to scratch itself against some physical relief." St-Augustine

This is an excellent book. Dr. Maté understands this completely and has much to add to it. ( )

I feel I must apologize to Dr. Mate for not writing my review sooner. This book was so fascinating. It took me a while to get through it because I wanted to absorb every piece of research that went into it.

The term "hungry ghost," to those who aren't familiar with buddhism, describes a kind of hell realm in which the deceased person looks like the most poverty stricken image you can imagine because he is literally starving, no matter how much he consumes, and the more he consumes the worse his hunger is. It is, I think, a feeling or image than anyone who has death with addiction of any kind (or knows someone who is suffering) can relate to. I didn't expect to find so much that resonated with me in this book, but it has something in it for everyone, particularly if you are interested in neuropsychology current research in related fields.

I particularly appreciated how Mate uses examples from his own life throughout the text. I don't want to reveal his own addictions here, but have to say that his book emphasizes the many kinds of addiction there are out there - it's not all drugs, alcohol, and food. It can be a very personal experience, and a lonely one at that.

I highly recommend it and know I will be using it as a reference text in the future. ( )

A fascinating look at the world of addiction. Mate very easily shows us how various factors work together to cause addiction. He also bring sup his own experiences with his love of music as akin to addiction. Very interesting and informative.

I waited a long time to read this book after requesting it at the library as it was so popular. Important ideas here, but I found it rather geocentric and the author's need to identify with addicts by going on about his compulsive music-buying habits both intrusive and odd. There's a difference between having OCD and being an addict. I would have edited it quite differently. Still, very glad I read it. ( )

Free LibraryThing early reviewer copy. Maté, a Canadian physician, treats addicts; which is to say that he gives them health care and tries to help them manage the damage drugs are doing to them, since many of them can’t make themselves stay off and he’s quite sympathetic to the reasons why, the pain inside that is most easily (or only) suppressed by drug use. Addiction is a response to damage, and he draws (sometimes unconvincing) analogies between his patients and his own habit of buying classical music in obsessive, excessive, and financially unsustainable quantities. Though he does believe that individuals can stop using drugs, he doesn’t think that’s a plausible solution for many, given their lack of other opportunities to not feel so bad; to end drug abuse, we’d have to stop hurting children in all the ways we find to hurt them. The stories are powerful and his advice, in the end, is compassion—which means that there’s not necessarily much that’s active in his proscriptions. ( )

Quite dense, couldn't really get into it ( )