Includes bibliographical references (pages 450-476) and index.

Hungry ghosts: The realm of addiction -- Hellbound train -- Physician, heal thyself -- A different state of the brain -- How the addicted brain develops -- The addiction process and the addictive personality -- Imagining humane reality: Beyond the war on drugs -- The ecology of healing -- Appendix I: Fallacies of adoption and twin studies -- Appendix II: A close link: Attention deficit disorder and addictions -- Appendix III: The prevention of addiction -- Appendix IV: The twelve steps.

Based on Gabor Maté's two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his work with the severely addicted on Vancouver's skid row, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts reenvisions this much misunderstood field by taking a holistic approach. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout (and perhaps underpins) our society; not a medical "condition" distinct from the lives it affects, rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional, and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs (and behaviors) of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. This book argues against contemporary health, social, and criminal justice policies toward addiction and those impacted by it. The mix of personal stories -- including the author's discussion of his own "high-status" addictive tendencies -- and science with positive solutions makes the book equally useful for lay readers and professionals.--Publisher's description.