The Myth of Normal, by Gabor Maté
Part one of my two-part review of Dr. Maté’s new book
Cautiously pessimistic
I recently finished reading Dr. Maté’s new book, The Myth of Normal. I have spoken (well, written) negatively about some of Dr. Maté’s theories in the past, so I was cautiously pessimistic when I began reading.
I am happy to report that I was pleasantly surprised (but only somewhat). I will share my thoughts in as balanced and fair a manner as I can, with full acknowledgement that I began the book having previously formed negative opinions about a particular aspect of Dr. Maté’s work.
I am also happy to say I have a more nuanced perspective on his latest publication, so I will do my best to present both the strengths and weaknesses of this book.
Being who I am, however, I still had some fairly strong reactions to some of the assertions made by Dr. Maté. I flip-flopped between loving and hating the book, strongly agreeing and very strongly disagreeing, depending on the chapter or section I was reading.
It’s a very long book, so I may even have to review it in parts. With all that said, I will outline the main premises of each section, providing evidence and information to either support or refute the claims made therein.
