Book cover of In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction

Book description

A “thought-provoking and powerful” study that goes beyond simplistic self-help remedies to reframe everything you’ve been taught about addiction and recovery—from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Myth of Normal (Bruce Perry, author of The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog).

An addiction specialist combines real-life stories with…

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Why read it?

3 authors picked In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book reminded me that we're all human and we all share the same deep needs, wants and dreams. It reminded me to be more gentle and a little kinder to those around me. If you work in addiction, or have a friend or family member struggling with a dependency then I highly recommend this book.

This is a compassionate look at addictions, covering neuroscience and how peoples’ lack of attachments can set them up for life-long struggles. The rationale for an anti-oppressive harm reduction approach helps build relationships, expand our understanding of addictions, and reduce the shame and guilt that come with trauma.

This book did more to push me to think about my practice and start truly understanding how trauma impacts the brain and how meaningful relationships can act to soothe people who are isolated, lonely, and disconnected.

For many people struggling in their lives, their template of the world is that people cannot…

This is a book by a doctor who has worked with addicts for over twenty years and has a better grasp on addiction and its causes than most doctors do. Books like this bring us closer to finding a solution for a problem that plagues so many people. This book helped me to form part of the reason why I believe addiction comes from where it does.

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December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

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