In this revolutionary book, renowned physician Gabor Mate eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their healthcare systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. Nearly 70 percent of Americans are on at least one prescription drug; more than half take two. In Canada, every fifth person has high blood pressure. In Europe, hypertension is diagnosed in more than 30 percent of the population. And everywhere, adolescent mental illness is on the rise. So what is really "normal" when it comes to health?

From political wunderkind and former army intelligence officer Jason Kander comes a haunting, powerful memoir about politics, PTSD, impossible choices--and how sometimes walking away from the chance of a lifetime can be the greatest decision of all.

"An investigation based on direct experience into the meaning and message of altered states. Recounts several dozen of the author's experiences of drug and non-drug altered states of consciousness from birth to early adulthood. Applies the lenses of four explanatory models-psychoanalysis, psychopharmacology, Zen Buddhism, and medieval Jewish metaphysics-in understanding how and why they occurred. Demonstrates the importance of careful unflinching recollection and documentation of both heavenly and hellish altered states in one's psychological, emotional, and spiritual life"--

A world-recognized authority and acclaimed mind-body medicine pioneer presents the first evidence-based program to reverse the psychological and biological damage caused by trauma. In his role as the founder and director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM), the worlds largest and most effective program for healing population-wide trauma, Harvard-trained psychiatrist James Gordon has taught a curriculum that has alleviated trauma to populations as diverse as refugees and survivors of war in Bosnia, Kosovo, Israel, Gaza, and Syria, as well as Native Americans on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, New York city firefighters and their families, and members of the U. S. military. Dr. Gordon and his team have also used their work to help middle class professionals, stay-at-home mothers, inner city children of color, White House officials, medical students, and people struggling with severe emotional and physical illnesses. The Transformation represents the culmination of Dr. Gordon's fifty years as a mind-body medicine pioneer and an advocate of integrative approaches to overcoming psychological trauma and stress. Offering inspirational stories, eye-opening research, and innovative prescriptive support, The Transformation makes accessible for the first time the methods that Dr. Gordon--with the help of his faculty of 160, and 6,000 trained clinicians, educators, and community leaders--has developed and used to relieve the suffering of hundreds of thousands of adults and children around the world.