Ebury snaps up 'groundbreaking' investigation into causes of illness by Maté

Ebury has snapped up a "groundbreaking" investigation into the causes of illness by trauma and addiction specialist Dr Gabor Maté and his son Daniel Maté.

M.d. Joel Rickett acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to The Myth of Normal from Laurie Liss of The Sterling Lord Literistic Agency. It will be published in print, e-book and audio in the UK and Commonwealth by Ebury imprint Vermilion, in the US by Avery Books, and in Canada by Knopf Canada on 13th September 2022.

The publisher said: "The Myth of Normal will change our notions of what is healthy and examine how the prevailing understanding of 'normal' is in fact a dangerous fantasy. Dr Maté brings his decades of medical expertise to investigate our overall wellbeing, childhood development, the traumas and toxicity inherent in our culture, and how healing is both necessary and—with his compassionate and practical advice—possible."

Dr Maté said: "Health and illness are not random biological states in a particular body or body part. They are, in fact, expressions of an entire life, a life that cannot be understood in isolation. It arises from a web of circumstances, relationships, and experiences in the context of a certain society and culture. And what passes for normal in our society is neither healthy nor natural. By bringing to light and debunking the myth of normal, we are empowered to create a more genuinely scientific, healthful, and life-giving view of what it means to be healthy, physically and emotionally.”

Rickett added: “All of us at Penguin Random House are thrilled to publish Gabor’s important and necessary work. Since we released four of his seminal backlist titles in 2018, we have been blown away by the UK and international demand for Gabor and his ideas – and the pandemic has shown his insight is more vital than ever. The Myth of Normal brings all the strands of his work together into a revolutionary thesis.”