For many people, the Hungarian-Canadian physician and author Dr Gabor Maté is one of the most influential thinkers of the 21st century. I’ve met many social workers, youth workers, addiction counsellors, aid workers and activists who reference Maté’s work on trauma and illness. In his most recent book, The Myth of Normal: Illness, Health and Healing in a Toxic Culture, Maté (co-writing with his son Daniel) argues that our dysfunctional societies make us ill. To people who work on the front line with vulnerable people, the idea that poverty, inequality and prejudice can lead to trauma and poor physical and...