The gospel of wellness : gyms, gurus, Goop, and the false promise of self-care

First Title Value for Searching:

Personal Author:

Raphael, Rina

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

345 pages ; 25 cm

Summary:

"Women are pursuing their health like never before. Whether it's juicing, biohacking, clutching crystals, or sipping collagen, today there is something for everyone, as the wellness industry has grown from modest roots into a $4.4 trillion entity and a full-blown movement promising health and vitality in the most fashionable package. But why suddenly are we all feeling so unwell? The truth is that deep within the underbelly of self-care-hidden beneath layers of clever marketing-wellness beckons with a far stronger, more seductive message than health alone. It promises women the one thing they desperately desire: control. Vividly told and deeply reported, The Gospel of Wellness reveals how this obsession is a direct result of women feeling dismissed, mistreated, and overburdened. Women are told they can manage the chaos ruling their life by following a laid-out plan: eat right, exercise, meditate, then buy or do all this stuff. And while wellness may have sprung from good intentions, we are now relentlessly flooded with exploitative offerings, questionable ideas, and a mounting pressure to stay devoted to the divine doctrine of wellness. What happens when the cure becomes as bad as the disease? With a critical eye, humor, and empathy, wellness industry journalist Rina Raphael examines how women have been led down a kale-covered path promising nothing short of salvation. She knows: Raphael was once a disciple herself-trying everything from "clean eating" to electric shock workouts-until her own awakening to the troubling consequences. Balancing the good with the bad, The Gospel of Wellness is a clear-eyed exploration of what wellness can actually offer us, knocking down the false idols and commandments that have taken hold and ultimately showing how we might shape a better future for the movement-and for our well-being"--

Contents:

Why the hell is the advice always yoga? -- The house always wins -- Is my face wash trying to kill me? -- Gym as church -- A plea to be heard -- Can't treat what you don't know -- Nutritionmania : why are we confused about what we eat? -- Crystal-clear futures : a new take on New Age spirituality -- You're not working hard enough -- Chasing golden unicorns : biohacking the future -- Democratizing wellness : pushing back against "wellthness" -- Guides for the perplexed.

Subject Term:

Women -- Health and hygiene -- United States -- Sociological aspects.

Women -- Health and hygiene -- Economic aspects -- United States.

Health products -- Social aspects -- United States.

Publication Info:

New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2022.

Subject:

Women -- Health and hygiene -- United States -- Sociological aspects.

Women -- Health and hygiene -- Economic aspects -- United States.

Health products -- Social aspects -- United States.

Health of women

Women -- Hygiene

Health aids

Health supplies

SAILS ISBN:

9781250793003

Available:

Library	Shelf Number	Shelf Location	Status
Searching... Attleboro Public Library	613.0424 RAP 2022	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Bridgewater Public Library	613.0424 RAPHAEL 2022	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Fall River Main	613.042 R217	Stacks	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Foxboro - Boyden Library	613.0424 RAPHAEL	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Hanson Public Library	613.042 RAP	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Mattapoisett Free Public Library	613.0424 RAP 2022	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Norton Public Library	613.04244 RAP 2022	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Seekonk Public Library	613.0424 RAPHAEL	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Taunton Public Library	158.1 R181G	2ND FLOOR STACKS	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Wareham Free Library	613.042 RAP 2022	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... West Bridgewater PL	613.04 RAP	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Westport Free Public Library	613.042 RAP 2022	NONFICTION	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

"Next-level revelatory."
--Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck

"Excellent...Rina really knows her shit...I'm so thankful for this book."
--Jameela Jamil, actress and host of I Weigh

Journalist Rina Raphael looks at the explosion of the wellness industry: how it stems from legitimate complaints, how seductive marketing targets hopeful consumers-and why women are opening up their wallets like never before.

Wellness promises women the one thing they desperately desire: control.

Women are pursuing their health like never before. Whether it's juicing, biohacking, clutching crystals, or sipping collagen, today there is something for everyone, as the wellness industry has grown from modest roots into a $4.4 trillion entity and a full-blown movement promising health and vitality in the most fashionable package. But why suddenly are we all feeling so unwell?

The truth is that deep within the underbelly of self-care--hidden beneath layers of clever marketing--wellness beckons with a far stronger, more seductive message than health alone. It promises women the one thing they desperately desire: control.

Vividly told and deeply reported, The Gospel of Wellness reveals how this obsession is a direct result of women feeling dismissed, mistreated, and overburdened. Women are told they can manage the chaos ruling their life by following a laid-out plan: eat right, exercise, meditate, then buy or do all this stuff. And while wellness may have sprung from good intentions, we are now relentlessly flooded with exploitative offerings, questionable ideas, and a mounting pressure to stay devoted to the divine doctrine of wellness. What happens when the cure becomes as bad as the disease?

With a critical eye, humor, and empathy, wellness industry journalist Rina Raphael examines how women have been led down a kale-covered path promising nothing short of salvation. She knows: Raphael was once a disciple herself--trying everything from "clean eating" to electric shock workouts--until her own awakening to the troubling consequences. Balancing the good with the bad, The Gospel of Wellness is a clear-eyed exploration of what wellness can actually offer us, knocking down the false idols and commandments that have taken hold and ultimately showing how we might shape a better future for the movement--and for our well-being.

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Fast Company reporter Raphael declares that "the wellness industry isn't well" in this sharp and evocative account. Documenting a plethora of dubious claims and empty promises, Raphael contends that wellness companies have stepped into the "a void created by the unreasonable expectations that torment us." She vividly describes boutique fitness studios such as The Class and SoulCycle and weekend retreats like the Ganja Goddess Getaway, explaining how participation in these "churches" of wellness culture offers women some of the benefits of traditional belief communities but can leave them feeling abandoned and alone when a real crisis hits. Raphael also highlights how the conflation of thinness and health and the "subtle pressure to always be improving" drive the clean eating, supplement, and fitness sectors of the wellness industry, while the appeal of easy and attractive lifestyle solutions is touted by "hyperconsumerist" companies such as Goop. Sympathizing with women whose dissatisfaction with the medical system makes them susceptible to pseudoscience, Raphael makes clear that "the status quo isn't cutting it" ("We go to yoga because we need a moment to slow down") and guides readers to a more critical consumerism and an understanding that systemic solutions and community focus are required. This astute and revealing investigation packs a punch. (Sept.)

Kirkus Review

An eye-opening account of how the U.S. has become "a self-care nation, though arguably one that still lacks the fundamentals of well-being." A journalist who specializes in health and women's issues, Raphael is perfectly situated to investigate the massive wellness industry. What started as a movement to increase health and reduce stress has become, in many cases, a cure worse than the disease, with social media "fitfluencers" setting standards that are impossible to meet and a host of self-appointed gurus selling diet programs of every conceivable type. Most of the diets claim to be backed by science, but when Raphael drills down, she finds little reliable evidence and plenty of nonsense. Nevertheless, many people worry endlessly that they might inadvertently deviate from the plan, even if it is making them less healthy. Others stress about chemical pesticides infecting their vegetables and fruit, but the amounts are so miniscule as to be meaningless. "Food has become an utterly fraught ordeal for the average woman," writes the author. "A Fear Factor episode that never ends. If you're to take extreme wellness gurus and fad diets at face value, you cannot consume any sugar, gluten, pesticide residue, dairy, 'chemicals,' and more." Some gym programs resemble cults, and countless people get caught in a vicious cycle: You have to work hard to pay for the stress-reduction programs that are needed because you are working too hard. Raphael delves incisively into the marketing techniques used by so-called wellness companies and finds a remarkable level of manipulative cynicism. Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop line is a prime example. "Their health advice always seems to converge to one end point: buy more stuff," writes the author, who saves her sharpest barbs for the purported benefits of crystals and biohacking. She hopes the pendulum will swing back toward a more sensible center; until then, it's clear that she subscribes to a useful piece of old advice: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Writing with authority and empathy, Raphael tells a disturbing story of taking a good thing and then overdoing it. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Who among us wouldn't like to feel better physically, emotionally, spiritually, or socially? Journalist Raphael examines the benefits and hype driving a more than $4-trillion wellness market. She defines "wellness" as an "active pursuit of well-being outside the realm of medicine." She identifies a growing "distrust of mainstream medicine" as a major culprit for an expanding, empowering embrace of alternative remedies buoyed by dubious claims and promises, pseudoscience, and promotional campaigns. The lifestyles and activities scrutinized here range from mainstream (cardio fitness, yoga, meditation) to woo-woo (crystal therapy) to deceptive (intravenous vitamin drips, biohacking). In the chapter, "Gym as Church," Raphael considers how fitness studios function as a form of group therapy and stoke fervor with exercise dogmas. In "Nutritionmania," she surveys popular diet fads and doctrines: strictly organic, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, sugar-free. The culture of wellness embodies more than evading sickness. It additionally encompasses self-improvement, body enhancement, and trendiness. One kinesiology professor laments, "As a society, we really have a warped image of what health is." Raphael delivers an eye-opening, cautionary study of the contemporary, amorphous meaning of "wellness."

Introduction	p. 1
Chapter 1 Why the Hell Is the Advice Always Yoga?	p. 15
Chapter 2 The House Always Wins	p. 41
Chapter 3 Is My Face Wash Trying to Kill Me?	p. 65
Chapter 4 Gym as Church	p. 93
Chapter 5 A Plea to Be Heard	p. 120
Chapter 6 Can't Treat What You Don't Know	p. 150
Chapter 7 Nutritionmania	p. 167
Chapter 8 Crystal-Clear Futures	p. 199
Chapter 9 You're Not Working Hard Enough	p. 227
Chapter 10 Chasing Golden Unicorns	p. 251
Chapter 11 Democratizing Wellness	p. 275
Chapter 12 Guides for the Perplexed	p. 294
Conclusion	p. 303
Notes	p. 312
Acknowledgments	p. 344

Available:

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Table of Contents