Rina Raphael

Sometimes the author gets way too judgey about things like veganism (which, believe it or not, some people do for reasons other than it's allegedly trendy -- which, based on the sh*t I've gotten about it for the past 15 years, it's not) and working out (which, again, hard to believe, but some people do for reasons other than to get thin so they can look like their favorite Instagrammers).

But overall the book was just cathartic to read. There's a lot of hype and marketing over making people show more (especially women) feel bad about ourselves, and that includes the message that we are in total control of our health, bodies, and lives, and if we just spend money on the right products, we'll feel / look / be happier / thinner / more calm and content. Capitalism is the solution to all of our problems! Of course, it's also the cause (either direct or indirect) of many of them as well. show less

This book covers a lot about all the facets of the “wellness” industry from an author who both was a follower and also a reporter of it, and the bias there shows. I used to work with a lot of these wellness followers too, and the amount of money they spent was always mind blowing to me as it never seemed worth it. I guess my priorities vary so much as I choose to spend any additional money I have very differently; fyi the word capitalism only shows up once in this entire book.

There show more really is so much here that most chapters could be their own book, and so I appreciated the overview on it all. I feel as though the question “why?” wasn’t asked enough as that to me is what I really want to know. Are they doing this to be more attractive to men, to supposedly live longer, to keep up with other yoga moms; I have so many questions. Finally I just want to say that my point of pride is that I have never tried kombucha; the closest I’ve gotten to it is when someone’s exploded in the break room fridge, and I was thankful that my lunch wasn’t in there when it happened. show less