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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Identifies some issues in modern society and individual lifestyles but doesn’t propose many real solutions or offer an especially thorough discussion.
This wasn’t a *bad* book, I think I was just spoiled by “The Wellness Trap” and “American Detox” - two books about the toxicity of the wellness industry that I read recently and loved.
The authors do have a different approach to the previously mentioned titles, which meant it was still interesting to read, and I did enjoy it overall - there were just some moments where my eyes glazed over a wee bit.
The authors do have a different approach to the previously mentioned titles, which meant it was still interesting to read, and I did enjoy it overall - there were just some moments where my eyes glazed over a wee bit.
3.5 stars. This book makes a lot of interesting points about how we as a society have begun to view “wellness” as part of our morality and how governments/corporations have encouraged us to believe that our personal wellness is entirely based upon our own actions, rather than results of our larger circumstances. I’m sure a lot of this is outdated since it was written in 2015, and I would argue that wellness culture is more prevalent than ever, but still informative overall. Knocked off a star or two because I didn’t feel the writing was my fave.
3,5 stars, mainly for content. It was not badly written but the main point for me was the idea of the wellness syndrome and its effects on society.
I was really inspired by some of the chapters. I enjoyed reading critique on mindfulness, self-monitoring, and firm-based wellness programs. I would criticize the authors' experience and knowledge on fat acceptance, or rather the lack of knowledge on body positivity. The movement, I feel, has long since moved on from fat acceptance to body positivity, and it is therefore unwise to write about the former without including the latter. This, in turn, made me question the authors' knowledge on barebacking culture, though I can't claim to have enough knowledge on that myself to judge their knowledge level.
But these last two things were only used as examples of resistance of the wellness syndrome in the last chapter before the conclusion. The main chapters themselves were wonderful. The ones criticizing the hype around wellness, search for happiness in all cost, or using all your life searching for ways to be more productive. And explaining how this all tied in with neoliberal capitalism and its values and valuelessness. How politics can be made empty so that everything is personal and nothing is political, so that your only way of making any changes is to make changes to your own body.
And still we have to fight for bodily autonomy, especially for women, trans people, disabled people and sex workers. *While* we fight capitalism and liberalism. While we fight to keep things political, to keep the political decisions and their consequences reported, to keep people informed, and to keep them/us motivated enough to keep on fighting. To keep them/us believing in the power we have to change things.
Well, this has long since ceased to be a book review. I think someone can read this book from a less political point of view, too. I can't.
I was really inspired by some of the chapters. I enjoyed reading critique on mindfulness, self-monitoring, and firm-based wellness programs. I would criticize the authors' experience and knowledge on fat acceptance, or rather the lack of knowledge on body positivity. The movement, I feel, has long since moved on from fat acceptance to body positivity, and it is therefore unwise to write about the former without including the latter. This, in turn, made me question the authors' knowledge on barebacking culture, though I can't claim to have enough knowledge on that myself to judge their knowledge level.
But these last two things were only used as examples of resistance of the wellness syndrome in the last chapter before the conclusion. The main chapters themselves were wonderful. The ones criticizing the hype around wellness, search for happiness in all cost, or using all your life searching for ways to be more productive. And explaining how this all tied in with neoliberal capitalism and its values and valuelessness. How politics can be made empty so that everything is personal and nothing is political, so that your only way of making any changes is to make changes to your own body.
And still we have to fight for bodily autonomy, especially for women, trans people, disabled people and sex workers. *While* we fight capitalism and liberalism. While we fight to keep things political, to keep the political decisions and their consequences reported, to keep people informed, and to keep them/us motivated enough to keep on fighting. To keep them/us believing in the power we have to change things.
Well, this has long since ceased to be a book review. I think someone can read this book from a less political point of view, too. I can't.
Je suis contente d'avoir lu ce livre, que j'avais sur ma wishlist depuis sa sortie il y a presque deux ans. Cela dit je n'ai pas l'impression d'avoir appris grand chose, dans le sens où je suis grosso modo d'accord avec les auteurs, pour dire qu'on vit dans une société de tyrannie du bonheur au profit du capitalisme. Je les ai trouvés un peu trop dans le jugement, d'ailleurs, face aux personnes qui rentrent dans le moule, se forcent à répondre à ces attentes, sans qu'ils donnent beaucoup de solutions -- ce n'est pas vraiment leur travail mais du coup le jugement + la relative absence d'alternative, c'est un peu too much. D'autant plus que les seules alternatives qu'ils proposent réellement sont édifiantes. Le mouvement d'acceptation des gros, ça, évidemment que je suis pour (même si eux y trouvent encore quelque chose à redire, parce que la manière dont c'est fait serait trop proche du système de tyrannie du bien-être, et je ne suis pas sûre que les gros qui sont dans ce mouvement aient cette "haine profonde de soi" dont parlent les auteurs...), mais le barebacking ça, j'avoue que je n'ai pas réussi à comprendre d'où ça sortait.
Enfin bref, ça se lit vite, ce n'est pas compliqué à lire, mais je pense que ça apporterait plus de connaissances et de matière à réflexion à quelqu'un qui ne se serait pas déjà pas mal renseigné sur ce sujet.
Enfin bref, ça se lit vite, ce n'est pas compliqué à lire, mais je pense que ça apporterait plus de connaissances et de matière à réflexion à quelqu'un qui ne se serait pas déjà pas mal renseigné sur ce sujet.
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
Wellness, self-improvement and healthy living have been used as a ploy to make people slaves to work, oblivious to society’s needs and so focused on personal success that they can’t see how others are suffering. This obsession has blinded us to the facts and the power we have to change them.
Преди 15о г. Карл Маркс предрича, че капиталистическото общество е обречено, защото в него бизнесът експлоатира работниците и те ще живеят все по-зле, докато накрая въстанат в световна социалистическа революция. Това така и не се случва, защото капитализмът води до все по-голямо забогатяване на всички.
След като и последните социалистически режими паднаха и разкриха несъстоятелността на тази система, нейните привърженици по света се надпреварват да търсят идейни заместници на революцията на пролетариата и да обвинят капитализма за всичко.
И понеже точно напротив на лъже-пророците, капитализмът носи благоденствие, сега те се опитват да докажат, че благоденствието е нещо лошо. Не се бъзикам.
Настоящата книга се подиграва на хората, които се опитват да живеят по-добър живот. Според авторът й, днешната обсесия на хората с по-добрия, пълноценен и здравословен живот е прогнила идея, създадена от мръсните капиталисти и налагана от тях - идеология, която допринася за корпоративното капиталистическо подтисничество на народа.
Не преувеличавам - Карл Цедерсторм изброява някои интелектуалци от средата на 20 в. (запомних само Ж.П.Сартр) като пример за това как нещастният, алкохолизиран и обсипан със злоупотреба с наркотици живот е причината за техните гениални прозрения и че днешните хора, които мислят за здравето на телата си не мислят за душата и висшите прозрения, към които пренебрежението към плътта и земното може да доведе.
На мен щеше да ми бъде интересно да прочета мисли и идеи относно днешната засилваща се тенденция към здравословен живот, но за съжаление попаднах на съвсем друго.
След като и последните социалистически режими паднаха и разкриха несъстоятелността на тази система, нейните привърженици по света се надпреварват да търсят идейни заместници на революцията на пролетариата и да обвинят капитализма за всичко.
И понеже точно напротив на лъже-пророците, капитализмът носи благоденствие, сега те се опитват да докажат, че благоденствието е нещо лошо. Не се бъзикам.
Настоящата книга се подиграва на хората, които се опитват да живеят по-добър живот. Според авторът й, днешната обсесия на хората с по-добрия, пълноценен и здравословен живот е прогнила идея, създадена от мръсните капиталисти и налагана от тях - идеология, която допринася за корпоративното капиталистическо подтисничество на народа.
Не преувеличавам - Карл Цедерсторм изброява някои интелектуалци от средата на 20 в. (запомних само Ж.П.Сартр) като пример за това как нещастният, алкохолизиран и обсипан със злоупотреба с наркотици живот е причината за техните гениални прозрения и че днешните хора, които мислят за здравето на телата си не мислят за душата и висшите прозрения, към които пренебрежението към плътта и земното може да доведе.
На мен щеше да ми бъде интересно да прочета мисли и идеи относно днешната засилваща се тенденция към здравословен живот, но за съжаление попаднах на съвсем друго.
informative
slow-paced
Clearing Out the To-Read Pile #1
Le ton paraît un peu trop militant par moments, mais il y a du bon. Ça faisait des années que la VO était dans ma p.à.l. et je ne l'ai finalement trouvé qu'en VF. La traduction de "wellness" par "bien-être" n'est pas 100% satisfaisante à mes yeux, bien que je n'aie rien de mieux à suggérer. Ayant moi-même adopté pas mal des comportements décrits (parfois même à l'initiative / à cause de récompenses proposées par mes employeurs et assureurs), je dois dire que je l'ai lu différemment post-Covid et après mon retour d'expatriation que je ne l'aurais abordé en 2015 ou 2016.
Le ton paraît un peu trop militant par moments, mais il y a du bon. Ça faisait des années que la VO était dans ma p.à.l. et je ne l'ai finalement trouvé qu'en VF. La traduction de "wellness" par "bien-être" n'est pas 100% satisfaisante à mes yeux, bien que je n'aie rien de mieux à suggérer. Ayant moi-même adopté pas mal des comportements décrits (parfois même à l'initiative / à cause de récompenses proposées par mes employeurs et assureurs), je dois dire que je l'ai lu différemment post-Covid et après mon retour d'expatriation que je ne l'aurais abordé en 2015 ou 2016.