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Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'
The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care by Rina Raphael
3 reviews
nialystic's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder, Chronic illness, and Infertility
Minor: Body shaming and Fatphobia
bluejayreads's review
3.5
This is, ultimately, just another case where I am not actually the target audience for the book. I picked this up because it covers topics I'm quite interested in - the commodification of self-care that turns the concept of taking care of yourself into just one more thing to buy, the gentrification of good health, the wellness mandate (the idea that there exists a state of perfect health which everyone can achieve and that it is a moral obligation that everyone achieve it), how basic human body management things like "exercise" and "eat veggies" became the compulsive purview of mostly white upper-middle- and upper-class women. And it did have some interesting information. This is one of the few places I've seen that actually goes into the connection between "wellness" and spirituality, which I appreciated. But it tried to cover too much ground in too short a book to really go in-depth into anything. This is very much an overview. Which is not a bad thing! If this isn't a topic that you're fairly familiar with, you will likely find it as eye-opening as the people quoted on the back cover of my copy. But it's not really written for those like me who have already read a lot about the ideas. It's engaging, well-written, and clearly thoroughly researched. It just doesn't go into as much detail and depth as I hoped it would.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Classism, and Eating disorder
Minor: Chronic illness, Body shaming, Infertility, and Medical content
sareidle's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
I appreciated Rina Raphael's balanced and informed approach to wellness culture. She has a wealth of firsthand experience and is sympathetic to individuals who seek out alternative solutions to systemic healthcare issues. My main issue was the tongue-in-cheek turns of phrase Raphael used which took me out of the narrative. For example, on page 301: "For those who blur the line between health and business growth, take their product suggestions with a grain of Himalayan salt." Another instance is found on page 277: "Premier health clubs are but a chia seed in the granola bowl of upscale wellness." These twists on idioms are not very funny and distract from the real value provided by Raphael's journalism. Overall, I'm glad I read this book and learned a lot about historical and contemporary approaches to wellness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Medical content, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
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