A review by moonyreadsbystarlight
Who is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind by Fariha Róisín

4.0

 This was a compelling work that is part memoir, part social commentary on the wellness industry and on the western understanding of wellness more broadly. So much of this speaks to the ways that traumas -- individual, generational, and systemic -- can influence our whole body. A lot of this is very strong, though I do think that the last part where she ties in the environment wasn't as well integrated as the rest of the parts. I do think it is related and good to bring up, but it may have needed to be longer to fully tie that piece in as well as she did the rest of the book.

I am suprised to see how low of a star rating this has, but I think it is due largely to the title and marketing. I would say if you're going into this to know that it is heavy on the memoir elements, which I enjoyed but may not be what some people anticipated from the title. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation