The Wellness Trap

From the paradigm-shifting author of Anti-Diet comes a deep dive into the underbelly of modern wellness culture and how we can create a truly health-promoting society. "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle." You've probably heard this phrase from any number of people and companies in the wellness space to distance themselves from what has become a four-letter word. But, as Christy Harrison, author of the revolutionary book Anti-Diet, will reveal in her latest book, the wellness industry is simply the modern guise of diet culture. In this new age of wellness, figures from Gwyneth Paltrow and the Medical Medium to WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) have cashed in on the same underpinnings of diet culture that disproportionately harm women and people of color and are often derived from the cultural traditions of Indigenous peoples, and ultimately don't actually promote health. The Wellness Trap goes beyond demystifying what's wrong with the Goops of the world and delves into the persistent, systemic problems of the wellness industry and especially its effects on marginalized populations and the social determinants of health. As we experience a growing amount of physical and mental-health trauma, society has become increasingly vulnerable to bogus ideas about health for which conventional medicine lacks satisfying treatments. Weaving together history, memoir, reporting, and practical advice with a deft hand, Harrison leads the way in a radical re-thinking of wellness and provides a vision--and a roadmap--to create a truly health-promoting society.