A Bit Bookish

Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer by Barbara Ehrenreich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really loved the subtitle of this book. That, and the fact that I liked her other book "Nickel and Dimed," was what made me want to read it. I found it intriguing that she talks about the fundamental unreliability of our bodies, looks into the cellular basis of aging, and shows us how little control we actually have over it. She believes that preventive screenings, healthy eating, or throwing ourselves into meditation and spirituality offer only the illusion of control. I found myself agreeing with a lot of what she said and even when I wasn't sure I agreed, it made for some thought provoking reading. Living well and joyously while accepting our mortality is definitely the great challenge of her book. I found her funny and caustic, but again...very interesting. With Chapter titles like "The Madness of Mindfulness," "Death in Social Context," "The Invention of the Self," and "Killing the Self, Rejoicing in a Living World," how could you resist?


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