The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses, and Find Your True Well-Being -- Christy Harrison, Hardcover

A searing critique of modern wellness culture and how it stands in the way of true well-being that "will change the way you think about your health--in all the best ways." (Casey Gueren)

"It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle." You've probably heard this phrase from any number of people in the wellness space. But as Christy Harrison reveals in her latest book, wellness culture promotes a standard of health that is often both unattainable and deeply harmful.

Many people with chronic illness understandably feel dismissed or abandoned by the healthcare system and find solace in alternative medicine, as Harrison once did. Yet the wellness industry promotes practices that often cause even more damage than the conventional approaches they're meant to replace. From the lack of pre-market safety testing on herbal and dietary supplements, to the unfounded claims made by many wellness influencers and functional-medicine providers, to the social-media algorithms driving users down rabbit holes of wellness mis- and disinformation, it can often feel like no one is looking out for us in the face of the $4.4 trillion global wellness industry.

The Wellness Trap delves into the persistent, systemic problems with that industry, offering insight into its troubling pattern of cultural appropriation and its destructive views on mental health, and shedding light on how a growing distrust of conventional medicine has led ordinary people to turn their backs on science. Weaving together history, memoir, reporting, and practical advice, Harrison illuminates the harms of wellness culture while re-imagining our society's relationship with well-being.

Author: Christy Harrison
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
Published: 04/25/2023
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.12lbs
Size: 9.50h x 6.31w x 1.15d
ISBN: 9780316315609

Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 03/01/2023 pg. 148
Publishers Weekly 03/20/2023
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2023

About the Author

Christy Harrison, MPH, RD, is a registered dietitian nutritionist, certified intuitive eating counselor, and journalist who writes about food and nutrition. She is the author of Anti-Diet, as well as the founder and host of the Food Psych podcast, which has helped tens of thousands of people around the world stop dieting, recover from disordered eating, and develop happier and healthier relationships with food. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, SELF, BuzzFeed, Refinery29, Gourmet, Slate, the Food Network, and many other publications, and her work is regularly featured in national print and broadcast media.