Here are some books that have stuck with me, I’ve recommended to others, or plan to re-read.
Here’s to hoping you get some relaxed reading time this summer—or in my case, lots of time in the garden listening to audiobooks.
🏖 If you need an easy-breezy beach read:
Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes & Jo Piazza (2017)
Repeat after me: there’s no such thing as guilty pleasure reading. This is chick lit with a sharp, critical eye toward wellness culture. If you need to do something other than doom scrolling, here’s your chance to poke fun at green juice extremism and boutique fitness obsessions.
🍑 If you’re a fan of Sir Mix-A-Lot:
Butts: A Backstory by Heather Radke (2022)
I could not stop hearing “Baby Got Back” while reading this — and then, boom, there’s a whole chapter on him! An engaging, smart look at the cultural and political history of the butt. I loved this book.
✏️ If you want to try a graphic novel:
Blossoms and Bones: Drawing a Life Back Together by Kim Krans (2020)
From the artist behind The Wild Unknown tarot deck, this graphic memoir explores eating disorder recovery through beautiful, expressive illustration. Honest, raw, and a powerful critique of the dark side of "healthy eating."
🍄 If you’re wondering what the psychedelic buzz is about:
Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics by Ernesto Londoño (2024)
I’ve been researching the psychedelic renaissance for years, and this is one of the most nuanced, well-reported books I’ve read. A deep dive into the science, politics, and ethics of psychedelics today.
💀 If you want to relish being alive by thinking about death:
Briefly, Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real About the End by Alua Arthur (2024)
Written by a death doula with warmth, humor, and grounded wisdom. When so much of the wellness marketing focuses escaping death, this book faces it directly.
🖤 If you believe in reading Black history year-round:
She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar (2019)
A fresh, illustrated, and accessible take on Harriet Tubman’s life. I loved learning how her skills in intuition, herbalism, and wilderness survival shaped her legendary legacy.
🩺 If you want good storytelling about public health:
Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (2025)
How can you not love John Green? I appreciate his deeply personal storytelling, meticulous research, and unmistakable voice call for global healthcare reform.
What would you add to the list?
Any books that are wellness-adjacent that you’d recommend? Drop your recs for me (and fellow subscribers!) in the comments.
Just finished “Blossom and Bones…”. It was a tiny bit difficult to read at times. I definitely had to take breaks to process what I just read. And one part actually made me cry. I really loved the artwork. It very much to me matched the strength, vulnerability and power of her struggle.
This is a great list!