Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer

by Barbara Ehrenreich

This book cannot be summarized in a sentence or two, but here is a rough road map to what follows: The first half is devoted to describing the quest for control as it is acted out through medical care, “lifestyle” adjustments in the areas of exercise and diet, and a nebulous but ever-growing “wellness” industry that embraces both body and mind. All of these forms of intervention invite questions about the limits of human control, which leads us into the realm of biology—what lies within the body and whether its various parts and elements are even susceptible to conscious human control. Do they form a harmonious whole or are they engaged in perpetual conflict? I present the emerging scientific case for a dystopian view of the body—not as a well-ordered machine, but as a site of ongoing conflict at the cellular level, which ends, at least in all the cases we know of, in death. Finally, at the end of this book, if not at the end of our individual lives, we are left with the inevitable question of “What am I?”, or you, for that matter. What is the “self” if it is not rooted in a harmonious body, and what do we need it for anyway? Here you will find no “how-to” advice, no tips about how to extend your life, upgrade your diet and exercise regimen, or fine-tune your attitude in a more healthful direction. If anything, I hope this book will encourage you to rethink the project of personal control over your body and mind. We would all like to live longer and healthier lives; the qu...