A satisfying journey from the cells to the self

It's tough to categorize this book. Is it science writing? Medical writing? Philosophy? Entertaining personal reflections on medical fads and mindfulness gurus? Hmm. It's all of the above - and because Barbara Ehrenreich is such a good writer, you're happy to come along on this journey from the cellular level, through sociological trends, and back to macrophages, cancer, and mortality. You'll enjoy the ride and end up with a changed perspective on your own body, and the limits of your control over what's happening within.

The title of the book should have been 'It Doesn't Matter What You Do, You Will Die Anyways, So Don't Worry, Be Happy.'

This book is a jumble of ideas that I don't know what to make of.

An intriguing read. I wouldn't say that I agreed with Ehrenreich's conclusions; however, I always think it's important to explore various approaches and thoughts regarding health. I would say that her arguments actually strengthened my opinions against the conclusions she makes in 'Natural Causes'. Yes, we all will die at some point but I believe preventative healthcare is important and necessary. Overall, I was disappointed and found myself skimming several portions. I have heard great things from her previous work; however, this one has a strange, (almost conspiracist) tone. A lot of argument-for-argument's sake.

A recent craving for comfort food that is not in the fresh fruits and vegetables category, had me thinking about my Dad and my in-laws, who are happy and healthy in their 80s and 90s. They managed to achieve their longevity without having deep-dived into the current regimens advocated by the medicinal, health, and wellness industries. Rather, they lived balanced lives according to the old adage, everything in moderation. “Unnatural Causes” considers a similar approach to living into older age. The author chronicles her thoughts, experiences, and decisions regarding the dictates of the current health industry. She concludes that the most beneficial approach may be to just simply take care of yourself in a way that makes sense to you physically, mentally, and emotionally, so that you may well, in older age, not necessarily live longer. And it’s entirely possible that living longer, may just be a bonus to living well.

I am a huge fan of Barbara Ehrenreich and when I saw she had written a new book, I wanted to read it. The topics of health and wellness also interested me, as I loved the book Being Mortal and think the health care system as a whole could use a major overhaul. I wasn't completely wowed by this book but I thought she made some excellent points. I had never thought about how so much of what is considered regular health care (annual physicals, OB/GYN appointments) are more rituals than actual fact-finding missions. The book also made me more wary of health screenings that I am supposed to get at certain ages, and I will think twice about letting the dentist take X-rays of my head the next time I go to the dentist, when all I am there for is just a teeth cleaning.

Overall a worthwhile read, but I did skim over parts that lost my interest. I will still read whatever Barbara Ehrenreich writes because I think she always takes on worthwhile topics and delivers interesting perspectives.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC in exchange for this honest review!*

Natural Causes discusses all of the things we do in order to delay the inevitable. . .death. It's truly a fascinating read that brought up things that I hadn't really thought about before, such as what appears to be the transition to worshiping the self over a deity. This is definitely a book that will make you think and examine the world around you just a little closer.

There were a few chapters that I found to drag, but the book as a whole is worth a look!

Author dissects the concept of healthy ageing and loopholes in all the healthy stuff we do to delay our death.
Author touches deep on topics like screening tests, gyms,medical gadgets,dieting, yoga, life support and all the fads around the world. She ends up somehow supporting carefree lifestyle not poking too much into your body if you feel grossly well.
Also underlines that we have very less control on our body and its cells.
Book also explores autonomy of our cells.

It's very complex and deep even if you are a doctor or biology student. Deep exploration makes book heavy. But it's breadth is comforting and reader learns a lot.

A new perspective for new generation who hopes starving will make their life longer, but it's surely not going to be better.
Nice read but expect tough pages in between.

Natural Causes by Barbara Ehrenreich was a huge letdown. I was really looking forward to reading this book. I'm a huge nonfiction fan, and this seemed right up my alley, however from the get go the book was full of anecdotal evidence, and self-contradictions. Going from chapter to chapter, the author contradicts her own veiewpoints, or offers up evidence that refutes her own points. What support she does have comes from anecdotes and poorly drawn conclusions. I would read this book with a very critical eye, if you read it at all.

I loved parts of this book: the facts, the discussions, the critiques. Ehrenreich brings up some very valid points about preventative medicine, health trends, habits and just about anything related to being aware of one's health and longevity. I especially appreciated her commentary on the lack of respect for personal boundaries when in a doctor's care.

What prevented me from truly enjoying this book was its disconnectedness. Very many good points were made, but they weren't tied together or they didn't lead to concise conclusions. Sometimes the chapters seemed to jump from one topic to another, without it being clear to me how this was relevant. I would have preferred it if it was more of a coherent whole.

This is a truly thought-provoking book about the over-medicalisation of our society. Ehrenreich writes convincingly that we need to take a step back from rote attendance of medical appointments. Allowing herself to age without agreeing to invasive screening and testing, she exercises instead and makes her body as strong as possible. This is an intelligent and engaging read; even when I wasn't sure I agreed with her thinking I was glad to be prompted to question my own.

I found this very hard to get into.
Having been a huge fan of Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed", I was excited to read a new title from her.
Unfortunately, this misses out a lot on the personal touch that "Nickel and Dimed" has and made for tough reading.
Ehrenreich is extremely skilled at first person narrative and putting herself literally into the situation. I would like to see more investigative and field work from her, rather than something like this.

I'm not sure how to review this book, as I'm not even sure what I read. I loved the premise and description of the book, but I don't think it met my expectations. While I enjoyed and agreed with parts of it, much of the book seemed disjointed, unrelated to the topics, rambling, and over my head. I got tired and skipped over a lot of the text. I still appreciate the opportunity to read and review Natural Causes. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

A philosophical journey through illness and the end of life, excellently researched and beautifully developed. Another excellent book from Ehrenreich.

This was interesting - at first. Then it felt like a column extended into a rant and started feeling repetitive and disagreeable... I take some of her points - we are a culture obsessed with the idea of a right to health and that is being taken to ridiculous extremes in many ways. BUT I'm not convinced by many of her arguments about false positives or discomfort traded for prevention (e.g., mammograms - which are, frankly, a minor discomfort traded for detection and in many instances elimination of early-stage breast cancer, especially when compared to the trauma of treatment and survival rates of later stage cancer). I do agree that we each have a right to make that call - as long as the treatment at issue affects our individual bodies and not, for example, herd immunity with vaccines or similar broader-impact treatments that touch others who did not agree to our choices. It's a thought-provoking book, even if I didn't agree with all the thoughts. Her writing style is easy enough to engage with, if at times slightly inflammatory for my taste.

Having been a huge fan of Ehrenreich's earlier book Nickel and Dimed, I looked forward to reading this one. I greatly appreciated the attention that book brought to the plight of the working class in society. However, I've noticed that her work has taken a much different turn ever since her breast cancer diagnosis. I didn't keep up with her career after Bright-Sided, which was a somewhat disappointing work on an interesting topic. Perhaps if I had read her 2014 book, I wouldn't have been as surprised by the negative tone her latest work takes toward God.

I am open-minded and can consider different faith perspectives if the work is well-researched and presents a valid point of view to ponder. I was hopeful about the theme of this particular book because she's discussing how the aging Baby Boomers will approach the issue of their own dying. (I'm Gen X but I still find the sociology of aging and dying to be fascinating to research.) But unfortunately, Ehrenreich's work is not as insightful as it once was and the work overall seemed much sloppier. Instead of offering any useful anaylsis or relatable anecdotes, it just seemed like the point of her book was that getting old sucks and nothing happens after we die.

Overall, a very disappointing and poorly researched book. Rather than offering insight or suggested solutions, it was just negative and depressing.

I have followed Ehrenreich for years and genuinely enjoy her analysis and breakdown of culture and identity in America. Ehrenreich brings her dry wit and sharp eye to the health and wellness industry, turning a cold shoulder to doctors and mammograms and examining why into older age, people are trying to "beat" death. This would be a great companion to Caitlin Doughty's "Smoke Get's in Your Eyes." If you are into morbid reads and critical eyes, this is definitely a great book.

a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959785-natural-causes" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1520865073m/35959785.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35959785-natural-causes">Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1257.Barbara_Ehrenreich">Barbara Ehrenreich</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2500150272">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />

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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/27987864-mehek-naresh">View all my reviews</a>

I typically enjoy books by this author and this one was no exception. Maybe because I’m over 50 I felt like she was directing her information directly to me. Writing about aging and prolonging life she covers a variety of topics including both fighting and preventing disease. Some of the science was a bit cumbersome, but all in all it was a good informative read.

Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed is one of my all-time favorite books, and I have recommended it to MANY people over the years. Several people have admitted to having their eyes opened enough that they began to see invisible workers such as hotel housekeeping staff as real people who should ALWAYS be tipped. So I happily received a copy of Natural Causes from Twelve Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The subtitle (An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer) provides clues to her message. She is not a fan of “wellness,” none of us are getting out of here alive, and the things people do to try to extend their lives may not provide any benefit at all.

I was unaware of her PhD in cellular immunology, and TBH there was way more scientific information than I could either understand or appreciate, but she is definitely qualified to speak about the human body’s immune system and how it can turn against us (easing the way for cancer cells to proliferate, for example). I do appreciate her emphasis on acceptance of death as a natural process and her encouragement to live life to its fullest rather than focus on how we might extend our lives.

She takes a fairly rigorous stance against the medical establishment and the wellness industry, emphasizing her disdain for clinicians’ assumption that patients will automatically endure many tests and (redundant or unnecessary?) procedures. I confess I got lost in her seeming to attribute the spread of mindfulness to Silicon Valley entrepreneurs wanting to sell products, and while I tend to agree with her regarding religious ideas, it’s clear these two areas will not be popular among a number of readers.

While Natural Causes isn’t for everyone (and I definitely won’t be recommending it as widely as I have done with Nickel and Dimed), it’s still a fascinating read (even humorous in places!). Three stars.

To be cliched - this book was thought provoking. Ehrenreich knows what she’s talking about (she’s got a PhD in cellular immunology), but it’s jarring to read that not getting an annual physical might actually be better for you.

A few of the later chapters are deep into the science of cellular growth, but nothing too overwhelming.

Would recommend!

I thought the subject of this book was really fascinating, however, it turned out to be a very different spin on the topic than I was expecting. Although I don't necessarily agree with Ehrenreich's views regarding the medical world, I was intrigued by the first half of the book. But after her initial views on why some medical treatments can actually harm our health, I became bored. There's a lot more scientific jargon than I was expecting, so I felt like a lot of the second half just went flying over my head. I think this book might have benefited from a more commercial tone - something that would have been easier to relate to if you're not a scientist like Ehrenreich is. I'd love to see another author tackle this topic to see if I could get more out of it.