Author Barbara Ehrenreich has produced some fabulous, must-read books: Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America and Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. Unfortunately, this isn’t one of them.

Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer begins with Ehrenreich (now 76) explaining why she doesn’t get mammograms or Pap smears or annual exams: “I gradually came to realize that I was old enough to die…. Once I realized that I was old enough to die, I decided that I was also old enough not to incur any more suffering, annoyance, or boredom in the pursuit of a longer life.”

I think that refusing mammograms stands as an odd decision for a woman who is in remission for breast cancer; however, that’s not what made me find this book nearly unreadable. Despite the title, Natural Causes isn’t really a book about how the wealthy pursue life-extending treatments despite cost or lack of scientific evidence. That would actually be a pretty good book.

Instead, Natural Causes is, for the most part, a collection of essays on unrelated scientific matters: a diatribe against prostate-specific antigen screenings and annual pelvic exams (which is how my renewed issue with a mesh sling was discovered), a criticism of traditional medicine allying itself with “alternative” medicine as a marketing scheme, a takedown of the current “mindfulness” craze, the perfidy of macrophages. These essays aren’t really related to one other or to the introduction and first chapter in which Ehrenreich explains her refusal of routine preventative care, or to the chapter, “Successful Aging,” which decries the movement that blames the elderly if they don’t lead blameless lives and then don’t live to be 100, or the chapter, “Death in Social Context,” which chronicles the rise of victim-blaming when someone dies in middle age (as if that could ward off death in one’s own case). If she had built on these chapters (although “Successful Aging” and “Death in Social Context” are a bit redundant), the author would have had at least a decent book. Ehrenreich promised an exposé of the top 20 percent’s pursuit of long life and eternal youth, but instead she delivered a mish-mash of pretty boring science facts.

In the interest of full disclosure, I learned that I had breast cancer from a routine 3-D mammogram, and I received this book from NetGalley and Twelve Books in exchange for an honest review.

One thing is for certain (well, two if you count taxes): none of us get out of life alive. Period. Ehrenreich builds a case for wise, life-enriching choices regarding the medical, wellness, and fitness choices we make. After all, no matter how much iron you pump or kale you eat, you cannot control your amazing and not-always-on-your-side body. Cells go rogue. Diseases happen.

This is a counter-narrative to the stay-young messages that drive people to extremes. Ehrenreich has a Ph.D. In cellular biology. Drawing on her own knowledge, current research on aging and immunology, statistics and clear examples of craziness from medical practice, dieting trends, and fitness crazes, she builds a case for ensuring we enjoy the lives we have, staying healthy in ways that make sense, trying to control only the things within our control, and pondering our relationship with aging. While some of her examples, and her own choices, are a bit extreme, there is plenty of food for thought here.

Thanks, Netgalley, for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to read this book as I have enjoyed the authors other work, but this was basically a view into a dangerous opinion on how one should take care of their health. We've all go to go sometime is not always the best attitude to have about one's life. Everyone should have a healthy skepticism about needless tests but this is a bit extreme.

Starting with a humorous cover illustration of the Grim Reaper on a treadmill, this book offers a fascinating look at the way people obsess about health and their desire for control, even as we march towards the inevitable end. As Ehrenreich says, “The truly sinister possibility is that for many of us all of the little measures we take to remain fit—all the deprivations and exertions—will only lead to a longer chance to live with crippling and humiliating disabilities. As a NYT columnist observed, ‘The price we’re paying for extended life span is a high rate of late-life disability.’”

People simply cannot imagine the world without themselves. However, as the author observes, “the universe survives the death of about fifty five million unique individuals a year quite nicely.”

Whenever Ehrenreich turns her attention to a subject, I know it will be thoroughly researched and engagingly written, and this intriguing book is no exception.

This was not my cup of tea. I won’t be reviewing it anywhere

This is a weird book. It’s half about our obsession with controlling our own bodies—and the resulting mind/body dualism, which makes our newer obsession with controlling our own “selves” a bit hard to parse; who’s doing the controlling? The other half is about our cells, like the macrophages that are important parts of the immune system but also help cancer spread and kill us. Rather than being a community of cells working in harmony, we are made up of competing and occasionally rogue cells, whose reasons for going one way rather than another are and may forever remain mysterious—just as we now understand pregnancy as in part a competition between mother and fetus, each with its own aims. Also, she spends a lot of time reminding us that no matter how much we try to control things, we will nonetheless die.

A fine book if hard to categorize. Ehrenreich is the author of "Nickel and Dimed", a fine work of social conscience. This book is different because here she is her looking back on her brush with cancer and includes her original, if somewhat inconclusive, reflections on life. She is a physicist so is able even to look at the structure of the universe. She deals with longevity and healthy living, dabbles in the alternative medicine hopes and promises, reviews some literature. I was never bored and it was an engaging and thought-provoking read which even manages to be encouraging sometimes.

Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer starts out in fine Barbara Ehrenreich form, expanding on the lengthy title to skewer the longevity industry (eat yogurt/do brain games/join a gym), and the medical professions as well, as they become more and more focused on providing more services that can generate profits than on services that will actually do the patient any good. Then the book becomes more scientific as Ehrenreich, who has a background in the biological sciences, delves into the latest cancer science and more. I found this section challenging and frankly, was not able to keep up at times. My background is not in the sciences, unfortunately. Then the book finishes up in a philosophical mood as Ehrenreich ponders the nature of death and the futility of attempting to live forever. For all the talk of death and dying, Natural Causes is not a gloomy book, and there's something here for just about any reader, whether you plan to die or not. (Thanks to Twelve Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy.)

Ehrenreich shows how the American tendency to believe anything is possible translates into an inability to grasp the reality of death. I agree with her assessment, and it's a fun read but, as someone who works with medical literature for a living, I found the over-simplifications of complicated issues to be distracting

The Reductionist is IN

With too much time on our hands, we are obsessed with ourselves. Barbara Ehrenreich visits the catalog of diets, wellness, mindfulness, religion, movements, medicine and idiotic fads that preoccupy so many. Eternal youth, eternal life, and managed death are all symptoms. Taking the view from above, it is of course of no moment in the ongoing universe.

We want to think we can beat the odds and maybe even death. Certainly deterioration is ripe for conquering. So we work out, eat “right”, supplement and moisturize. And if we deteriorate, it must be our own fault. Between the fads, the trends, the diets and the studies, “every death can now be understood as suicide” she says in Natural Causes.

The book is a total pleasure of clear thinking and sober reflection. All of it relatable. Her thoughts are our thoughts, her appreciations our appreciations. Validated and justified and rationalized. Her job has been to collect it all here, and reduce it to its true value and worth. The conclusion she comes to at the very beginning is that life is just a short pause in the ongoing processes of the universe, so don’t torture yourself, and enjoy it while it lasts.

David Wineberg

Barbara Ehrenreich turns commonplace medical and scientific assumptions on their head in this fascinating, far-reaching exploration of how we understand health. From the immune system's role in causing — not fighting — cancer to evidence of "cellular decision making," she breaks down recent scientific discoveries, exploring their philosophical and practical implications. With a dizzying scope, the book touches on the politics of medicalized birth, the absurdity of corporate wellness programs and the secret lives of macrophages. It's an engrossing read, packed with interesting tidbits and feminist and class-conscious analysis.

Highly recommended, whether you're a biology nerd, interested in the philosophy of science or just looking for another reason to skip your next annual medical exam.

Like Barbara Ehrenreich's earlier book, Nickeled and Dimed, her latest - Natural Causes - gives the reader much to think about. This time, Ehrenreich takes on the American health and wellness industries from the medical establishment to fitness gurus. While it started strong, the book tackles many different topics in the twelve chapters, with varied success. Overall, a thought-provoking and educational read.

The author has definitely done her research here, and there are times that the book can be a bit difficult to plow through. It seems as though you're reading articles in a medical journal! However, coupled with her usual wit and snark, the details are tamed down and presented in a way that will really get you to think. Chance of death? Right now, until someone invents something otherwise, 100%. So why ARE we chasing the bunny trail? Follow the money.....