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.....