If you want some hopeful nonfiction, this is it! This book is an incredibly insightful and comprehensive look at art's positive impact on our health. Fancourt includes a lot of case studies and data to back up her claims, even going so far as to specify how art can benefit different systems of the body. Some of the data seemed a bit overstated (e.g., 33% vs. 26% doesn't feel like a HUGE difference, but it's still something!), but I was still very impressed and moved by this book. I loved reading the incredible stories about how people's lives were changed - even saved! - by engagement with the arts.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions.

This review is on Goodreads, and will be cross=posted to Amazon and Instagram within one week of the book's publication.

This book not only shows the importance of art it’s about the use of art for just about anything. From using it for mental health or recovery from an illness or injury any type of art can be used in so many ways. It's a good read for anyone who wants to use it as a way to cope.

Art Cure provides an insightful outlook on the healing benefits of all forms of art. This book is well written and even better researched. I enjoyed reading the anecdotal stories sprinkled in and felt the tone was light and not too daunting as some informational texts can be.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the invite to preview this story.

Nobody really has to convince me of the importance of the arts. Our family runs a free community arts center out of a rescued 125 year old church we bought in 2020 and stocked with donated art supplies, musical instruments, sewing machines, costumes, yarn, games, craft materials and more. Our whole family is involved with the arts from acting to songwriting to watercolor and poetry, and we know what it’s like to love the arts but not be able to afford the art experiences you want to take part in.

And still, this book left me much more convinced of the importance of art than I was to begin with.

Fancourt tells why the arts are so important –– not just for our enjoyment but truly for our mental and physical health. She uses true stories of people whose lives and health were saved by their introductions to art, along with countless studies and other real life examples. We learn about hospitals whose patients need less pain medication and recover from surgery faster when music and art are incorporated in their environments, children who are calmed before surgery by art experiences, and much more. She argues that rather than saying that art has countless benefits (which it does), we should be saying that not having access to art is linked to depression, illness, greater pain and even shorter lives.

The end has a prescription of sorts for how to include art in your regular practices the same way you prioritize exercise or good nutrition. Over a third of the book is references at the end, which I appreciate for scientific rigor but found a little frustrating because the book ended when I thought I was only 60% done. I’m not sure there’s any workaround for that but I was hoping for more inspiration on how to incorporate art in all different forms and all different ways into life. Even with all the art opportunities in my life, I find myself falling short of my recommended daily allowances, and I would have loved a huge creative menu of ideas to use for inspiration.

That said, this is an important book that every doctor, teacher, parent, politician and person should read. It really will inspire you to incorporate art into the lives of everyone you care about. Well recommended.

I read a digital ARC of this book via netgalley.

Art Cure is jam packed with information about how the arts affect people. Partly narratives of real people and their healing experiences with the arts, partly information I can use in my art therapy practice, and partly textbook with biological data about the brain’s responses to art. Fancourt is very careful to include all forms of art that fall under the guise of performance arts and visual arts. From birth to the old age generally associated with dementia, the arts can play a role in a establishing a healthy, deeper connection with self. Art is known for its healing power and Fancourt delivers straightforward examples and resources. I can honestly say, I’ve never highlighted so many passages in a Netgalley book before. Thank you to Netgalley for giving me access to Art Cure in exchange for an honest review.

An informative and heartfelt book that explains how art and art-making improve our health and mental health. I'll be adopting chapters from it for the general art appreciation courses, I can see it relevant for psychology/sciences as well & as an encouraging read for a general audience of readers that are interested in picking up art as a hobby. There is a prevalent stigma among teenagers and adults that you need to be "good" at art to practice it, or that you need to "understand" it to enjoy it: publications like this can help change this!

As an educator in Arts and Liberal Arts, I also believe that this book can help (us, educators; institutions, etc) better advocate for the institutional, academic, and state support for the arts: especially at the time when many universities and schools limit the number of art programs. It was amazing to read a book written from the scientist's/medical professor's perspective and I'm grateful for Daisy Fancourt allyship to artists and art educators: when our voices are often ignored, hers might sound strong coming from the "sciences" side of the academia!

Note to publisher: I will be posting my review on Amazon and Goodreads closer to publication date.