Natural causes : an epidemic of wellness, the certainty of dying, and killing ourselves to live longer / Barbara Ehrenreich.
2018
HQ1073 .E47 2018 (Mapit)
Available at General Collection
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Details
Title
Natural causes : an epidemic of wellness, the certainty of dying, and killing ourselves to live longer / Barbara Ehrenreich.
Author
Ehrenreich, Barbara, author.
Edition
First edition.
ISBN
9781455535910 (hardcover)
1455535915 (hardcover)
9781538730928 (electronic book)
1538730928 (electronic book)
9781538747117
1538747111
1455535915 (hardcover)
9781538730928 (electronic book)
1538730928 (electronic book)
9781538747117
1538747111
Published
New York : Twelve, 2018.
Language
English
Description
xv, 234 pages ; 22 cm
Call Number
HQ1073 .E47 2018
Dewey Decimal Classification
612.68
306.9
306.9
Summary
Barbara Ehrenreich explores how we are killing ourselves to live longer, not better. She describes how we over-prepare and worry way too much about what is inevitable. One by one, Ehrenreich topples the shibboleths that guide our attempts to live a long, healthy life, from the importance of preventive medical screenings to the concepts of wellness and mindfulness, from dietary fads to fitness culture. We tend to believe we have agency over our bodies, our minds, and even over the manner of our deaths. But the latest science shows that the microscopic subunits of our bodies make their own "decisions," and not always in our favor. We may buy expensive anti-aging products or cosmetic surgery, get preventive screenings and eat more kale, or throw ourselves into meditation and spirituality. But all these things offer only the illusion of control. How to live well, even joyously, while accepting our mortality -- that is the philosophical challenge of this book.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-234).
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Table of Contents
Midlife revolt
Rituals of humiliation
The veneer of science
Crushing the body
The madness of mindfulness
Death in social context
The war between conflict and harmony
Cellular treason
Tiny minds
"Successful aging"
The invention of the self
Killing the self, rejoicing in a living world.
Rituals of humiliation
The veneer of science
Crushing the body
The madness of mindfulness
Death in social context
The war between conflict and harmony
Cellular treason
Tiny minds
"Successful aging"
The invention of the self
Killing the self, rejoicing in a living world.