Natural Causes

Investigative journalist and best-selling author Barbara Ehrenreich holds a PhD in cellular immunology from Rockefeller University and has written 12 books, including the New York Times bestseller Nickel and Dimed.  Here she entwines her experiences in science and medicine with thoughts on trends on fitness, nutrition, mindfulness and the quest for longer life. Ehrenreich’s singular take on medicine and science means she questions doctors’ recommendations and whether they practice evidence-based science, and she doesn’t do preventive screenings. She offers screeds about gym culture, smoking, drinking, religion and spirituality. 

Ehrenreich balances on a tightrope between complaining and offering astute insights – that turn out to be double-edged swords – into American health and fitness processes. At times – as when she seems to regard fitness as ultimately pointless because you’re going to die anyway – you may wonder whether she denies joy for its own sake or is exaggerating her feelings to make an editorial point. As an award-winning journalist, Ehrenreich has in the past brought less ambiguous and more subtle viewpoints to her subjects.