Who Is Wellness For? An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind
The multi-disciplinary artist and author of Like a Bird and How to Cure a Ghost explores the commodification and appropriation of wellness through the lens of social justice, providing resources to help anyone participate in self-care, regardless of race, identity, socioeconomic status or able-bodiedness. Growing up in Australia, Fariha Róisín, a Bangladeshi Muslim, struggled to fit in. In attempts to assimilate, she distanced herself from her South Asian heritage and identity. Years later, living in the United States, she realized that the customs, practices, and even food of her native culture that had once made her different--everything from ashwagandha to prayer--were now being homogenized and marketed for good health, often at a premium by white people to white people. In this thought-provoking book, part memoir, part journalistic investigation, the acclaimed writer and poet explores the way in which the progressive health industry has appropriated and commodified global healing traditions. She reveals how wellness culture has become a luxury good built on the wisdom of Black, brown, and Indigenous people--while ignoring and excluding them. Who Is Wellness For? is divided into four sections, beginning with The Mind, in which Fariha examines the art of meditation and the importance of intuition. In part two, The Body, she investigates the physiology of trauma, detailing her own journey with fatphobia and gender dysmorphia, as well as her own chronic illness. In part three, Self-Care, she argues against the self-care industrial complex but cautious us against abandoning care completely and offers practical advice. She ends with Justice, arguing that if we truly want to be well, we must be invested in everyone's well being and shift toward nurturance culture. Deeply intimate and revelatory, Who Is Wellness For? forces us to confront the imbalance in health and healing and carves a path towards self-care that is inclusionary for all.
Reviews
Julia Rivera@jriver23
Stephanie Ridiculous@stephanieridiculous
Jo Ottmann@liminalreads
Celestine Taevs-Nakaya@celestine
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Laura Mei@thelibrariansnook
Emma Bose@emmashanti
Duality Diva@dualitydiva
kate@katelucia
Highlights
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 275
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 261
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 215
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 134
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 127
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 94
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 71
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 55
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 37
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 23
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Page 16
Laura Mei@thelibrariansnook
Page 51
Laura Mei@thelibrariansnook
Page 40
Laura Mei@thelibrariansnook
Page 27
Laura Mei@thelibrariansnook
Page 1