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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.
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.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published June 14, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 212 reviews
July 12, 2022
I started this book with high hopes but was ultimately disappointed. Roisin is clearly a talented writer — her prose is smooth and lovely to read. The subject matter that she addresses and the themes of her book are also important. However, I was put off by the distinctly anti-science sentiments that she espouses throughout the book. These “skepticism as criticism of the scientific establishment” are the exact thoughts that lead to anti-vaccination proponents and climate change deniers, two movements that unfortunately will carry consequences for people of color, the very population that she is trying to advocate for. Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised. She starts the very beginning of the book off by referring to her astrological sign, killing off any credibility I feel she had. A pity, because the topic of this book is so incredibly relevant.
September 14, 2022
Who is this book for? Not for people who want to read about wellness...specifically, the wellness-industrial complex (i.e. corporations do not care if you're healthy, they just want to sell workout programs, supplements, and apparel). This book was 95% a memoir about the author's traumatic past dealing with childhood abuse. I feel for her, but that's not the book I thought I was going to be reading.
January 4, 2023
I think my biggest hang up with this book is the misleading marketing. It advertises itself as a “journalistic investigation” that explores “the way in which the progressive health industry has appropriated and commodified global healing traditions” and “how wellness culture has become a luxury good built on the wisdom of Black, brown, and Indigenous people--while ignoring and excluding them.” Sounds like a compelling and informative piece of nonfiction, right? And technically it is, but if I were doing the marketing for this this publication I would also disclose that this book is almost entirely a memoir.
Also, to be fair the full quote from the blurb is “part memoir, part journalistic investigation” and I think a partial memoir is warranted here. I commend Fariha Róisín for being so vulnerable and detailing her abusive childhood to provide a context of why she started on her wellness journey. However, the book never seems to move on from the author’s foreword. I hate the overuse of the term “trauma dumping”, but there were times in this book where I felt like I was locked in a room with the author and her therapist against my will. I also couldn’t help but feel that most of the “journalistic investigating” was moreso personal research leftover from Róisín “doing the work” during her recovery as opposed to actually looking into the wellness-industrial complex.
That being said, I can’t entirely place blame on the author. This entire publication just feels mismanaged. I really believe that a good editor and marketing team would have made a world of difference here. I think I’m so critical of this book because I couldn’t stop thinking of what could have been. Róisín is a talented writer with a radical worldview, she just needs a third party to intervene with more direction and focus.
Also, to be fair the full quote from the blurb is “part memoir, part journalistic investigation” and I think a partial memoir is warranted here. I commend Fariha Róisín for being so vulnerable and detailing her abusive childhood to provide a context of why she started on her wellness journey. However, the book never seems to move on from the author’s foreword. I hate the overuse of the term “trauma dumping”, but there were times in this book where I felt like I was locked in a room with the author and her therapist against my will. I also couldn’t help but feel that most of the “journalistic investigating” was moreso personal research leftover from Róisín “doing the work” during her recovery as opposed to actually looking into the wellness-industrial complex.
That being said, I can’t entirely place blame on the author. This entire publication just feels mismanaged. I really believe that a good editor and marketing team would have made a world of difference here. I think I’m so critical of this book because I couldn’t stop thinking of what could have been. Róisín is a talented writer with a radical worldview, she just needs a third party to intervene with more direction and focus.
December 24, 2022
“Trauma isn’t always the stored knowledge of what has been done to you. Sometimes trauma is about what you’ve done - the mistakes you or your ancestors have made. The grave things that they were incapable of metabolizing that now sit in your body.”
I am so grateful for this book. A must read for anyone who is:
Healing
Wanting to be trauma-informed
In any form of leadership
I am so grateful for this book. A must read for anyone who is:
Healing
Wanting to be trauma-informed
In any form of leadership
December 16, 2022
There is deep wisdom in this book, but it lacks a central thesis. Definitely not the analysis of wellness culture I was expecting. Much more of a reflective memoir, containing a lot of childhood trauma processing.
November 15, 2022
i was hoping this book would spend more time confronting how toxic our wellness culture is, and i do feel that the insights about appropriation and inequality in wellness culture were profound. however, it was more of a memoir about how painful the author’s personal life has been. maybe i’m a poisoned cynic, but this book was full of red flags for me. using the term “hysteria” repeatedly to describe mentally ill women, promoting pseudo-scientific claims, constantly referencing her ~healing~ ayahuasca retreats (a perfect example of co-opting a sacred ritual of indigenous people)??? it was basically the exact opposite of what i was expecting and a lot of it gave me the ick, but the writing is often gorgeous and the indictment of a wellness culture co-opted by capitalism is enlightening
June 22, 2022
Fariha Roisin put so much of their life, heart and soul into this book. I don’t have words enough to convey my appreciation of the radical vulnerability in the service of collective healing. The book is moving, heavy at times, provocative, and potentially transformative.
This is a deeply vulnerable book. The author exposes layers and layers of lived understanding of trauma, abuse and societal unwellness. She juxtaposes her own insights with detailed research. It makes for a thought provoking and emotive read.
At times, it is a heavy and triggering read. Were there content warnings?
If readers have the bandwidth to stick with it, this book is so very timely, worthwhile and rewarding.
It’s potentially transformative.
This is a deeply vulnerable book. The author exposes layers and layers of lived understanding of trauma, abuse and societal unwellness. She juxtaposes her own insights with detailed research. It makes for a thought provoking and emotive read.
At times, it is a heavy and triggering read. Were there content warnings?
If readers have the bandwidth to stick with it, this book is so very timely, worthwhile and rewarding.
It’s potentially transformative.
January 27, 2023
Really wanted to like this despite how poorly portrayed the marketing for this book was, but I'm disappointed that this wasn't the book I thought it would be. It's mostly a memoir rather than an analysis of the wellness industry. One of the main arguments was that wellness frequently takes another culture's practice out of context. But at worst, I kept seeing that paralleled with the author's cobbled together quotes from other works masquerading as an argument. I had a frustrating time with this because I agreed with the author's premise and her occasionally extremely poignant points, but the execution and analysis was lacking.
February 10, 2022
This is a heavy book to digest, as it is meant to be. When you have a lot of privilege, it is difficult to contend with the true realities that afford you that privilege. The truth is that right now, wellness is most certainly not for everyone. Fariha Roisin conveys this devastatingly to her readers through personal stories and her own research. Pick this book up with an open heart and be ready to do some soul searching.
Thank you to the author, Harper Wave, and NetGalley for access to this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the author, Harper Wave, and NetGalley for access to this free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
July 31, 2022
I have such deep reverence and respect for this author's lived experience, healing journey, research, and intellect. Their wisdom and heart are evident. That said, I did find this particular work a bit rambling and repetitive. Now with THAT said, I completely believe in their mission with the book and their salient points about the colonization of healing practices, our planet.
February 7, 2023
I will do a through review later but basically the title of this book is very misleading and wasn’t what I was looking for!
This book perfectly demonstrates my issue with astrology as well as other New Age concepts like the law of attraction. If these are tools that help you do self-reflection, cool! But the author takes it too far when she claims that all the traumatic experiences we went through can be explained through your birth chart and that said trauma was MEANT TO HAPPEN AS A LESSON. I’m sorry but I will never stop calling out the toxicity of this message! Sometimes traumatic shit happens and most of the time it’s because another human being actively chose to harm us, and there’s no deeper meaning to it. There’s also a weird anti-science sentiment going on, at one point she refers to vaccines as “jabs” although I’m pretty sure she was referencing anti-vaxxers but it still rubbed me the wrong way given the anti-science sentiment I felt. We need to take a look at the scientific establishment and reflect on how patriarchy and white supremacy is embedded in these institutions and find ways to rectify that of course, but we should not do away with these institutions completely.
Also, there’s a weird anti-atheist sentiment to it? The funny thing is the author and I have the same views; I am an atheist but I consider myself a humanist. I would say what others attribute to God or the supernatural, I attribute to ourselves as human beings. There is magic in human beings, and we see that all the time through artwork and collective action, etc. Acknowledging the magic inside of us, in my opinion, doesn’t necessitate any external supernatural influence.
On the bright side, there were some good points she made especially regarding the appropriation of Eastern religious customs and environmental racism.
This book perfectly demonstrates my issue with astrology as well as other New Age concepts like the law of attraction. If these are tools that help you do self-reflection, cool! But the author takes it too far when she claims that all the traumatic experiences we went through can be explained through your birth chart and that said trauma was MEANT TO HAPPEN AS A LESSON. I’m sorry but I will never stop calling out the toxicity of this message! Sometimes traumatic shit happens and most of the time it’s because another human being actively chose to harm us, and there’s no deeper meaning to it. There’s also a weird anti-science sentiment going on, at one point she refers to vaccines as “jabs” although I’m pretty sure she was referencing anti-vaxxers but it still rubbed me the wrong way given the anti-science sentiment I felt. We need to take a look at the scientific establishment and reflect on how patriarchy and white supremacy is embedded in these institutions and find ways to rectify that of course, but we should not do away with these institutions completely.
Also, there’s a weird anti-atheist sentiment to it? The funny thing is the author and I have the same views; I am an atheist but I consider myself a humanist. I would say what others attribute to God or the supernatural, I attribute to ourselves as human beings. There is magic in human beings, and we see that all the time through artwork and collective action, etc. Acknowledging the magic inside of us, in my opinion, doesn’t necessitate any external supernatural influence.
On the bright side, there were some good points she made especially regarding the appropriation of Eastern religious customs and environmental racism.
Read
December 20, 2022DNFed. It advertises itself as a look into wellness culture but served as more of a memoir, and a pretty heavy one. The author has some provoking thoughts but the provoking thoughts are mingled with pseudoscience and no strong thesis. Just not what I was looking for at the moment. May end up picking up another time.
January 24, 2023
I was honestly a little bit skeptical starting this book because of some of the reviews I had read, but this book really surprised me (in a good way). It was a memoir of Fariha’s own journey to healing, intertwined seamlessly with well-researched theory on the importance of holistic wellness and healing. Some of the critiques of this book are that it is anti-science, but I don’t think that is Fariha’s intention or point. I interpreted her point to be that wellness cannot be one dimensional or linear. Wellness has to be made equitable for all and it has to be looked at in a holistic sense. She emphasizes the importance of mind-body connection in wellness and healing. She emphasized the importance of eroticism and divine connection in wellness and healing. She also emphasizes the importance of our connection with nature and the earth, and taking into account the ancient practices and methods of our ancestors, lineage, and lands. I don’t think Fariha is saying we should be anti-science or western medicine as a whole. I think she is just saying that we cannot ignore or discredit the practices of the pre-colonial world, and we cannot ignore the fact that western medicine is built on a colonial and capitalist foundation that makes in inherently not for everyone; which brings me to her main point: who is wellness for? “Wellness is not for anyone if it is not for everyone.” If anything I think I learned a lot about myself while reading this and she put into words many of the things I think we all feel sometimes. Overall, I think this was a great read and I think it’s important to go into it with an open mind and an understanding that it’s okay to not understand everything in this universe.
August 21, 2022
The low rating on this book is a travesty.
This isn't an easy ready per se, but I did find it approachable. Roisin blends her personal story with examination on a larger scale. Her vulnerability is inspiring; inviting you into your own vulnerability as we all tentatively approach a better, more caring world.
Roisin's story is hard to hear, and while not overly graphic, she is frank about the abuse she endured (physical, emotional, sexual) and doesn't shy away from the realities of other suffering people. She also discusses self harm, and there are a few detailed accounts of it In short: be gentle and patient with yourself while reading.
I appreciate Roisin's insights into how things are all interconnected, and I particularly appreciated how thorough she is in connecting you to other sources for further exploration. Pulling in so many supporting works really highlighted for me the gravity and nature of the work. My two small critiques would be that 1) I don't know that the description of the book really preps you for the actual format. I was expecting a more systematic review of common/popular/big features of the Wellness Industrial Complex through the four sections, and this wasn't really that. I absolutely loved what it is actually, but I was a little confused as I settled in. 2) Not often, but occasionally, I thought the narrative got a little meander-y. Sometimes it felt like we were getting off track. It wasn't too bad, but it happened here and there.
I think this is a super worth while book for anyone interested in decolonization, examining capitalism/colonialism, and unraveling the impact of the West.
This isn't an easy ready per se, but I did find it approachable. Roisin blends her personal story with examination on a larger scale. Her vulnerability is inspiring; inviting you into your own vulnerability as we all tentatively approach a better, more caring world.
Roisin's story is hard to hear, and while not overly graphic, she is frank about the abuse she endured (physical, emotional, sexual) and doesn't shy away from the realities of other suffering people. She also discusses self harm, and there are a few detailed accounts of it In short: be gentle and patient with yourself while reading.
I appreciate Roisin's insights into how things are all interconnected, and I particularly appreciated how thorough she is in connecting you to other sources for further exploration. Pulling in so many supporting works really highlighted for me the gravity and nature of the work. My two small critiques would be that 1) I don't know that the description of the book really preps you for the actual format. I was expecting a more systematic review of common/popular/big features of the Wellness Industrial Complex through the four sections, and this wasn't really that. I absolutely loved what it is actually, but I was a little confused as I settled in. 2) Not often, but occasionally, I thought the narrative got a little meander-y. Sometimes it felt like we were getting off track. It wasn't too bad, but it happened here and there.
I think this is a super worth while book for anyone interested in decolonization, examining capitalism/colonialism, and unraveling the impact of the West.
December 16, 2022
I can't imagine the pain the author has grew with and, although my experience is not close to relatable, I can feel the trauma in her words. I also very much believe and support her mission in aknowledging that the spread of the wellness industry actually enforces class and racial privileges while masked as genuine worry for society and empowerment. Actually, this debate is what attracted me to this book. However, imo the mission was not accomplished. I felt like the author only surpassed interesting thoughts on this a few times, with no logical sequence. The book is much more an auto-biography and a heavy personal vent - which is very respectable, just not what I was personally expecting when I purchased the book.
July 9, 2022
I wanted to like this so much but after page 75 I threw in the towel. It is a lot to take in, and while it definitely has a 'check your privileges' tone every step of the way that gives really good thoughts to practices in today's society I had a very hard time continuing. I think if I had a chance to read this over time - I could really get into it. Reading a chapter every week or something but this was a library book and I had to give it back.
November 7, 2022
I have never been so disappointed by a book I was so looking forward to reading.
The subtitle offers an insightful prose on the commercialisation of various traditional and cultural wellness practices.
What this book actually is, is a memoir about the authors childhood abuse. Not what I paid £20 for.
The subtitle offers an insightful prose on the commercialisation of various traditional and cultural wellness practices.
What this book actually is, is a memoir about the authors childhood abuse. Not what I paid £20 for.
July 4, 2022
DNF- found it difficult to get past some of the inflammatory language and attribution of abuse to mental illness. i’ve heard other discussions in this text are productive. maybe i will revisit later. for now it is not worth continuing for me.
November 15, 2022
This was so chaotic and I’m not entirely sure what I just read.
January 14, 2023
Heavily memoir about the author's abusive childhood. Very mismarketed/mistitled/mis-summarized.
September 4, 2022
This text grounded me when I needed it. It gave me clarity in recognizing in having a mother wound, what it means, and how it shows up, which was comforting. It would make sense, for most people with a mother wound or in need of healing or spiritual connection that we turn to plant medicine and Mother Earth, which I share. It also reminded me of Akwaeke Emezi’s Dear Senthuran. I related to that and I was like “Oh!” that’s why I feel this way. Through her spiritual and healing journey she confronts mind, body, spirit. This text is heavily researched and multidisciplinary. If you’re interested in post colonial studies, decolonization, South Asian history, abolition, disability rights, and transformative justice. It introduced other researchers in these fields and their work. We need a whole reimagining of what are lives might look without capitalism, caring for ourselves and communities holistically, tending to the earth, and applying the wisdom of indigenous communities throughout the world. Roisin is passionate and hopeful in creating a different future. There’s an alternate choice. It’s catching up to us. It requires a revolutionary way of being and living. There’s many researchers who have studied, warned, and offer a different way. Most importantly, Roisin connects colonization (white power structures and culture to say it lightly) to our way of life now to the exploitation of workers, the extraction of earth, our indifference, and our inhumanity for others peoples lives especially in the global south. It reminded me of why I studied history.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2023
So disappointing. I was so excited by the premise and was anticipating it to be engaging in way similar to the Yoga is Dead podcast. Alas, no.
Instead of a deep dive into targeted critiques of the wellness industry from a coherent and culturally anchored point of view, it alternates between memoir and cherry-picked quotes from (mostly) better thinkers loosely connected by short bits of the author's own prose. She essentially is decontextualizing convenient quotes from their source material in support of her meandering arguments in a way that is ironic and also sometimes misleading. (But her understanding of what science is seems really tenuous so it's possible that it's less misleading than it is just her being confused. IDK)
At times it honestly feels like a first draft that no one edited. I say this because this is how I draft papers. But at a certain point I was telling the book that it needs to paraphrase and not just (block) quote. It is not generally a good sign when I start talking back to books about editing choices.
Also for a book that's supposedly at least nominally coming from a disability perspective, the sanism and dominance of the medical model were both... grim. And at times sounded like something you would hear from a "wellness" MLM grifter.
The book is strongest when it functions as a memoir. It's where the author has the most to say, where her voice is clearest and where her actual expertise is. If her editor had been paying attention, they should have told her to jettison the rest and be true to her strengths.
Instead of a deep dive into targeted critiques of the wellness industry from a coherent and culturally anchored point of view, it alternates between memoir and cherry-picked quotes from (mostly) better thinkers loosely connected by short bits of the author's own prose. She essentially is decontextualizing convenient quotes from their source material in support of her meandering arguments in a way that is ironic and also sometimes misleading. (But her understanding of what science is seems really tenuous so it's possible that it's less misleading than it is just her being confused. IDK)
At times it honestly feels like a first draft that no one edited. I say this because this is how I draft papers. But at a certain point I was telling the book that it needs to paraphrase and not just (block) quote. It is not generally a good sign when I start talking back to books about editing choices.
Also for a book that's supposedly at least nominally coming from a disability perspective, the sanism and dominance of the medical model were both... grim. And at times sounded like something you would hear from a "wellness" MLM grifter.
The book is strongest when it functions as a memoir. It's where the author has the most to say, where her voice is clearest and where her actual expertise is. If her editor had been paying attention, they should have told her to jettison the rest and be true to her strengths.
July 16, 2023
like others wrote, this book is more of a trauma memoir than a critique or analysis of wellness culture, and in it, Roisin locates their own experiences within existing literature on trauma and post traumatic stress rather than critiquing the ways that trauma is conceptualized in the Global North (eg hyper individualized, often located in the mother or parent, focused on recovery, etc). i resonated with some of it, a lot of it felt repetitive, some things were contradictory without much explanation (eg opening with recognizing that forgiveness is not always helpful or necessary - which I appreciated - and then closing by emphasizing the value of forgiveness without sharing much about how they got there or how they hold both), and mostly generalizing the author’s own personal experiences and offering a partial analysis that left me wanting more.
July 13, 2022
An analysis of wellness and who it’s for while examining traditional practices and healing modalities that have been colonized and commercialized. The book was very academic and focused mostly on the authors life as a narrative of trauma and healing.
September 10, 2022
I was really excited to read this and I really wanted to love it, but it just wasn't for me. I was expecting based on the title and the synopsis a look at the true history of co-opted wellness practices and a critical look at said co-option. That wasn't really what this was, though. I do think Roisin makes a number of good and interesting points, and I commend her on her vulnerability and openness about her own trauma, but I really wasn't expecting that to be the main thrust of the book when I picked it up. I also am not really into mysticism, which probably also made this a less enjoyable read for me. Roisin does have a lovely way with words, so if you're a fan of heavy memoirs, you should give it a try.
December 16, 2023
I am so thankful to finally be done reading this book.
I was so excited to purchase this and crack it open, but I was very quickly disappointed. The subject matter of the book and the topics you suspect Róisín to explore are so important and need to be talked about more. But unfortunately, this is just written so awfully. I felt like I was reading through a high school research paper for the majority of this. Unfinished thoughts. Back to back quotes without elaboration. The MULTIPLE WIKIPEDIA CITATIONS.
Róisín uses a lot of pages to do what feels like trauma dump. I think this personal reflection and insight could have worked really well, but it didn’t work well in this case.
This could have been a very powerful book, but it just wasn’t.
I was so excited to purchase this and crack it open, but I was very quickly disappointed. The subject matter of the book and the topics you suspect Róisín to explore are so important and need to be talked about more. But unfortunately, this is just written so awfully. I felt like I was reading through a high school research paper for the majority of this. Unfinished thoughts. Back to back quotes without elaboration. The MULTIPLE WIKIPEDIA CITATIONS.
Róisín uses a lot of pages to do what feels like trauma dump. I think this personal reflection and insight could have worked really well, but it didn’t work well in this case.
This could have been a very powerful book, but it just wasn’t.
January 15, 2024
I cannot in good faith recommend. Though I appreciated the author's message, ultimately, I struggled with the format, the sea of quotes and excerpts, and relating it back to the section's concept. Tbh it whooped my ass and was frustrating; I did feel my eyes glaze over while trying to find the connecting point. Maybe adderall would've helped me focus.
I started and stopped this several times, in part because I was adjusting to the memoir-style examination. I had an expectation of what the book would be like and I had to pivot, which was fine. I'd definitely try novels or poetry by them, but I wanted [more concise] investigative journalism from the title & byline I guess
I started and stopped this several times, in part because I was adjusting to the memoir-style examination. I had an expectation of what the book would be like and I had to pivot, which was fine. I'd definitely try novels or poetry by them, but I wanted [more concise] investigative journalism from the title & byline I guess
March 24, 2023
deeply personal look at healing from trauma and all the aspects of a wholistic approach to wellness. well written and engaging..audiobook read by the author was fantastic!
looked at everything with an anti-colonial and anti-capitalist lens and really shifted my perspective on how i engage with wellness, non-western healing modalities, and the link between healing the body mind and the land.
since i’m on my own “healing journey” this year i really needed this book and the insight it provided into authentically working towards wellness
looked at everything with an anti-colonial and anti-capitalist lens and really shifted my perspective on how i engage with wellness, non-western healing modalities, and the link between healing the body mind and the land.
since i’m on my own “healing journey” this year i really needed this book and the insight it provided into authentically working towards wellness
June 21, 2022
Poignant and important but comes across a little acrimonious.
October 2, 2023
this book changed my life. not only is it a memoir, it's a how-to manual for returning to the land, finding self-love and embodiment, and embracing a love for each other amid the apocalyptic conditions of late capitalism.
i appreciated roisin's serious use of astrology to understand herself and others. it's part of her larger efforts to legitimize that and other forms of knowledge with ancient roots (such as holistic medicine, acupuncture, TCM, and environmental stewardship) that have been traditionally feminized and therefore discarded under patriarchy and capitalism. as i have been discovering the power of naturopathic medicine and continuing to trust my intuition in the form of tarot reading this validation was extremely powerful for me personally.
this book acted as a beginner's reader for books on environmentalism, health, emotionality, capitalism, tarot, psychology/psychoanalysis, indigenous studies, south asian studies, and more. i took a long list of books from the citations and i can't wait to read more.
some things about the writing style i didn't like: phrasing statements in the form of questions, repeating key conclusions, and using the royal "we" to refer to... all of humanity? still gets 5 stars though.
i appreciated roisin's serious use of astrology to understand herself and others. it's part of her larger efforts to legitimize that and other forms of knowledge with ancient roots (such as holistic medicine, acupuncture, TCM, and environmental stewardship) that have been traditionally feminized and therefore discarded under patriarchy and capitalism. as i have been discovering the power of naturopathic medicine and continuing to trust my intuition in the form of tarot reading this validation was extremely powerful for me personally.
this book acted as a beginner's reader for books on environmentalism, health, emotionality, capitalism, tarot, psychology/psychoanalysis, indigenous studies, south asian studies, and more. i took a long list of books from the citations and i can't wait to read more.
some things about the writing style i didn't like: phrasing statements in the form of questions, repeating key conclusions, and using the royal "we" to refer to... all of humanity? still gets 5 stars though.
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