Skeptical of today’s “medicalized life,” Ehrenreich shows that few of the regular preventive-care screenings, the mindfulness practices, or the dietary fads promoted as solutions to aging will in fact do much to extend either the quality or the length of life. Drawing on her doctorate in cellular immunology, Ehrenreich explains the biological realities of mortality; against the cells’ natural tendency to break down, medications, yoga, and kale are so much magical thinking. Arguing as passionately as she did in her classic Nickel and Dimed, Ehrenreich shows that to truly take control of our bodies and minds, we must acknowledge their limitations. In doing so, we can free ourselves of society’s obsession with wellness and longevity and relax into a more philosophical acceptance of the inevitable.
