In Defense of Sunlight by Rowan Jacobsen

In Defense of Sunlight
by Rowan Jacobsen

ISBN-13: 9780593197882
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Scribner
Released: June 16, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
A quiet revolution is transforming our understanding of sunlight’s effects on human health. For decades, a “zero-sun” policy has characterized our approach to sun protection, advising us to stay out of the sun whenever possible and apply sunscreen daily to any skin that might be exposed, rain or shine, summer or winter, indoors or out. But recent studies have proved that this policy is thoroughly mistaken and that this prolific misunderstanding is causing us to miss out on many of the health benefits of sun exposure.

In this incisive work, acclaimed journalist Rowan Jacobsen presents the growing case for the importance of modest sun exposure for our health and well-being. Aided by the most up-to-date studies on the effects of sunlight on human health, Jacobsen presents a much-needed, lucid assessment of not only what the sun can do for us, but how a lack of sun could actively be harming us.

In Defense of Sunlight sounds the call on what researchers have been sure of for years, and what health care providers and media outlets have been slow to take that sunlight is one of the simplest, and most equitable, treatments for a variety of health issues, from diabetes to dementia to multiple sclerosis. Laying out the new science of sunlight in a straightforward and responsible manner for mainstream readers, this book is an eye-opening story of scientific discovery, outlining not only best practices for sun exposure, but the story of how current recommendations became misguided, how a few inquisitive scientists glimpsed the truth and deciphered the mechanisms responsible, and how everyone can safely incorporate this new knowledge into their daily lives. It also exposes the implicit injustice underlying current approaches, which benefit the whitest people on earth (who are the most susceptible to skin cancer) at the expense of those with darker skin (who suffer extremely low rates of skin cancer and have the most to gain from sun exposure).

A call for a return to common sense in our relationship with our local star, In Defense of Sunlight offers its own seven words of Get sun. Not too much. Go outside.


My Review:
In Defense of Sunlight discussed scientific studies on the benefits and dangers of sunlight to human health using a historical framework. In the 1800s, scientists realized that lack of sunlight in badly polluted cities was causing rickets in children. Doctors started treating diseases like tuberculosis with sunlight, and the recommendations moved toward nude sunbathing for your health. Scientists discovered vitamin D. So, of course, people made vitamin D pills and UV lamps as health products but discovered neither quite lived up to hopes (though a narrow wavelength UV light can be used to treat multiple sclerosis!).

The author covered the skin cancer scare that lead to the current recommendations as well as the history of sunscreen, its variable effectiveness at blocking UV, and research into if it really does stop skin cancer. He also showed why the actual science is much more nuanced than 'everyone should always wear sunscreen.' You can get many health benefits from the sun while most sun-exposure cancers won't kill you, so informed sun exposure (especially for darker-skinned people) is desirable. After covering recent scientific studies on why getting sun on your skin provides various health benefits, he covered the latest science-based recommendations for how much sun your skin type should get and when is the best times to get it.

Though there is a lot of good scientific information in this book (thank you!), it's an easy read and the science is explained in terms a high schooler could understand. I knew I enjoyed the joint-deep warmth of the sun, and now I better understand why I'm drawn to sun exposure, especially in the morning. It helps your body in a multitude of ways. Overall, I'd highly recommend this informative and interesting book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Organ Speak by Giulia Enders

Organ Speak
by Giulia Enders

ISBN-13: 9780063494015
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: HarperOne
Released: April 28, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In Organ Speak, German physician Giulia Enders guides us through our inner landscape, introducing us to the unseen heroes of our bodies. She shows how, for thousands of years, our organs have responded to challenges with astonishing intelligence - and that they have much to teach. What, for example, can the immune system tell us about our need to feel safe? How does the process of wound-healing mirror emotional recovery? What do we truly need to thrive?

With vivid stories and the latest science, this book not only opens our eyes to the wonders within but inspires us to approach our bodies with greater mindfulness and trust.


My Review:
Organ Speak is a somewhat philosophical look at the human lungs, immune system, skin, muscles, and brain, ending with the author talking directly to the brain. The author is German. The book has been translated and reads pretty smoothly. The author used a lot of exclamation marks! Sometimes every few sentences! I suppose because she's very astonished, enthusiastic, or surprised by how the organs work.

She didn't get technically detailed but instead described the organs and how they work by using analogies and everyday imagery. Sometimes this got a little confusing for me as I know the actual terms and processes in many cases and it wasn't always immediately clear what she meant to describe. There was some good information worked into the storytelling, but I didn't learn a lot that was new. I think the target audience was a person who knows little about how their organs work but would be bored by a more technically precise explanation.

Each chapter focused on one organ and started with a personal story about a person that the organ reminded the author of followed by an evolution-based origin story of the organ. After that, we're given a series of subtopics describing different aspects of the organ.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy by Ari Whitten, MS

The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy: Revised and Updated
by Ari Whitten, MS

ISBN-13: 9780593736555
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Rodale Books
Released: January 13, 2026

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
REVISED AND UPDATED SECOND EDITION • Harness the power of red light therapy to achieve younger-looking skin, accelerate healing, boost energy levels, support fat loss, amplify the benefits of exercise, and more! This comprehensive guide is updated with the latest research and insights from leading scientists.

Light has the power to heal your body and optimize your health. There are over six thousand peer-reviewed scientific studies showing the proven health benefits of red and near-infrared light therapy, also known as photobiomodulation (the science of using light to modulate biology). In The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy, Ari Whitten, MS, cuts through all of the confusion around this complex topic. He explores the science behind this therapy and reveals how to harness its power to improve your health, your body, and your life.

The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy provides critical information on how to achieve the best results—determining the proper dose for every type of treatment, avoiding common mistakes that can undermine your results, and identifying devices that are worth buying while steering clear of those that are underpowered, overpriced, or ineffective.


My Review:
The Ultimate Guide to Red Light Therapy explains the science behind using red and infrared light for a wide variety of health benefits and how to select a device suited to your end purpose (more surface-level, skin benefits or deeper, like helping joints or muscles). I've previously read the first edition of this book, and this second edition included a lot more information, especially up-to-date, detailed information on the latest scientific research. These sections get technical. However, the book is designed so you can jump over sections that don't interest you. This also means that a lot of information was repeated (in more detail in some places and less detail in others). I ended up skimming sections that got repetitive. Overall, though, this is a good resource if you're interested in using red light therapy, especially in optimizing your red light therapy results. The author didn't specifically recommend very many devices in the book as he felt the market was changing so quickly. He provided a link to go to for the latest recommendations.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Life Machines by Daria Mochly-Rosen; Emanuel Rosen

The Life Machines
by Daria Mochly-Rosen; Emanuel Rosen

ISBN-13: 9781668057988
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Simon Element
Released: October 14, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Improve your lifelong health and well-being by understanding what mitochondria really do for you, and how through small lifestyle changes, these awe-inspiring powerhouses can better your life.

Meet your mitochondria—tiny but mighty organelles that are the true engines of life. These organelles are popularly known as the “powerhouses of the cell,” but new research shows that the mitochondria do more than just convert food into energy—they’re orchestrators of critical functions that keep you healthy and alive.

This groundbreaking book by a leading scientist from Stanford University School of Medicine and her husband, a bestselling author, is the first to provide a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand look at mitochondria and their vital role in human health. It is based on the premise that healthy mitochondria are the key to healthy cells and, thus, to healthy tissues, healthy organs, and a healthy body. The Life Machines provides practical and fundamental principles that you can use to unlock your body’s full potential, including how sleep, stress, exercise, toxins, and diet affect mitochondria function. Dysfunction of these organelles has been linked to diseases and conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, depression, autism spectrum disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, and infertility

Packed with surprising facts, you’ll read about “mitochondrial Eve” who lived in Africa 200,000 years ago; tiny rotors that spin inside your body at fantastic speed; how cancer cells steal mitochondria from immune cells; how mitochondria help shape a baby’s fingers and brain; how mitochondria in your thighs are linked to your cognitive capacity, and more.

Skillfully weaving cutting-edge scientific discoveries, expert testimonies, personal stories, and practical insights, The Life Machines is inspiring and hopeful, empowering you to adopt lifestyle changes that will benefit the smallest—and yet most crucial—parts of the human body.


My Review:
The Life Machines is about the functions that mitochondria perform, things recent research has discovered about mitochondria, and how we can improve (or maintain) good mitochondria function through good sleep, exercise, relaxation, and diet. Also, why we should avoid chronic stress and toxins from the mitochondrial viewpoint. One author, Daria, is a researcher and provided the latest scientific information while Emanuel wrote this information in ways that anyone can understand, explaining things in both scientific terms and then through analogies. It was interesting to learn how much more mitochondria do for you than produce energy and the latest research on how exercise and such affect your mitochondria for good and bad. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting science book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Biology of Trauma by Aimie Apigian

The Biology of Trauma
by Aimie Apigian

ISBN-13: 9781637746233
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: BenBella Books
Released: September 23, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The latest research on how trauma impacts our bodies on a cellular level. Traditional medicine still mistakes subtle signs of trauma for stress, anxiety, or chronic disease—sometimes even retraumatizing patients with outdated and misguided methods. Treatment plans that focus on the mind are only addressing the downstream effects. Likewise, common medical approaches to manage symptoms fail to explore root causes and promote genuine recovery.

If we want to truly heal, we need to understand trauma as something happening inside of the body—not as a singular external event. Gaining clarity on how our bodies hold onto experiences, impacting both our physical health and our ability to maintain healthy behaviors and relationships, is crucial. That’s where Dr. Aimie Apigian’s integrative, revolutionary approach comes in.

With a decade of clinical research, approachable storytelling, and real-life examples, The Biology of Trauma will show ways to identify commonly overlooked trauma symptoms like lethargy, fogginess, and unexplained worry and to recognize how emotional pain stored in the body affects overall health on a cellular level, even for people with functionally successful lives. This information can help prevent trauma-induced changes in your biology that suppress the cycle of recovery. Lern to work with your nervous system to safely heal—without risk of retraumatization.

Perfect for both individuals seeking personal growth and health professionals improving their practice, The Biology of Trauma will help you gain deep insights into your own mind, body, and healing journey.


My Review:
The Biology of Trauma explains how trauma impacts our bodies in a very specific sequence of steps designed to protect us long term. The first half of the book explained these steps in detail, how to recognize where you are in the sequence, and what to do so you don't get stuck in a trauma response. The author went into enough depth in the science (explaining how the body reacts down to a cellular level) for professionals but used analogies and clear examples to help non-medical readers understand the material. I found this information very useful because I can now recognize when I'm hitting the Overwhelm part of the sequence and can change things (also explained in the book) so I don't go into a trauma response, or at least don't linger there. She pulled information together that I've heard before and tied it together in a way that made a lot of sense. I'd recommend this book just for this section.

I was disappointed in the second half, in which the author took some of the cases that she'd used as examples and described how she treated them to help them recover. Unfortunately, her approach is individualized and you basically have to sign up for her courses. For example, she said that these clients went through a series of somatic exercises/movements that are foundational to recovery but didn't describe them beyond a few examples, like one woman needed to do hands-and-knees crawling for weeks. While this section gave an idea of things to check out (nutrition deficiencies, etc.) and what sort of things are done in the author's program, it's not something you're equipped to do on your own by the end of the book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Mastering Chronic Pain by Dr. Sahar Swidan & Dr. Matthew Bennett

Mastering Chronic Pain
by Dr. Sahar Swidan and
Dr. Matthew Bennett

ISBN-13: 9798999258014
Kindle: 380 pages
Publisher: TranscendMed
Released: September 4, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Living with chronic pain can feel endless and exhausting, especially when nothing seems to help. Mastering Chronic Pain offers hope and a new path forward. In this clear and compassionate guide, orthopedic spine surgeon Dr. Matthew Bennett, MD and pain specialist Dr. Sahar Swidan, PharmD introduce an approach grounded in neuroscience and functional medicine. Instead of masking pain, they show how to work with your body’s biological systems to promote real healing.

This book isn’t about “toughing it out” or chasing the next pill. It’s about understanding what’s really happening in your body and learning how to support your recovery. Inside, you’ll discover: Why pain can continue long after an injury has healed; How to retrain your brain and reset your nervous system; The hidden role of hormones, inflammation, and immunity; Non-medication tools that actually support long-term healing; and a step-by-step guide to your personalized Resilience Code.


My Review:
Mastering Chronic Pain is nonfiction explaining how chronic pain is different than acute pain, why your body can get stuck in pain mode, and how to retrain your nervous system to reduce pain and support healing. I've done a lot of research on chronic pain and have heard much of the information in this book before, so I believe it's both accurate science and useful advice on a variety of non-drug methods that can help reduce pain. They gave just enough medical detail on chronic pain to claim it's a science-based book but spent most of their time explaining things in common language that anyone can understand. They used stories of people dealing with injuries that turned into chronic pain and how they learned about and applied the information in that chapter.

However, it seemed like everything was repeated at least three times, sometimes as a copy-paste from an earlier section and other times with additional information. The last part of the book went over the information (what's causing pain) and pain-reduction methods (Why does this work? How do you do it?) in a different format, but it was basically what we'd already gotten in the first part.

While some of the methods could be taught in brief, step-by-step, text-based instructions, methods like Tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) really needed either a chart showing where to tap or you need to go to the Tapping website to see how it's actually done. The authors' instructions in this book weren't detailed enough to do you much good. While I recommend this book, I'd have felt it had more value if less time was spent repeating things and more had been spent detailing the more complex methods.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Nature and the Mind by Marc Berman

Nature and the Mind
by Marc Berman

ISBN-13: 9781668058770
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: S&S/Simon Element
Released: August 12, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Dr. Marc Berman, the pioneering creator of the field of environmental neuroscience, has discovered the surprising connection between mind, body, and environment, with a special emphasis on the natural environment. He has devoted his life to studying it. If you sometimes feel drained, distracted, or depressed, Dr. Berman has identified the elements of a “nature prescription” that can boost your energy, sharpen your focus, change your mood, and improve your mental and physical health. He also reveals how central attention is to all of these functions, and how interactions with nature can restore it. Nature and the Mind is both an introduction to a revolutionary new scientific field and a helpful guide to better living.

In these pages, he draws on his original research and research from others and shares life-altering findings such as:
-Just eleven more trees on your street can decrease cardio-metabolic disorders like stroke, diabetes, and heart disease.
-A short walk in nature can improve attention by almost twenty percent, decrease depression symptoms, and make people feel more spiritual and self-reflective.
-More greenspace around schools and homes is related to better school performance, reduced crime, and improved working memory.
-Many of these effects can be achieved even if you don’t like nature.

With an engaging and approachable style, Dr. Berman offers the nature prescription for physical health, mental health, and social health. The nature prescription includes practical ways to bring the outside indoors and to “naturize” our spaces, no matter where you live. This groundbreaking guide explains why and how nature is good for our brains and bodies and gives us a window into fundamental aspects of our psychology and physiology that can be improved through interactions with nature.


My Review:
Nature and the Mind is part science and part biography. The author liked to talk about his life, like how he got interested in the field of environmental neuroscience and how he applied his findings to his own life. He also told of how the other people that he mentioned got into using nature to positively impact people's mental states. As for the science, he talked about his own research and other related research. He gave details about how the studies were set up, what they found, and how that might be applied to improve people's mood or ability to focus. He's not really into raw nature (as even his nature walks are in man-made and -maintained spaces), so he suggested things like modifying architecture or home spaces to have certain 'natural' elements and what those are. Overall, it was an interesting book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Sound Affects by Julian Treasure

Sound Affects
by Julian Treasure

ISBN-13: 9781538741870
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Released: June 3, 2025

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Every day, the sounds around us affect every aspect of our human experience, and thus fundamentally alter our quality of life, for better or worse. It is only recently that scientists have realised that sounds connect us to the world in ways that are every bit as vivid and evocative as visual landscapes. Hearing is the first sense we develop, and as our primary warning sense it is hardwired into our brains. And yet, in an increasingly noisy and distracted world, most people pay scant attention to the sounds around them, causing them to lose contact with the essential skill of listening.

Sound Affects is about rediscovering the wonder of sound, and understanding how powerfully it affects us, whether we are paying attention or not. It is also a manual for taking back responsibility for the sounds we consume and the sounds we make, so we can enhance our own happiness, effectiveness and well-being.

In the process, the reader will discover
- stars are like bells, ringing with sound black holes make sound 50 octaves below what we can hear
- snapping shrimp may be only 1cm long but they make sound that's as loud as a rock concert
- whales can communicate underwater over hundreds of miles with very low frequency sound that travels five times as fast as sound in air
- individual cells make unique sounds, enabling scientists detect early signs of metastases
- dolphins have names and call each other by them


My Review:
Sound Affects is about sounds and how they affect us and animals. This is a book of numbers, most of them in metric (kph, cm, m). It got mentally exhausting trying to relate the information to how I experience the world: "so, let's see, that would be....well, really fast, probably. Really loud. Something I can't hear." I have a good memory, but I've pretty much forgotten what's in this book (and I just finished) beyond vague impressions.

I enjoyed the first few chapters as they were about human hearing: how it works, how sounds affect us, listening to the sounds around us, and changing our sound environment to be more productive. The author then got into fun facts about animals (birds, land animals, and sea animals): the range of sounds that they can hear or make, why they might make sounds like songs, and how human noises are affecting animal behavior. Some of the 'human sounds are to blame' connections do seem likely, like birds singing louder and earlier in cities to be heard over human noise. Other examples left me thinking, "well, that could be caused by day-and-night artificial light, pesticides, EMFs, etc., and not just sound." The author then got into a rant about how horrible human sounds are to animals and we ought to do something about it. Followed by a chapter about the future of sound, wherein the author seemed pleased with the idea of people living mostly isolated at home surrounded by artificial, modified (and high-definition) sound curated by an AI that can cancel out sounds it thinks you shouldn't hear. I'd prefer to hear live birds, go to a live concert, and so on.

The book went on to talk about the sounds of natural disasters (mostly how loud they are) and outer space. The author frequently referred to evolution, so many of these were speculative stories about pre-historic events like asteroid impacts or the big bang or how we evolved hearing or songs. As I was expecting more about how different sounds affect humans, I started losing interest when told how horrible I am as a human and when the 'fun facts' just stopped being relatable. It wasn't quite what I expected and just stopped being interesting to me. There is a link to a website that has clips of the various sounds referred to in the book, which would have been interesting to listen to when actually reading the book, but I wasn't reading near an internet-connected device.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

PEMF by Bryant A. Meyers

PEMF: The Fifth Element of Health by Bryant A. Meyers

ISBN-13: 978-1452579221
Paperback: 236 pages
Publisher: BalboaPress
Released: August 16, 2013

Source: free trial audio book.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
You probably know that food, water, sunlight, and oxygen are required for life, but there is a fifth element of health that is equally vital: the Earth’s magnetic field and its corresponding PEMFs (pulsed electromagnetic fields). The two main components of Earth’s PEMFs, the Schumann and Geomagnetic frequencies, are so essential that NASA and the Russian space program equip their spacecrafts with devices that replicate these frequencies. These frequencies are absolutely necessary for the human body’s circadian rhythms, energy production, and even keeping the body free from pain. But we are no longer getting enough of these life-nurturing energies of the earth. In this book, we’ll explore the current problem and how the new science of PEMF therapy (a branch of energy medicine), based on modern quantum field theory, is the solution to this problem, with many benefits: eliminate pain and inflammation naturally; get deep, rejuvenating sleep; keep your bones strong and healthy; improve circulation and heart health; and more.


My Review:
PEMF: The Fifth Element of Health is about the five elements needed for health, including earth-based frequencies in the range of 1-30 Hz. The author spent a lot of time trying to use some Eastern ideas (like fire, water, earth, air) as his structure for why we need to buy an expensive PEMF mat with earth frequencies. He also seemed to feel that Newton physics was wrong and only quantum physics explained things as it better fit with his belief system. Most people accept that both are accurate, and the author then proceeded to behave as if Newton physics is accurate. I could have done with less of his belief system and more about the benefits of PEMF. When he did get to the parts about PEMFs, he talked about scientific research done studying earth frequencies and the most healing wave forms, intensities, etc. I found this information useful.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Fourth Phase of Water by Gerald H. Pollack

The Fourth Phase of Water
by Gerald H. Pollack

ISBN-13: 9780962689543
Paperback: 358 pages
Publisher: Ebner and Sons Publishers
Released: May 1, 2013

Source: free audio book.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
World renowned scientist, Dr. Gerald Pollack, takes us on a fantastic voyage through water, showing us a hidden universe teeming with physical activity— providing simple explanations for common everyday phenomena, which you have inevitably seen but not really understood. For instance, have you ever wondered: How do clouds made up of dense water droplets manage to float in the sky? Why don’t your joints squeak as they rub together? Why do you sink in dry sand, but not in wet sand? How does capillary action manage to raise water up a 100 foot tree? Why does warm water freeze quicker than cool water?

Pollack uses a recent and fundamental scientific finding— EZ water—to help explain these and many other head-scratchers. When touching most surfaces, water transforms itself into Exclusion Zone water, also known as structured water or fourth phase water. EZ water, whose formula is H3O2, differs dramatically from H2O. And, there is a lot of it, everywhere.


My Review:
The Fourth Phase of Water explains the latest research done by the author on how water acts. He talked about why research into water has been avoided for a while, some mysteries that still need to be solved, and about the 4th phase of water, which seems to explain some of these mysteries. It's intended for anyone to be able to read and understand, and you can probably follow his points well enough if you've had high school science classes. However, it's really geared toward scientists or those really interested in water. He talked about the water mystery, how they set up the experiments, and their findings that help explain water's behavior. I'd recommend this book, but be ready for a real science-focused book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Science of Cleaning by Dario Bressanini

The Science of Cleaning
by Dario Bressanini

ISBN-13: 9781891011320
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: The Experiment
Released: May 21, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Chemistry professor Dario Bressanini is on a mission to teach readers about safe methods for cleaning their homes while debunking widespread myths. He uses scientific evidence to answer common queries like: Is it more efficient to wash dishes in the sink or in the dishwasher? Can vinegar and baking soda actually unclog your drain? Does bleach remove dirt? How do I get rid of that white stuff on my showerhead?

Bressanini covers these subjects and more by digging into chemistry basics like solubility, pH, and concentration. He explains how to choose the best product for any job, including advice on making selections at the store and using just the right amount to cut down on waste. Everything contains chemicals (yes, even water!)—but we should still be careful and eco-friendly about how we clean.


My Review:
The Science of Cleaning talked about various ingredients used in cleaning products (homemade or store bought) and what those ingredients do. The author got really basic in some places, describing what the laundry symbols mean, for example, and why you might need to use a drycleaner or fabric softener. He also got into the most efficient ways to handwash dishes, though he really thinks you ought to just use a dishwasher and not pre-wash the dishes.

The book also covered bases and acids and how they work to clean various things, the history of things like soap and bleaches, how soap is made, how detergents work and what the various ingredients in them do towards cleaning, and how to remove limescale. He talked about chlorine-based and oxygen-based bleaches, dish washing detergents, disinfectants, and dealing with bacteria, viruses, and mold. And what to use to clean various surfaces, from floors to ovens to drains.

I think he wrote the book just so he could rant on why combining vinegar and baking soda is so obviously a waste and how bad vinegar smells. It also seemed like he wanted to educate the very people that he obviously thinks are dumb. Overall, the book was interesting, but I already knew a lot of the information. The author loves chemicals and really thinks you ought to buy cleaning products rather than try to make them at home. Overall, this book seems best suited for someone who was never taught how to clean their home or wants to clean their home more efficiently.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

The Real Anthony Fauci by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The Real Anthony Fauci
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

ISBN-13: 978-1510766808
Hardcover: 492 pages
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Released: November 16, 2021

Source: Bought.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Pharma-funded mainstream media has convinced millions of Americans that Dr. Anthony Fauci is a hero. Hands down, he is anything but.

As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Anthony Fauci dispenses $6.1 billion in annual taxpayer-provided funding for rigged scientific research, allowing him to dictate the subject, content, and outcome of scientific health research across the globe—truly a dark agenda. Fauci uses the financial clout at his disposal in a back handed manner to wield extraordinary influence over hospitals, universities, journals, and thousands of influential doctors and scientists—whose careers and institutions he has the power to ruin, advance, or reward in an authoritarian manner.

The Real Anthony Fauci reveals how “America’s Doctor” launched his career during the early AIDS crisis by partnering with pharmaceutical companies to sabotage safe and effective off-patent therapeutic treatments for AIDS. Fauci orchestrated fraudulent do-nothing studies, and then pressured US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators into approving a deadly chemotherapy treatment he had good reason to know was worthless against AIDS. Fauci did the unthinkable and repeatedly violated federal laws to allow his Pharma partners to use impoverished and dark-skinned children as lab rats in beyond order, deadly experiments with toxic AIDS and cancer chemotherapies.

In early 2000, Fauci shook hands with Bill Gates in the library of Gates’ $147 million Seattle mansion, cementing a partnership that would aim to control an increasingly profitable $60 billion global vaccine enterprise with unlimited growth potential. Through funding leverage and carefully cultivated personal relationships with heads of state and leading media and social media institutions, the Pharma-Fauci-Gates alliance exercises dominion over global health policy and our beautiful country.

This is not just another political book. The Real Anthony Fauci details how Fauci, Gates, and their cohorts use their control of media outlets—both conservative and liberal leaning, scientific journals, key government and quasi-governmental agencies, global intelligence agencies, and influential scientists and physicians to flood the public with fearful propaganda about COVID-19 virulence and pathogenesis, and to muzzle debate and ruthlessly censor dissent.


My Review:
The Real Anthony Fauci describes how Fauci got control of a lot of taxpayer money to be used for medical research and used this to control what is researched and where and how that research is done. Anyone who uses a drug or shot created since the mid-1980s should read this as it's clear that the pharmaceutical companies are not being properly regulated. Their interests are being placed above the health of the taxpayers funding the studies. The author described how this has happened over time, and how poorly done drug trials have been covered up or even overlooked and the drugs approved here or for use in poor countries. It's truly sickening to realize how corruption has taken over the health agencies that were meant to help heal and protect us. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to make informed choices about their health.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

What the Nurses Saw by Ken McCarthy

What the Nurses Saw
by Ken McCarthy

ISBN-13: 9798870191508
Paperback: 513 pages
Publisher: Berkley
Released: December 8, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
No human activity can ever be free from error, but calling the failed COVID protocols “errors” is not accurate. These protocols were explicitly ordered by those who took dictatorial control of the medical system early in the Panic (spring of 2020). Further, when they were shown to be demonstrably failing and harming many thousands of people, experienced healthcare professionals who raised informed concerns were silenced through demotion, firing, and organized campaigns of harassment promoted by the news media and enabled by companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok, in some cases in collaboration with the White House and the Department of Justice’s FBI.

Featuring in-depth interviews with Erin Marie Olszewski, Kevin Corbett Ph.D., Kimberly Overton, Ashley Grogg, Kristen Nagle, Sarah Choujounian, AJ DePriest, Mark Bishofsky, and Katie Spence. What the Nurses Saw is documentation of what happens in the real world when bureaucrats, in this case bureaucrats in Washington DC, take literal dictatorial control over the practice of medicine.


My Review:
What the Nurses Saw is a collection of interview transcripts of people who worked in the hospitals during the COVID Crisis or who has important information about the medical protocols used to treat COVID. The author, Ken McCarthy, apparently does video interviews, and when he saw nurses speaking out about harmful procedures being used to treat COVID patients, he interviewed them. Several of the interviews where with highly qualified nurses who traveled to New York at the beginning of COVID when the governor of that state appealed for nursing help. They described what it was like to work under those conditions and how the protocols being handled down from above where harming people who might otherwise have survived. Anyone who spoke out against the harm being done was moved to another area of the hospital or were fired. He also interviewed nurses who worked in other areas of the USA as well as nurses in the UK and Canada.

The author also covered topics like how online censorship and harassment was coordinated against those who spoke up, and he talked to a respiratory therapist to uncover why venting people so quickly was a bad idea and to someone who documented the money trail showing how hospitals were paid a lot of money to test for COVID and follow only the new protocols being pushed by those not on the front lines. I knew there had been payments to encourage using certain drugs or procedures, but the details of the 'money trail' are rather horrifying because it's obvious certain people wanted the hospitals to prioritize making money over what's best for the individual patient. Overall, I'd highly recommend this book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Vax-Unvax by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. & Brian Hooker

Vax-Unvax
by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
and Brian Hooker

ISBN-13: 9781510766969
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Skyhorse
Released: August 29, 2023

Source: Bought the book.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The Studies the CDC Refuses to Do. This book is based on over one hundred studies in the peer-reviewed literature that consider vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations. Each study is analyzed, and health differences among infants, children, and adults who have been vaccinated and those who have not are presented and put in context.

Readers will find information on the infant/child vaccination schedule, thimerosal in vaccines, live virus vaccines, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, vaccination and Gulf War illness, influenza (flu) vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccination, the COVID-19 vaccine, and vaccines during pregnancy.

Given the massive push to vaccinate the entire global population, this book is timely and necessary for individuals to make informed choices for themselves and their families.


My Review:
Vax-Unvax looks at the scientific studies that show differences in the health of vaccinated children compared to unvaccinated children. The studies usually were focused on a specific shot (DTP, MMR, HPV, flu, etc.). The authors included graphs to illustrate the differences and indicated the statistically significance of the results. All the included studies had results that indicated a real pattern. Results included an increased incidence in vaccinated children of issues like type 1 diabetes and developmental delays to asthma, ADHD, ear infections, and food allergies.

I've been curious for a while if anyone had tested the claim that vaccines have resulted in healthier children, so I was interested in reading about these studies. I've known for several years that vaccines weren't primarily responsible for the decreases in the diseases they're credited with suppressing (increased sanitation played a major role) and that the vaccines can have severe side effects in some people. I found these studies very interesting. I'd recommend this book to everyone as I think it's high time people had an honest talk about this rather than just assuming vaccines = less disease = healthier people. I believe people should be allowed informed choices rather than just given untested statements.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

The Gratitude Effect Positivity Journal by Randy E. Kamen, EdD

The Gratitude Effect Positivity Journal
by Randy E. Kamen, EdD

ISBN-13: 9780593690062
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Zeitgeist
Released: January 9, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
Gratitude is a powerful emotion that conveys appreciation for a moment that has touched you in some way and moves you to express thankfulness. When you experience gratitude, your brain releases neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin, resulting in a host of tangible benefits associated with positive thinking and emotions. Practiced regularly, gratitude literally rewires your brain to be more optimistic, flexible, and joyful, while simultaneously reducing stress and anxiety, building resilience to adversity, and strengthening your immune system, cardiac health, sleep hygiene, and more. These many positive changes to your health and well-being are “the gratitude effect,” and because these effects are cumulative, the more you practice gratitude, the greater its impact over time.

With The Gratitude Effect Positivity Journal, you’ll engage your brain’s neuroplasticity to reshape your worldview—and retrain your brain for greater joy, resiliency, and personal empowerment.


My Review:
The Gratitude Effect Positivity Journal is about how gratitude can help change your outlook and well-being. The first section talked about some of the science behind this and how daily gratitude practices (finding things you're grateful for) can actually change how you view life. Most of the book was the journal, with an area for you to write your daily gratitude list and a quote about gratitude for each day. The author provided some prompts in the first section that help you think of things you're grateful for. It was an interesting, short book. I'd recommend it (especially the print version) for those who like to journal.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

How Not to Age by Michael Greger

How Not to Age
by Michael Greger

ISBN-13: 9781250796332
Hardcover: 608 pages
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Released: Dec. 5, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
When Dr. Michael Greger, founder of NutritionFacts.org, dove into the top peer-reviewed anti-aging medical research, he realized that diet could regulate every one of the most promising strategies for combating the effects of aging. We don’t need Big Pharma to keep us feeling young―we already have the tools. In How Not to Age, the internationally renowned physician and nutritionist breaks down the science of aging and chronic illness and explains how to help avoid the diseases most commonly encountered in our journeys through life.

There are eleven pathways for aging in our bodies’ cells and we can disrupt each of them. Processes like autophagy, the upcycling of unusable junk, can be boosted with spermidine, a compound found in tempeh, mushrooms, and wheat germ. Senescent “zombie” cells that spew inflammation and are linked to many age-related diseases may be cleared in part with quercetin-rich foods like onions, apples, and kale. And we can combat effects of aging without breaking the bank. Why spend a small fortune on vitamin C and nicotinamide facial serums when you can make your own for up to 2,000 times cheaper?

Inspired by the dietary and lifestyle patterns of centenarians and residents of “blue zone” regions where people live the longest, Dr. Greger presents simple, accessible, and evidence-based methods to preserve the body functions that keep you feeling youthful, both physically and mentally. Brimming with expertise and actionable takeaways, How Not to Age lays out practical strategies for achieving longevity.


My Review:
How Not to Age looks at scientific studies and explains what food, lifestyle choices, exercise, and supplements actually appear to slow aging and which popular remedies don't appear to work. The author sifts through scientific studies and eliminates ones that appear biased to get a certain result. He summarized these studies and scientific concepts (like aging pathways in the body) in understandable ways.

The book started out with aging pathways and what foods, exercise, and such modified these pathways to create slower aging. I found this section to be the most interesting. There was also a section on common diseases in the elderly and what can be done to avoid them. Some of this information was repeated from his other books. He also covered things more suited to his "How Not to Die" book, like urging people to get vaccines (like for shingles) for diseases that are more dangerous to the elderly or explaining a way to legally kill yourself (through starvation) if you lack quality of life. He included recommendations in each section for foods to add to your diet, exercise, etc.

Overall, he's strongly in favor of making diet and lifestyle changes rather than taking drugs. He recommended whole, plant-based foods, though he did mention which animal products were better than others. Though I don't agree with some of his values, I found the information to be interesting and informative. I'd recommend this book to those who have the endurance to read 600 pages on the topic, and I'd recommend his free videos (many of which are linked to in the book) for everyone else.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Energy Rising by Julia DiGangi

Energy Rising
by Julia DiGangi

ISBN-13: 9781647823450
Hardback: 256 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Released: September 26, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Your success in life—at work and at home—rises when you harness the energy that powers your brain. A neuropsychologist explains how. Your drive to create change, catalyze impact, and build relationships all come from neuroelectrical energy—real, electrical impulses—firing in your brain. Who you are as a person depends on how you work with this energy. When this energy rises within you, you feel empowered and dynamic. But when this energy falls, you feel down, stressed, and defeated. You may feel as if you don't control your emotional energy, that it's an inevitable consequence of the world around you and the forces bearing down on you. But that's not the case.

To reach your full potential, you can learn to recognize and harness the energy in your brain. Leading neuropsychologist Julia DiGangi will teach you how through eight "codes." Some of the codes will surprise you. All will fortify you. You will learn why these codes work and how to apply them to your own challenges through exercises and reflections. When you start viewing your life less about the activities you do and more about the natural energies within and around you, your power to live and lead with impact grows exponentially. Energy Rising offers you a provocative and neuroscientifically accurate path to greater emotional power, influence, and connection, both at work and at home.

DiGangi's lab and clinical work have been conducted at Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown University, the University of Chicago, DePaul, and the University of Illinois Chicago. Her fMRI and EEG research has helped business leaders, parents, couples, educators, and military leaders. Her work, rooted in resilience after extreme stress, will show you how to effectively deal with struggles you currently face. She tells the stories of business leaders, parents, couples—and even combat veterans and trauma survivors—who used the eight codes to rise.


My Review:
Energy Rising is about how you can change painful situations by uncovering the root causes of how you react to those situations. The intended audience is people in leadership positions with a focus on business, but the author also gave examples from marriage, parenting, and other areas of life. Each chapter covered a different "code," with 5 focused on yourself (which change how you interact with others) and 3 on influencing others. She clearly explained each concept and gave questions to work through to help you implement each concept.

Among other things, she talked about naming what you fear will happen if you change your behavior and evaluating how likely it is that bad result will happen. Also, about changing your outlook from negative to positive (like from a discouraged 'no one understands what I'm trying to accomplish' to seeing it as a positive challenge resulting from 'I'm at the cutting edge'). She explained the root fear that you don't matter and aren't worthy of good things and about becoming aware of our sense of worth regardless of the situation. She covered how our brain tries to avoid uncertainty, but how it's better to become self-assured and be willing to say, "I don't know." She also examined how ways of dealing with life that you learned in childhood aren't necessarily helpful in adulthood and exercises to rewrite those patterns.

She then talked about why you don't need to always be the one who's right or have everyone's approval to be an effective leader. She also explained how to get people to follow your lead because they want to and to visualize how you want your relationships to look in the future. Overall, I found the topics covered to be interesting and helpful, so I would recommend this book to others.

From the book: "Your most enduring pain comes from what you already think about yourself--that you're not good enough, important enough, or worthy enough. And the thing about this pain is that you can never outrun what you believe about yourself."


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Lies My Gov't Told Me by Robert W. Malone

Lies My Gov't Told Me
by Robert W. Malone

ISBN-13: 978-1510773240
ebook: 645 pages
Publisher: Skyhorse
Released: November 15, 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
With contributions from eminent doctors, scientists, and experts in their fields, Lies My Gov't Told Me offers a comprehensive look at the coronavirus pandemic–where we are today, how we got here, and what's on the horizon. Challenging the mainstream government-pharma-media narrative, the chapters in this book will not only outrage readers but will also inform and give readers hope.


My Review:
Lies My Gov't Told Me was about things that happened during the 2020-2022 period (like censorship about various COVID treatments or when speaking out about concerns about the shots), and the book is still relevant today. Some of the content was written by others with an expertise in certain areas, but much of the book was written by Malone with his unique expertise. The writers explained their knowledge and experiences on topics like how governments were acting. They provided correct information about treatments, mRNA technology, and vaccines. Overall, I'd recommend this important book.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

"Cause Unknown" by Ed Dowd

"Cause Unknown": The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 & 2022
by Ed Dowd

ISBN-13: 9780593197882
Kindle ebook: 381 pages
Publisher: Skyhorse
Released: November 9, 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
2020 saw a spike in deaths in America, smaller than you might imagine during a pandemic, some of which could be attributed to COVID and to initial treatment strategies that were not effective. But then, in 2021, the stats people expected went off the rails. The CEO of the OneAmerica insurance company publicly disclosed that during the third and fourth quarters of 2021, death in people of working age (18–64) was 40 percent higher than it was before the pandemic. Significantly, the majority of the deaths were not attributed to COVID.

A 40 percent increase in deaths is literally earth-shaking. Even a 10 percent increase in excess deaths would have been a 1-in-200-year event. But this was 40 percent.

It isn’t COVID, of course, because we know that COVID is not a significant cause of death in young people. Various stakeholders opine about what could be causing this epidemic of unexpected sudden deaths, but “CAUSE UNKNOWN” doesn’t opine or speculate but just presents the facts and let's you decide.

The book begins with a close look at the actual human reality behind the statistics, and when you see the people who are represented by the dry term Excess Mortality, it’s difficult to accept so many unexpected sudden deaths of young athletes, known to be the healthiest among us. Similarly, when lots of healthy teenagers and young adults die in their sleep without obvious reason, collapse and die on a family outing, or fall down dead while playing sports, that all by itself raises an immediate public health concern. Or at least it used to.

Do you recall seeing these kinds of things occurring during your own life—in junior high? In high school? In college? How many times in your life did you hear of a performer dropping dead on stage in mid-performance? Your own life experience and intuition will tell you that what you’re about to see is not normal. Or at least it wasn’t normal before 2021.


My Review:
"Cause Unknown" focused on the sudden increase in non-COVID deaths that are creating a large rise in Excess Mortality. The author included many pages showing newspaper headlines about healthy young people dying suddenly. These included a web link and QR code so you can go read these articles yourself. Every time something is cited, there's a link so you can read the paper or article or look at the government statistics to make sure the information wasn't taken out of context.

The author mainly looked at young athletes (how often did they used to die versus in 2021 and 2022), young people dying in their sleep, younger medical professionals and famous people dying suddenly. He also looked at when the COVID shots were mandated compared to when the sudden deaths increased, the USA government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting Systems for the COVID shots compared to previous vaccines, how other countries have stopped giving the shots to young people, and how disability claims have gone up. The data is convincing that we need to do something about this rather than just pretending it's not happening. I'd recommend this book to everyone.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Fascia, 2nd edition by David Lesondak

Fascia, 2nd edition
by David Lesondak

ISBN-13: 9781913426316
Paperback: 288 pages
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Handspring Publishing
Released: Sept. 21, 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
This book presents a clear and easy to understand explanation of what the fascia is and the role it plays in the body. As the importance of fascia is increasingly recognized it became obvious that there was a need for a book that clearly and concisely presents the facts. This is that book. Each chapter logically connects to the next, rather like fascia itself!

Fascia - What It Is and Why It Matters serves as an essential primer for professionals, such as movement educators, physical therapists, osteopaths, massage therapists, fitness professionals, and doctors enabling them to attain a solid grasp of what fascia is and what it does in the body. It provides an understanding of fascia as a tissue, of its role in the various systems of the body and of its clinical significance.


My Review:
Fascia, 2nd edition explains what fascia is, how it works, and different methods for treating fascia problems. The chapters covered: what fascia is, tensegrity, studying fascia anatomy, fascia and the nervous system, fascia-like structures in the brain, fascia and organs, recognizing a fascia problem, and various methods of treating fascia problems. That last chapter talked about different methods, what the method was like, and where to learn it. All throughout, there were pictures of fascia (or related things, like tensegrity models). The text wasn't highly technical but it's in-depth enough that it's probably most interesting to bodyworkers and other people with some medically training. While very interesting, clearly fascia needs a lot more study--and this book is meant to both inform and interest people in furthering this research.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.