What does it actually take to feel well—not just physically, but in your relationships, your habits, your sense of self as you age? These eight health and wellness books tackle that question from every angle, from the science of Ayurveda to the business principles that might just save a marriage. Consider this your summer reading list for getting serious about health, however you define it.
Aging Sideways: Changing Our Perspectives on Getting Older by Jeanette Leardi
This book takes a closer look at the assumptions we make about aging, challenging the idea that getting older is synonymous with decline. Drawing on research, expert perspectives and her own experiences as a social gerontologist and community educator, she examines common age stereotypes and the ways they shape how we think about ourselves and others. Aging Sideways offers a more nuanced view of aging, focusing on the changes, strengths and possibilities that can come with getting older.
Welcome to Caregiving: The Things Caregivers NEVER Talk About by Erin Copelan
What does caregiving actually look like once you leave the doctor’s office? Erin Copelan gets into the parts that don’t always make it into conversations about caring for a seriously ill loved one, from the daily logistics and medical demands to the awkward, exhausting and unexpectedly funny moments. Drawing on more than a decade spent caring for her husband through cancer, surgeries and a liver transplant, Copelan shares the lessons she learned along the way and offers other caregivers a candid account of what the role really requires.
Kinship Medicine: Cultivating Interdependence to Heal the Earth and Ourselves by Wendy Johnson MD MPH
In Kinship Medicine, family physician Wendy Johnson examines the connections between human health, relationships, communities and the natural world. Drawing on public health, sociology, anthropology and human ecology, she explores topics including loneliness, diet, inherited trauma, environmental health and the limitations of profit-driven health care, while making the case for a more relational approach to medicine and well-being.
Unfolding Happiness by Ambika Devi MA and Vijay Jain MD
Unfolding Happiness offers a grounding in Ayurveda, meditation and the cosmology behind them, tracing the practice back to its roots in the Indian subcontinent as a system of natural medicine built around diet, lifestyle and sleep. Ambika Devi and Dr. Vijay Jain walk through Ayurveda’s five elements and six tastes and how they’re meant to work together to treat the body, mind and spirit as one system rather than separate problems.
The Hidden Consumer: Uncovering the Power of Health-Conscious Buyers by Amy Graves
Amy Graves spent three years chasing what she thought was a sinus infection before realizing her body was reacting to something in her everyday products. This experience turned her into what she calls a “hidden consumer,” someone whose allergies or sensitivities shape every purchase. The book profiles this growing group of health-savvy buyers, unpacking what drives their decisions and the obstacles they face navigating a marketplace not built with them in mind.
Break Free: Of Negative Beliefs and the Weight That Clings to Them by Suzi Conklin Nance
Two parts structure this book’s approach to weight loss: the first works on reprogramming the subconscious mind through self-discovery worksheets and hypnosis scripts, while the second covers practical eating strategies, including low-carb and low-calorie approaches, sample menus and recipes. Suzi Conklin Nance argues that lasting change starts with resolving the conflict between conscious intentions and subconscious habits, rather than relying on willpower alone, and she uses her own experience losing more than 100 pounds after years of chronic dieting and pain to illustrate the method.
Marriage Inc.: The Boardroom Blueprint to a Lasting Love by Dr. Robin Buckley
Business strategy provides the framework for this book’s take on marriage, with Dr. Robin Buckley applying concepts like leadership, teamwork and shared goal-setting to the mechanics of a relationship. Chapters cover conflict resolution using business-tested frameworks, aligning roles and expectations the way a team would and turning communication breakdowns into what Buckley calls collaborative breakthroughs.
Fabulous Health: A Simple Plan to Get Well and Stay Well by Terri Chrisman
A plant-based approach to managing weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes, built around what Chrisman calls the six pillars of a healthy lifestyle. She lays out which foods to favor and which to limit for reducing inflammation and boosting energy, along with strategies for breaking emotional-eating patterns and cravings. The book also includes meal planning and shopping guides meant to make the transition practical rather than theoretical, and it’s drawn endorsements from physicians and plant-based nutrition authors including Neal Barnard and Chef AJ.
Visit the Innovation Women Bookstore to find even more health and wellness books from our speakers and experts.
