Finding Wellness: Essential and Expert Articles for Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit

The vast majority of wellness books know their niche and stick to it. However, Finding Wellness: Essential and Expert Articles for Healing Your Mind, Body and Spirit by Randall Hansen does not. From the opening pages, it becomes immediately apparent that this is not a a morning routine book or a diet plan, but a comprehensive examination of how modern life, more or less, has undermined the pillars of true health, and a convincing case for re-establishing them. Based on a series of previously published articles, Hansen covers everything from nutrition and sleep to trauma, spirituality, soil health, community and the chemicals that induce happiness in our brains. The range is actually broad and the thread that ties it together is one consistent belief: healing is possible, but only if we're willing to face our pain with a clear head and a willingness to look at the root causes.

There are several positive sides to this book. Certain chapters caught me off guard and others were more predictable. The wellness kitchen section begins as practical information about food, but slowly evolves into a reflection on what families have missed out on by not sitting down together to eat and talk. That argument naturally carries over to later chapters on Victory Gardens and soil health, where Hansen brings the connection between the health of the land our food is grown on, and the health of our bodies, to bear, and I found that to be very compelling. His shorthand “Soil = Life” might have been a bit simplistic, but by the time he gets here, he's set the stage so well that it lands with weight. Additionally, the emotional and psychological sections are also good. His 11 pillars of wellness resist the notion that health is just about the physical, and instead makes gratitude, meaningful relationships, time in nature, and quality sleep as much a part of the equation as nutrition and exercise. The chapter on the DOSE chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins) was equally particularly interesting, as Hansen doesn't list them as supplements to take, but rather as practical, simple and unsexy practices such as movement, kindness and time outdoors. The tone of the writing is encouraging, not prescriptive, in each of these sections.

I think, however, that the structure of the book is not as successful as it could be, and I must say that I am not a fan of that. Since these are articles, the same arguments reoccur in different chapters over time and become apparent. The criticism on seed oils is perhaps the most obvious; it's not only in the chapter on vegetable oils, but rears its head in the wellness kitchens, detoxification, happiness and longevity sections as well. It's a good thing Hansen sticks true to his message throughout, but it can also result in some repetition of material as it repeats what has already been established in previous chapters. Additionally, the book occasionally veers off into general discussion of government policy, industrial agriculture and drug influence. While these sections are not without interest, and do contribute to the worldview of the entire book, they sometimes detract from the very best parts of the book. If you're reading this to get health advice that you can act on, you may be waiting to get back to that. But none of this detracts from a book that is truly thought-provoking, passionately written and always interesting to read.

Despite these criticisms, the book succeeds in its lofty goal. I mean, I can't say that the concept of detoxing not just your food but your relationships, technology, habits, and thought patterns has really changed me as I read the last few chapters, but I was certainly in Hansen's company in being very passionate about it. This is an enjoyable and stimulating read for anyone interested in holistic health, personal growth or just the feeling that there may be more to wellness than what they are doing. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 Stars.