This Book Could Save Your Life: The Science of Living Longer Better

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We are bombarded with information about health on a daily basis. ‘Good health’ is highly valued and some people will go to great lengths to achieve it. Sometimes we worry whether we are making the right decisions and we seek assurances that we are receiving the best possible care. We often want answers to questions about a specific health condition. We might wonder about the meaning of certain test results, whether there are other treatment options and, if so, how effective they are. More and more people are also beginning to question whether tests and treatments might have side effects or involve risks. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages and appears frequently in Art Forum, Harpers, Granta, McSweeney's, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Zoetrope. She is a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair, Bomb and Blind Spot.

However, this book is light-hearted and very funny. Case in point: “I hate broccoli. The only reason I voted for George Bush was because he hated his vegetables as much as I do.” There are so many brilliant examples of Homes’ wit and originality with both plot and language. I.e. “last summer we took a wonderful cruise to Alaska. It was “delicious,” she writes, as though they’d eaten a glacier.” In addition she has been active on the Boards of Directors of Yaddo, The Fine Arts Work Center In Provincetown, The Writers Room, and PEN-where she chairs both the membership committee and the Writers Fund. Additionally she serves on the Presidents Council for Poets and Writers. This is the story of Richard, the flawed but loveable protagonist. It is equally the story of the myriad of characters that are similarly finding their way and shaping each other’s lives in the process – memorably, Anhil, the jewish doughnut maker, Cynthia the under appreciated house wife, Nic, the somewhat feral novelist, and Richard’s coming of age son Ben. Every day we make decisions about our health – some big and some small, some conscious and some subconscious. What we eat, how we live and even where we live can affect our health. We make decisions about where to source information about maintaining good health, as well as about whom to see for treatment when we are ill.

I loved this book. I loved every single character in this book. From Anhil, the existentialist donut man, to the overworked ex-wife (she who shall not be named, I guess), to misguided, sweet Ben, to the misunderstood, sweet Nic, to Cynthia---who I can so relate to---but most of all, I love Richard. This is a great Los Angeles novel and really gives you a beautiful sense of the city - from the Hills, to Malibu, to the highway culture and the natural disasters always looming in LA (mountain lions, floods, earthquakes). Výborná kniha - asi jediná, ktorú doma potrebujete o zdraví. Potom už vám možno staci nejaká s chutnými receptami zo zeleniny.

Suffering is normal. Pain is normal, it is part of life. So why are we here? Why are we afraid of suffering? Why do we try and avoid suffering? We do we think it is wrong to suffer? We medicate, we medicate we are desperate not to suffer” I read this in a couple of sittings, but I'm on some kind of mad reading binge right now, about a book a day, so that may not mean much.From stress to saturated fats, HIIT to HRT, veganism to vitamins, This Book Could Save Your Life debunks the fads and explores the real science of better health. W swojej książe przedstawia podejście holistyczne, które traktuje człowieka jako integralną całość, gdzie zdrowie fizyczne, jak i kondycja oraz samopoczucie psychiczne są ze sobą ściśle powiązane. evet richard novak yahudi ebeveyniyle eh denecek çocukluk geçirmiş, her aile gibi abisiyle sıkıntıları olmuş, severek evlendiği karısından oğlu olmuş, boşanmış, o çocukla ne yapacağını bilemediğinden hiç ilgilenmemiş. Throughout the book we see Richard come to life, and there is some nice writing in their about the nature of suffering:

How can you minimise the risks of getting diabetes, cancer or Alzheimer's? And how can you slow the ageing process? No, it won't. A.M. Homes's This Book Will Save Your Life can't even generate enough energy to save itself. Yet, through all this you see him struggle with himself. His fear of dying, of not being a better son, brother, husband, father. This is what makes me just want to be in his presence, like maybe I’d catch some of what he is. I’d be tempted to use the word ‘aura’ but it might just be the Californian influence within the book, This is what made me hate to see the book end. burada yazarın dalga geçtiği şey amerikalıların kendileri dışında her şeyde çözüm aramaları. beslenme takıklıkları bizde yeni moda olanlara çok benziyor. sözde sessizlik kampına egolardan arınmaya gidiyorlar minder yerlerini bile paylaşamıyorlar, öteki olmak hakkında hiçbir fikirleri yok, yoksulları anlamıyorlar. Since her debut in 1989, A.M. Homes has been among the boldest and most original voices of her generation, acclaimed for the psychological accuracy and unnerving emotional intensity of her storytelling. Her keen ability to explore how extraordinary the ordinary can be is at the heart of her touching and funny new novel, her first in six years.Although many cases of harm result from human and/or system errors, there are many other ways in which harm can be done. Sometimes, bad things simply happen by chance and are unavoidable. In other cases, they are caused by the well-meaning, but ill-informed, use of treatments and tests that do more harm than good. In addition to this, there are tens of thousands of people who, although not being harmed by their care, are not receiving the best possible treatment for their situation. Studies in many countries have shown that the way the same condition is treated can vary dramatically, depending on where the patient lives or on which type of doctor or health practitioner they see. Much remains unknown about how best to prevent or treat many common conditions; however, there is widespread evidence that the information that is already available is often not put to best use. 6 We are all seeking connections. We all yearn. And in this book the world is the Los Angeles landscape of plastic dreamy heartbreak. Are you a good parent? A good Samaritan? Are you even aware of who you are? And who are these characters that weave in and out of your life leaving merely a smudge of an impression? He gives away new cars, pays for his maid's hip replacement, sends the weary housewife to a spa. "This is the person he wants to be," Homes writes. "He wants to be able to do this for others, strangers, it doesn't matter who, and he wants to be able to do it for himself." His Good Samaritan impulse also inspires a series of impromptu rescue operations: A horse is trapped in a sinkhole, a hostage is trapped in a trunk, a woman is trapped in a bad marriage. These episodes are mildly amusing (for 15 minutes, he's a national celebrity, a punch line on Letterman), but because Richard is so imperturbable and his success so firmly guaranteed, the scenes never develop any real suspense. Graham Lawton is a staff writer at New Scientist with a focus on life sciences, biomedicine, earth sciences and the environment. He has a first-class honours degree in biochemistry and an MSc with distinction in science communication, both from Imperial College London. He has worked at New Scientist since 2000 in various roles including features editor, opinion editor, deputy editor, executive editor and acting editor. He now writes features, opinion articles and a monthly column No Planet B.