Cover In an overcrowded wellness marketplace, these wellness books offer the comfort of returning to the basics.
In an overcrowded wellness marketplace, these wellness books offer the comfort of returning to the basics.
1 / 1
Beyond trends, trackers and self-optimisation, these seven wellness books offer a quieter, deeper path to living well
In the race to optimise every moment, the meaning of “wellness” has become increasingly muddled. What began as a pursuit of balance and connection has often been co-opted by trends, algorithms and aesthetics. These seven wellness books cut through the noise. Thoughtful and grounded, each one offers a return to the essentials—breath, nature, food, attention and presence—without trying to sell a solution. They won’t tell you how to live. They will help you remember how.
Also read: From 'Let Them' to 'The Rules': 6 self-help books and concepts that didn't hold up
1. ‘The Spell of the Sensuous’ by David Abram
Above ‘The Spell of the Sensuous’ (Photo: Vintage Books)
‘The Spell of the Sensuous’ (Photo: Vintage Books)
1 / 1
First published in 1996, this is not a typical wellness book, but its influence has quietly shaped many that followed. Abram draws on his background in ecology and philosophy to explore the sensory relationship between humans and the natural world. He argues that modern Western culture has dulled its perception of the environment by prioritising language, screens and abstract thought over embodied experience. What’s compelling here is the invitation to reinhabit the body and see, smell, feel and move as animals again. For those overwhelmed by digital life, it offers a different kind of rewilding.
2. ‘One Simple Thing’ by Eddie Stern
Above ‘One Simple Thing’ (Photo: Macmillan)
‘One Simple Thing’ (Photo: Macmillan)
1 / 1
Eddie Stern’s approach to yoga is disarmingly pragmatic. Rather than chasing enlightenment, he focuses on what daily breathwork and movement actually do to the nervous system. Backed by contemporary science and decades of teaching experience, he explains how simple, consistent practices can improve heart rate variability, reduce stress and support mental health. The book is structured around small, digestible insights, making it accessible even to those sceptical of wellness culture.
3. ‘How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy’ by Jenny Odell
Above ‘How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy’ (Photo: Melville House Publishing)
‘How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy’ (Photo: Melville House Publishing)
1 / 1
At first glance, Odell’s book is a critique of tech culture, but it also functions as a meditation on presence, ecology and the politics of attention. A visual artist and Stanford lecturer, Odell examines how capitalism monetises distraction and encourages constant output, making genuine stillness feel transgressive. Drawing on thinkers like Thoreau and Audre Lorde, she proposes that doing “nothing” isn’t about disengagement, but about re-engaging with place, time and community. More than a call to unplug, this is a rigorous and imaginative guide to reclaiming depth in a shallow world.
4. ‘Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times’ by Katherine May
Above ‘Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times’ (Photo: Rider)
‘Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times’ (Photo: Rider)
1 / 1
Katherine May uses the metaphor of winter to explore periods of retreat, grief and transformation. Interweaving personal experience with mythology, literature and natural cycles, she argues that rest is not indulgent but necessary. The book tracks her own “wintering” through illness, burnout and caretaking, and finds insight in everything from Nordic bathing rituals to beekeeping. What sets this apart from more commercial wellness books is its refusal to frame struggle as a problem to be solved. Instead, it offers an elegant reframing: winter is not the end, but a vital season in its own right.
5. ‘Midnight Chicken’ by Ella Risbridger
Above ‘Midnight Chicken’ (Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)
‘Midnight Chicken’ (Credit: Bloomsbury Publishing)
1 / 1
Described by its author as “a cookbook for people who don’t cook”, this is a deeply personal and unconventional work. Risbridger began writing during a depressive episode, using recipes as a way to mark time and stay tethered to life. The food—roast chicken at midnight, peach salad, lentil soup—is simple and forgiving, but never joyless. It’s the opposite of aspirational cuisine. Instead, it makes a case for kitchen rituals as a quiet, domestic form of survival. As a wellness book, it’s disguised as a cookbook but functions as a manual for coming back to yourself.
6. ‘Losing Eden’ by Lucy Jones
Above ‘Losing Eden’ (Credit: Penguin)
‘Losing Eden’ (Credit: Penguin)
1 / 1
In Losing Eden, Lucy Jones explores what happens to the human psyche when it becomes disconnected from the natural world. Drawing on a wide range of studies, from neuroscience and developmental psychology to epidemiology, she links time in nature to lower rates of anxiety, depression and addiction. The book is meticulously researched yet accessible, enriched with Jones’s personal reflections on pregnancy, urban life and the climate crisis. It doesn’t romanticise the outdoors, but it does challenge the idea that mental health can be separated from environmental health. It’s a clear, compelling argument for ecological sanity.
7. ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’ by Amanda Montell
Above ‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’ (Photo: Thorsons)
‘The Age of Magical Overthinking’ (Photo: Thorsons)
1 / 1
Montell’s latest book dissects the mental habits that thrive in the uncertainty of modern life—catastrophising, pattern-seeking, superstition and reveals how they’re often more emotional survival strategies than flaws in logic. Using a blend of cultural criticism, neuroscience and personal anecdote, she examines the effects of hyper-individualism, algorithmic influence and cultural instability on the human mind. This is one of the few wellness books that deals with cognition not by offering mindfulness exercises, but by investigating the cultural conditions that fuel anxiety.
These wellness books don’t offer polished solutions or lifestyle upgrades. What they provide instead is a deeper inquiry into how we relate to the world around us and within us. Whether it’s through food, movement, language or the land itself, each book invites a shift in attention from performance to awareness. In a culture obsessed with doing better, they suggest that living well might be something quieter, and older, than we’ve been told.
NOW READ
5 alternative wellness influencers debunking beauty myths
7 honest books on ageing that are good for the soul
From Sylvia Plath to Donna Tartt: 5 trending books you'll find in every It Girl's tote bag
Topics
