In this combination of diligent science reporting, moving patient success stories, and surprising self-discovery, journalist Julia Hotz shows us how to think about health outside of healthcare, and discover lasting and life-changing medicine in our own communities. Traditionally, when we get sick, healthcare professionals ask, "What's the matter with you?" But around the world, teams of doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers are starting to flip the script, asking "What matters to you?" Instead of solely pharmaceutical prescriptions, they offer social prescriptions--referrals to community activities and resources, like art classes, gardening groups, and volunteering gigs. By helping us rediscover our sources of joy, meaning, and relationships, social prescriptions address the root causes of our sicknesses and help us feel better.
The results speak for themselves. Science shows social prescribing is effective for treating symptoms of the modern world's most common ailments--depression, ADHD, addiction, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, Parkinson's, diabetes, and more. Other research finds that social prescribing also helps our healthcare systems--reducing patient wait times, saving money, and even reversing health worker burnout. And as loneliness continues to infect more of us, social prescriptions can help us feel healthier than we felt before we got sick.
From photography courses in the Netherlands to tea-making groups in South Korea, Hotz tours the globe to investigate the revolutionary potential of social prescribing through its five most common categories: nature, movement, art, service, and belonging. We see their prescriptive power personified through a range of healing journeys--a mother prescribed an art workshop for PTSD, a young man prescribed a fishing club for ADHD, a woman prescribed a sea swimming course for depression, a grandmother prescribed farm work for dementia. Their success stories bring a long-known theory to life: if we can change our environment, we can change our health.
As healthcare's de facto cycle of "diagnose-treat-repeat" reaches a breaking point, Hotz uncovers why social prescribing has spread to more than thirty countries--and continues to grow every day. By reconnecting to what matters to us, we can take our health into our own hands and embark on the path to lasting wellness.
Industry Reviews
“A hopeful and urgently needed antidote to today’s biggest problems in health and health care.”
—Dr. Andrew Weil, New York Times bestselling author and founder of the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona
“Based on extensive research, this book offers practical solutions for those seeking to find health in a world riddled with preventable illness.”
—Dr. Robert Waldinger, coauthor of The Good Life and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School
“What if we treated people based on their passions and potential rather than their symptoms and deficits? Through cutting-edge science and captivating stories, this book shows that when we’re seen as whole people, we can truly thrive.”
—Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman, author of Transcend, and host of The Psychology Podcast
"In a critical exploration of a branch of medicine long and dangerously ignored, The Connection Cure reminds us that medicine is, and has always been, so much more than just a pill.
—Dr. Rachel Zoffness, author of The Pain Management Workbook and UCSF Assistant Clinical Professor
"A provocative, profound, and pleasurable read on surprising remedies for modern malaise. With the ideal blend of journalistic skepticism and humanistic optimism, Julia Hotz makes a compelling case that our well-being depends even more on our connections than we realize.”
—Adam Grant, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Think Again and host of the podcast Re:Thinking
“Julia Hotz shows us, in case after case, the amazing healing power of human connection, and that the journey to better health need not be traveled alone."
— Bill Gifford, coauthor of #1 New York Times bestseller, Outlive
"In The Connection Cure, Julia Hotz takes readers on a fascinating exploration, effortlessly weaving together history, science and intimate portraits of different social prescriptions, with great flair. This book provides a blueprint for rethinking health care."
—Robert Whitaker, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Anatomy of an Epidemic
“A brave, fascinating, and persuasive read—and will soon become the definitive book on social prescribing. Full of integrity, humor, and great storytelling, this book will change lives, and possibly the world.”
—Dr. Michael Dixon, OBE, author of Time to Heal and NHS National Lead for Social Prescription
