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Natural Causes

Life, Death and the Illusion of Control

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Natural Causes

By: Barbara Ehrenreich
Narrated by: Laurel Lefkow
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About this listen

We tend to believe we have agency over our bodies, our minds and even our deaths. Yet emerging science challenges our assumptions of mastery: at the microscopic level, the cells in our bodies facilitate tumours and attack other cells, with life-threatening consequences.

In this revelatory audiobook, Barbara Ehrenreich argues that our bodies are a battleground over which we have little control and lays bare the cultural charades that shield us from this knowledge. Challenging everything we think we know about life and death, she also offers hope - that we find our place in a natural world teeming with animation and endless possibility.

©2017 Barbara Erenreich (P)2018 Audible, Ltd Anthropology Death & Dying Sociology Medicine

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Most relevant
This is a really interesting read, and ideal if you want to confront your own mortality and the eventual implosion of the universe into oblivion and nothingness, while trying to get your head around cell biology, philosophy, metaphysics and a critique of modern medicine and the illusion of control. There's plenty I didn't agree with, but it gave me plenty to think about. A challenging book and a great exercise in critical thinking.

A great, challenging read

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