The Connection Cure - by Julia Hotz

About the Book

"In this combination of diligent science reporting, moving patient success stories, and surprising self-discovery, journalist Julia Hotz helps us discover lasting and life-changing medicine in our own communities through the new practice of "social prescribing.""--

Book Synopsis

In this combination of diligent science reporting, moving patient success stories, and surprising self-discovery, journalist Julia Hotz helps us discover the lasting and life-changing power of social prescribing.

Traditionally, when we get sick, health care professionals ask, "What's the matter with you?" But around the world, teams of doctors, nurses, therapists, and social workers have started 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 photography classes, gardening groups, and volunteering gigs.

The results speak for themselves. Science shows that social prescribing is effective for treating symptoms of the modern world's most common ailments--depression, ADHD, addiction, trauma, anxiety, chronic pain, dementia, diabetes, and loneliness. As health care's de facto cycle of "diagnose-treat-repeat" reaches a breaking point, social prescribing has also proven to reduce patient wait times, lower hospitalization rates, save money, and reverse health worker burnout. And as a general sense of unwellness plagues more of us, social prescriptions can help us feel healthier than we've felt in years.

As the first book on social prescribing, The Connection Cure empowers you to find, experience, and implement this revolutionary medicine in your own community. While touring the globe to investigate the spread of social prescribing to over thirty countries, Hotz meets people personifying its revolutionary potential: an aspiring novelist whose art workshop helps her cope with trauma symptoms and rediscover her joy; a policy researcher whose swimming course helps her taper off antidepressants and feel excited to wake up in the morning; an army vet whose phone conversations help him form his only true friendship; and dozens more. The success stories she finds bring a long-known theory to life: if we can change our environment, we can change our health. By reconnecting to what matters to us, we can all start to feel better.

Review Quotes

"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

"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

"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 former NHS National Lead for Social Prescription

"With interesting stories and a broad canvas, Hotz connects readers to a different way of thinking about health and wellness."
--Kirkus Reviews

"Julia's ability to weave in science with story and solutions should be the envy of every writer out there...She has taken the concept of social prescribing, and given a masterclass tutorial on what it is, how to do it, and why it matters more than we give it credit for."
--Ben Miller, clinical psychologist and former president of Well Being Trust

"Hotz's humor and conversational breakdown of the science within the patient stories kept me turning the pages easily... whether or not one has a diagnosis, the greatest gift of social prescribing is that it could also be good for whatever ails you."
--Kimberly Bliss, Culture Desk Editor for MedShadow Foundation

About the Author

Julia Hotz is a solutions focused journalist based in New York. Her stories have appeared in The New York Times, WIRED, Scientific American, The Boston Globe, Time, and more. She helps other journalists report on the big new ideas changing the world at the Solutions Journalism Network. The Connection Cure is her first book.