THE CONNECTION CURE is the world’s first book exploring the science, stories, and spread of social prescribing — featured on Ologies, CNN, NPR, and more. Praised as “provocative,” “hopeful,” and “filled with humor, integrity, and great storytelling”, THE CONNECTION CURE combines diligent science reporting, moving patient success stories, and surprising self-discovery to show us how we can think about movement, nature, art, service and belonging as medicine.
Available to order on Bookshop (supports local bookstores) and Amazon. Learn more at socialprescribing.co.
When we get sick, we’re typically asked, "What's the matter with you?" But around the world, health professionals are flipping the script, asking, "What matters to you?" Instead of only pharmaceutical prescriptions, they're offering 'social prescriptions'—referrals to nonmedical, community-based activities, like dance classes, cycling lessons, and choirs.
As the first book on social prescribing, The Connection Cure explores how its five core ingredients—Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging—are effectively treating a wide range of health issues: stress, loneliness, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, type 2 diabetes, ADHD, addiction, trauma, dementia, and more. The practice is also gaining steam in healthcare— with evidence showing social prescribing reduces hospitalizations, emergency room visits, repeat doctors’ visits, costs, and staff burnout. That’s why more than thirty countries are adopting social prescribing, including the U.S., where insurers like Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield and Kaiser Permanente are starting to foot the bill.
Immersing readers in the on-the-ground scenes from social prescriptions around the world—sea-swimming lessons in England, dementia farms in Norway, forest baths in Japan, “culture vitamins” in Denmark, “senior universities” in Portugal—journalist Julia Hotz's book brings an ancient truth to life: if we can change our environment, we can change our health.