Books like Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

01

The Upside of Stress

Kelly McGonigal · Health

The Upside of Stress is Kelly McGonigal's evidence-based argument that the harm of stress is mediated less by stress itself than by the belief that stress is harmful.

Shares stress and psychology with Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.

02

Lost Connections

Johann Hari · Health

Lost Connections is Johann Hari's argument that depression and anxiety are not primarily chemical imbalances in the brain but responses to social and environmental conditions — disconnection from meaningful work, close relationships, the natural world, a secure future, and status that feels deserved.

A kindred health read.

03

The Body Keeps the Score

Bessel van der Kolk · Psychology

The Body Keeps the Score is Bessel van der Kolk's account of four decades spent studying and treating trauma, from Vietnam veterans at the VA in the 1970s to survivors of childhood abuse, accidents, and domestic violence.

Both dig into neuroscience.

04

Spark

John J. Ratey · Health

Spark is John Ratey's argument, grounded in neuroscience, that aerobic exercise is the single most powerful thing most people can do for their brain.

Both dig into neuroscience.

05

The Depression Cure

Stephen Ilardi · Health

The Depression Cure is Stephen Ilardi's account of Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC), a structured program he developed at the University of Kansas for treating depression without primary reliance on antidepressants.

Both dig into neuroscience.

06

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts

Gabor Maté · Health

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts is Gabor Maté's book about addiction, written while he was working as a physician in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, one of North America's most concentrated pockets of poverty, drug use, and homelessness.

Both dig into neuroscience.

07

Scattered Minds

Gabor Maté · Health

Scattered Minds, originally published as Scattered, is Gabor Maté's account of ADHD seen through the lens of his own diagnosis and his decades of clinical practice.

Both dig into neuroscience.

08

The Diabetes Code

Jason Fung · Health

The Diabetes Code is Jason Fung's argument that type 2 diabetes is a dietary disease, not a genetic destiny, and that it is therefore reversible through the right interventions.

Both dig into chronic disease.

09

The Good Gut

Justin Sonnenburg · Health

Justin Sonnenburg is a microbiologist at Stanford who studies the gut microbiome, and The Good Gut is his attempt to translate that research into something useful for non-scientists.

Both dig into chronic disease.

10

The Microbiome Solution

Robynne Chutkan · Health

Robynne Chutkan is a gastroenterologist who founded the Digestive Center for Women in Washington DC, and The Microbiome Solution is a practitioner's-eye view of what she sees as a microbiome crisis in her patients.

Both dig into chronic disease.

11

The Relaxation Response

Herbert Benson · Health

In 1975, Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson published a compact, research-backed argument that the body carries a built-in counterforce to stress — one that medicine had largely ignored.

Both dig into chronic disease.

12

The Sleep Revolution

Arianna Huffington · Health

Arianna Huffington opens The Sleep Revolution with the incident that prompted it: collapsing from exhaustion at her desk in 2007, breaking her cheekbone on the way down.

Both dig into stress.