Books & Recommended Reading
The books that have shaped my thinking on lifestyle medicine — foundational texts, recent research, and works I return to often. Organized by the pillars of the field.
PAVING the Path to Wellness Workbook
Beth Frates, MD · Michelle Tollefson, MD · Amy Comander, MD
A twelve-step, evidence-based guide to lasting lifestyle change — designed for individuals ready to move from intention to action. Published by Healthy Learning.
View on Amazon →The Lifestyle Medicine Handbook
Beth Frates, MD · Jonathan P. Bonnet, MD · Richard Joseph, MD · James A. Peterson, PhD
A clinician-focused introduction to the pillars of lifestyle medicine, blending research with real clinical examples. Published in collaboration with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
View on Amazon →Recommended Reading
Nutrition
Food as medicine, and the science behind what we eat.
How Not to Die
Michael Greger, MD
A rigorous case for whole-food, plant-based nutrition, organized around the fifteen leading causes of death.
View on Amazon →The China Study
T. Colin Campbell, PhD
Landmark epidemiological research on the link between diet and chronic disease.
View on Amazon →Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease
Caldwell Esselstyn, MD
Clinical evidence and protocol for reversing coronary artery disease through diet.
View on Amazon →Physical Activity
Movement as the single most powerful lifestyle intervention.
Spark
John Ratey, MD
The revolutionary science of exercise and the brain — how movement shapes cognition, mood, and long-term health.
View on Amazon →Younger Next Year
Chris Crowley & Henry Lodge, MD
A pragmatic, accessible framework for aging well through consistent exercise and community.
View on Amazon →Outlive
Peter Attia, MD
A detailed guide to healthspan, with particular attention to strength, stability, and metabolic health.
View on Amazon →Sleep
The most underrated pillar — and often the first to correct.
Why We Sleep
Matthew Walker, PhD
A comprehensive, readable synthesis of sleep science and its central role in health.
View on Amazon →Stress Management
Cultivating resilience, mindfulness, and psychological flexibility.
The Body Keeps the Score
Bessel van der Kolk, MD
A foundational text on trauma, the body, and the pathways through which stress becomes disease.
View on Amazon →Full Catastrophe Living
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD
The classic guide to mindfulness-based stress reduction, still one of the most useful practical resources in the field.
View on Amazon →Social Connection
Why relationships are as important as any medical intervention.
The Blue Zones
Dan Buettner
Lessons from the world's longest-lived communities — with community and purpose at the center.
View on Amazon →The Good Life
Robert Waldinger, MD & Marc Schulz, PhD
Insights from the 85-year Harvard Study of Adult Development on what actually predicts a well-lived life.
View on Amazon →Behavior Change & Habits
The psychology of turning insight into sustained action.
Atomic Habits
James Clear
A practical framework for small, compounding changes — highly applicable to health behavior.
View on Amazon →Mindset
Carol Dweck, PhD
On the difference between fixed and growth mindsets — and why it matters for every kind of change.
View on Amazon →