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The Fruit Cure

The Story of Extreme Wellness Turned Sour

Audiobook
3 of 4 copies available
3 of 4 copies available

"The Fruit Cure is an eye-opening, at turns heartbreaking, and long overdue reckoning of wellness culture—the scammy cures, miracle diets, and broken systems that operate like an elaborate MLM scheme, ensnaring people in an endless pursuit of promised cures. Part memoir, part cultural critique, Alnes takes us on a relatable journey through the world of fruitarianism and introduces us to a cast of complicated characters behind the raw food lifestyle. It's a fantastic look at wellness and diet culture and the influencer economy, all done with nuance, humor, and empathy." - Christine Yu, author of Up To Speed


In The Fruit Cure, Jacqueline Alnes takes readers on an unforgettable deep dive into the world of fruitarianism, populated by eccentric internet personalities and people in pain, ultimately placing her own powerful narrative within the wider problematic history of fruit-based, raw food lifestyles. 

For readers plagued by mysterious symptoms, inundated by messages from media about how to attain "the perfect body," or caught in the grips of a fast-paced culture of capitalism, The Fruit Cure offers a powerful critique of the failures of our healthcare system, and an inquiry into the dark world of wellness culture schemes, scams, and diets masquerading as hope.

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    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 15, 2024
      Essayist Alnes highlights in her sharp debut memoir how failures in America’s healthcare system open doors for predatory wellness movements. As a freshman on her college’s Divsion I track team, Alnes was stricken one day after practice with a sudden dizziness that soon became chronic. Despite worsening symptoms, including regular blackouts, Alnes’s peers, coach, and medical doctors dismissed her condition. Within a year, she had difficulty speaking and needed the assistance of a wheelchair. Spiraling through fear, self-loathing, and bouts of self-harm, Alnes discovered YouTube influencers Leanne “Freelee” Ratcliffe and Harley “Durianrider” Johnstone, who championed an all-fruit raw diet as a cure-all. Despite the diet’s austerity, Alnes bought in: “Their tales of triumph looked close enough to my own desire that I felt a sense of release. Someone out there knew how I was feeling.” Her relief soon gave way to disillusionment, however, as she saw the influencer couple pushing unhealthy weight standards, ignoring fact-based research, and promoting a view of the people around her as either “broken” or “perfect.” (Leanne and Harley broke up in 2016, lobbing accusations of physical abuse at one another.) Eventually, Alnes learned to accept her disabilities, and here she makes the case for “often-disruptive healing” over “quick fixes.” Her journey from desperation to self-acceptance is moving and well rendered. In the crowded medical memoir field, this stands out. Agent: Kate Johnson, Wolf Literary.

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  • English

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