Well Beings - How the Seventies Lost Its Mind and Taught Us to Find Ourselves

Concepts such as wellness and self-care may feel like distinctly twenty-first century ideas, but they first gained traction as part of the New Age health movements that began to flourish in the wake of the 1960s. Riley dives into this strange and hypnotic world of panoramic coastal retreats and darkened floatation tanks, blending a page-turning narrative with illuminating explorations of the era's music, film, art and literature.

Well Beings delves deep into the mind of the seventies - its popular culture, its radical philosophies, its approach to health and its sense of social crisis. It tells the story of what was sought, what was found and how these explorations helped the 'Me Decade' find itself. In so doing, it questions what good health means today and reveals what the seventies can teach us about the strange art of being well.

About the author

James Riley is a Fellow of English Literature at Girton College, Cambridge, focusing on modern and contemporary literature, popular film and 1960s culture. His previous titles include The Bad Trip: Dark Omens, New Worlds and the End of the Sixties. He also makes films and performs spoken word poetry.

Product details

• Authors: Riley James
• Publisher: Icon Books
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 19.08.2025
• EAN: 9781837731978
• ISBN: 978-1-83773-197-8
• No. of pages: 480
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > 20th century (up to 1945); Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, Lifestyle, sport & leisure, Complementary therapies, healing & health, General and world history, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General