Book review on Gut by Giulia Enders.
Did you know that around the beginning of the twentieth century, dermatologists in Germany began calling for people to bathe at least once a week to stay clean and help lower sickness? And yet, it took until the 1950s for families to even start bathing weekly, because they thought that was too much. And when they finally did? Well… an entire family would bathe once a week in the same bath water.
Ugh. Just the thought makes me shiver. The idea of only bathing once a week is unbelievable, but bathing after my whole family? Oh my gosh. I’d rather go find some dust and take a chicken dust bath instead, haha. But seriously, it really makes me realize just how privileged I am.
This novel teaches you so many different things about the gut that you would never imagine. Some things are funny, and other things are honestly kind of horrifying. From probiotics to pinworms and good ol’ diarrhea, it gives you information you never knew you wanted. It’s educational, funny, and just super entertaining. Every chapter made me excited to see what I would learn next, and it kept me on the edge of my seat, just in a very different way than an action movie would.
“While some of us might be sitting around thinking ‘Nobody cares about me!’, our heart is currently working its seventeen-thousandth twenty-four-hour shift—and would have every right to feel a little forgotten when its owner thinks such thoughts.”
Oh, how the heart does so much for us and we barely even notice. Although this novel is mainly about the gut, it teaches you a lot about other parts of the body too, like the heart and the brain. It gives you a new perspective on just how much of your body works nonstop to keep you alive, and how we should probably be a little more grateful. Our little hearts pump so hard and work overtime just so we can keep moving.
This book really makes you appreciate your body more, which brings compassion along with it. Sometimes it feels like our body is betraying us, but honestly, our bodies are always trying to keep us alive and functioning. They work hard just to wake us up in the morning, and they deserve way more recognition than they get. This novel opens your eyes to new things about how the body works, especially our wonderful heart.
One thing I found really eye-opening was how significantly gut bacteria can influence depression. In the book, Giulia states that an “unhappy gut” can trigger anxiety or depression. And honestly, I believe that’s true, with all the evidence, not just in this novel, but elsewhere too.
“Anyone who suffers from anxiety or depression should remember that an unhappy gut can be the cause of an unhappy mind… We should not always blame depression on the brain or on our life circumstances—there is much more to us than that.”
“Disruptions in gut bacteria can lead to issues like depression, obesity, and autoimmune diseases.”
I really think more research should go into this gut-and-depression connection. Because if we could figure out how to heal the gut, maybe we could heal depression too. How amazing would that be? The author truly believes the gut acts as a “second brain” and influences our emotions and subconscious. She emphasizes that nurturing our internal ecosystem is crucial for mental health, not just physical health.
It honestly makes me want to work on my gut health more and try to fix whatever might be messed up. Just imagine curing depression by fixing your gut! First, though, we’d have to figure out what’s actually wrong with the gut… and I honestly don’t know what’s wrong with mine, haha. But this book opens the door to discovering what might be going on.
This novel also taught me about Toxoplasma gondii, something I had kind of heard of before but didn’t fully understand. Toxoplasma gondii is a parasitic alveolate that causes toxoplasmosis, which is a BIG word and one I definitely struggle to say, haha. It usually causes mild or no symptoms in healthy people, but it can lead to flu-like illness. It’s especially dangerous for pregnant women, causing congenital issues for babies, and issues for immunocompromised individuals.
In some chronically infected individuals, this parasite may even alter behavior, increasing the risk of accidents and possibly linking to psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia, though its long-term neurological effects are still being studied. The grossest part? These parasites form cysts in muscles and tissues and can stay dormant for life… just sitting there. Ew.
I’ve been wanting to read more nonfiction, and educational novels about the body felt like the perfect place to start. I think everyone should learn more about themselves, inside and out, the beauty and the ugly. The gut is something people often feel embarrassed talking about, and a lot of it feels taboo. But this novel makes it easy and breezy to read. It teaches you new things and helps you feel more comfortable with topics that are usually avoided.
I definitely, highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants to learn, grow, or just explore something new.
MY BOOK
“Souille is a riveting novella that artfully blends elements of horror and science fiction to craft a high-stakes adventure that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. When Natalie’s life is thrown into chaos after a terrible hurricane leaves her hometown in ruins, she’s thrust into a deadly face-off against strange and malicious entities in her desperate struggle for survival.”
Coushatta LaRue 
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