Beginning with Curiosity
A Feature Review of
Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us
Liz Bucar
Hardcover: Tarcher, 2026
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Reviewed by Byrnese Craig
Liz Bucar’s Beyond Wellness: How Restoring the Religious Roots of Spiritual Practices Can Heal Us is a readable and curiosity-inspiring approach to religion, especially for those who do not consider themselves religious. Published in 2026 through Penguin Random House’s imprint Tarcher – known for its focus on faith, spirituality, and self-improvement – Beyond Wellness reveals the religious frameworks that support practices such as yoga, AA, physical fitness, and even psychedelics. Bucar is uniquely positioned for this field: she is a professor of religion at Northeastern University, a certified Kripalu yoga instructor, and (you’ll learn more if you read the book!) intenSati instructor. She challenges her readers, especially those who identify as spiritual but not religious, to take seriously the religious traditions that inform the practices we embrace in order to experience greater wellbeing and consistency with our own values.
Bucar works through different “spiritual but not religious” practices including mindfulness, sound baths, food, and fitness. I was surprised by her choice to present these practices not from a distance as a researcher of religion, but as a practitioner. This sets the book apart; in a genre often defined by respectful distance, Bucar’s willingness to move in close, earnestly engage, and thoughtfully reflect is a gift to the reader, and when those reflections are combined with her encyclopedic knowledge of religious history and practice, readers are fortunate indeed.
I grew up in a Christian tradition that was suspicious of yoga as an “eastern religion.” While my Methodist church offered a midweek yoga class, my Christian primary school warned us about the dangers of meditation and worshipping false gods. As an adult and a pastor, I’ve appreciated learning more about the faith of my neighbors and working with interfaith partners to serve our community, and I’ve been blessed to know excellent non-religious people whose character reflects the light of God’s love. Perhaps your experience is similar, but if not, you will still find a thoughtful and kind companion in the author as she walks us through the dangers of “the spiritual salad bar.”
In the introduction, Bucar reflects on the way that 21st-century American society engages with religion and religious practices, saying, “Instead of ordering a meal off the menu – instead of becoming, say, a Presbyterian, Reform Jew, or Zen Buddhist – we treat religious traditions as a spiritual salad bar, filling our plates with our favorite items in a constant search for the perfect combo. But rather than making us better, I suspect popular spiritual practices are functioning like dopamine hits that prevent us from putting in the hard work necessary to live fully ethical, relational, and sustainable lives” (4).
For many of us, this picking and choosing is a reaction to our experiences with systems of faith, especially as people living in a consumption-driven culture. Why would someone want to tolerate restrictions or community norms if they can just borrow the pieces they like, leave what they do not, and compose their own individual spirituality? Bucar challenges the assumption that picking and choosing – removing practices from their larger context – serves us well. Her invitation to us as readers is to investigate the religious roots behind practices we often don’t consider religious, and in doing so, fill in some of the missing ingredients from the spiritual salad bar.
As a pastor, I often reflect on how many of our congregations struggle to understand the religious or spiritual beliefs of others. Even when we are kind, we may also be dismissive. As younger generations disaffiliate with religious institutions, the grandparents and parents left in the pews find themselves on one side of a widening gap of understanding, with few resources to help them cross it. Beyond Wellness is a book that I can recommend to readers on both sides of that gap. It inspires curiosity and can open up conversations on topics from food traditions and higher powers to personal convictions and more. I can imagine that, at moments, readers on both sides could find themselves experiencing some discomfort, but it is precisely by working through that discomfort that we are invited into deeper learning.
Christian readers will find in Bucar a generous, insightful historian. Pastors and community leaders in particular would benefit from considering the questions she raises about charisma, community, and accessibility in the chapter exploring fitness. Fans of Kristen Kobes Du Mez will enjoy how social critique, religious history, and theory are interwoven with the author’s research into a compelling narrative. Beyond Wellness could be a fantastic book club pick; it is full of great conversation starters, the language is easy to read, and the content is thought provoking. If you’ve ever wondered what goes on in an AA meeting, or why anyone would claim taking psychedelics is a religious experience, this book is for you. I know I will be recommending it to friends and colleagues for a long time.
Byrnese Craig
Rev. Byrnese Craigis a wife and mother of four, and the pastor of Manna, a dinner church in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Ordained and serving in the Moravian Church, in her (albeit limited) free time, she is sewist and maker. she shares her creative projects and writing online at her Substack, Sourdough and Sacrament, and on Instagram as @pastorbyrnese.
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