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Good morning. It’s Tuesday, December 17th.

In today’s email:

• Focus: 2024 Holiday Reading List

• Try: Read 1 Book

• In the News: Dueling Grandparents

Check out the Thrive25 Membership - it’s free to join the Waitlist!

Stat of the Day

The U.S.’s rank against other countries for the healthspan-lifespan gap. The study was run in 183 countries - meaning the U.S. ranked dead last - 12.4 years burdened by disease. That’s 29% more than the global average. (JAMA Network)

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Top Books to Read in 2025

Last week, we shared our Ultimate 2024 Holiday Gift Guide.

Today we’re giving you more ideas for the readers on your list that are looking for awesome books to check out in the New Year (or maybe with some down time over the next couple of weeks).

Don’t forget to check out our recommendations from last year (Top 15 Books to Read in 2024) because nearly all those books are still great choices if they aren’t already on your bookshelf, Kindle, or Audio library.

Here’s our Top 15 for 2025:

Let’s start with a few practical guides that add to much of what we write about at Thrive25 to boost your “healthspan” and live your best life:

Our body is a system - not a set of independent variables. Just about everything, including the most prevalent chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, brain disease, metabolic dysfunction), is tied to how effectively our cells can produce energy. But it’s not just those dire diseases - our gut health (IBS), skin health (acne), and just how we feel every day are also tied to our lifestyle. After some easy-to-follow science, Dr. Means shares a protocol with practical steps to improve your health.

Dr. Lyon would say that we’re not overweight, we’re under-muscled. Muscle holds the key to longevity. Her research shows that it helps us manage how much we eat, increases our mobility, improves our metabolism (it’s a great place to process all our sugar instead of fat), and even boosts our mood. A theme in this Top 15 - this book has tons of practical tips to implement, as well as a shift in framing for how you look at the importance of muscle for long-term health.

I’ve always been a fan of Bill Bryson - he’s got a knack for explaining complicated stuff in a simpler, entertaining way. This is a solid overview for how our body works. Until science fiction becomes a reality - we get just one body and there are few things more important than understanding how it works. This is a pretty good overview for that.

So it’s easy to just blame “big pharma” for high costs and our addiction to drugs, but what’s the real story? John Abramson isn’t just a Harvard-trained doctor of 20+ years. He’s an expert in litigation involving the pharma industry and has served as an unpaid consultant to the FBI and Justice Department. He’s telling the real story of who is funding scientific studies and what these drugs are really doing to us.

We’ve received a lot of interest in mental health and how we can better converse with or quiet that voice in our head.

Most of you know I’m a huge fan of Oliver Burkeman’s previous book, Four Thousand Weeks. This new book includes 28 short meditations - meant to be read one per day for a month. It all stems from the premise that we need to “grasp that life as a limited human being - in an era of infinite tasks and opportunities…- isn’t a problem you’ve got to try to solve.” There is no solution to this problem - it’s about accepting this reality, which, in itself, can make life way better.

“Chatter consists of cyclical negative thoughts and emotions that turn our capacity for introspection into a curse rather than a blessing.” We spend 30-50% of our time in our head not living in the present moment. We’re never going to get rid of this inner voice - but there is a way to control it. I have so many notes from this book - #1: our happiness stems more from what we’re thinking than what we’re doing - huge recommendation!

Studies show that happiness and satisfaction come not from what we experience, but what we remember. Our memory shapes our present and our future - it affects every decision we make. This book doesn’t ask “why do we forget things”, but “why do we remember anything in the first place?” It’s a great read for anyone that wants to understand how our memory works, how it helps interpret our perspective of the world, and how our memories are connected to what other people remember. It’s a pretty quick and worthwhile read.

Does our health affect our mindset or does our mindset affect our health? We’ve talked about the placebo effect - how powerful our mind is in changing not just how we feel, but how we heal. This book takes it to the next level, showing how much our health and life is shaped by what’s going on inside our head. Mindfulness isn’t just meditation - it’s noticing new things (especially as they happen to you and your body). Bottom line - it’s important to believe you’re young, that your injury will heal, and that you can thrive at any age.

I received this book as a gift. If nothing else it is absolutely an eye-opening experience. The underlying premise is that all of our problems (which exist in our head) are from relationships with other people. But that our past - and any trauma from our past - is not what will determine our future. We control our mindset and how we will feel and experience life. From the teachings of philosopher Alfred Adler, the book challenges us to let go of others’ expectations, take responsibility and live authentically.

Sometimes we need life to slow down; sometimes we need to do things a little better; sometimes we want to do things better than everyone else. Well, we’ve got books to help you do all three.

My wife recommended this book coming from the hospitality industry herself way back out of undergrad. It’s been a north star in building Thrive25. Our new membership might not be a 5-star restaurant, but the premise of delivering an unmatched experience still stands. In fact, I’d argue it’s even more important to deliver optimal health than a perfect meal. A great read for anyone looking to build excellence into their life’s work or just…life.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from our research for Thrive25 is that life is the space between when something happens to us and our response. The more we can find the space (the pause) and think clearly before just reacting, the better the result and trajectory for that moment. These moments build on themselves and become our path for life. Shane Parrish is a former Canadian intelligence agent. The book seems like common sense, but is written in such a logical way that you’ll have countless takeaways.

This list isn’t confined to longevity - or even health. And honestly, the list could be much longer, but here are some topics that I just thought were extremely interesting in how to expand how we see and think about the world.

I know there are more practical and useful AI books out there. But since Sapiens I’ve been a huge fan of Yuval Noah Harari (he gains clarity from 2 month silent retreats - a shorter version is on my bucket list for 2025, more coming soon). In this book, he looks at how humans have evolved our communication since the Stone Age and it’s a great perspective to see the slow, then lightspeed changes in connecting our world.

Not a diet book, this book is all about plants. I didn’t think it would be of much interest - as much as I love hiking and our natural world, I get much more excited at the sight of animals than rare plants. But this book had a unique way of pulling me in to see just how alive plants are and how we can take them for granted. I find learning new things and seeing the world through a different lens has way more power than just learning about that specific topic (in this case - plants).

This might be the book of the year for 2024. Even if you’re not a parent, the research coming out on how technology - specifically smart phones and social media - is disrupting the minds of today’s youth is demoralizing. But what gets lost in the story is that it’s not just the tech, it’s us not letting kids be kids. That living with virtually no risk for the first 20 years of your life means you don’t know how to handle it when you encounter it. This will be the discussion for years to come on how to raise adults and support the future generation.

Try

Read 1 Book

Our attention span continues to dwindle - technology is giving all of us ADHD. We go from reading books, to magazines, to articles, to posts, to watching Tik Tok or YouTube video snippets. It’s even affecting sports - no one watches the games, just the highlights on social media.

Take a beat and find a book worth reading. Enjoy the slow pace of learning something new, finding some space for silence, and letting your mind wonder while you escape the fast-paced reality that overwhelms our brain even when we think we’re “taking a break.”

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H&L in the News

An Assassin’s Back Pain: Chronic back pain affects 16M Americans, disrupting daily life and mental health. Discover treatments and coping strategies to reclaim mobility and hope. (NYTimes). For more check out Issue #345-347.

Grandparent Rivalries Unwrapped: Feeling left out as a grandparent (or struggling with the dynamic with your parents and in-laws)? Discover ways to minimize competition, strengthen bonds, and celebrate shared traditions for meaningful family connections. (WSJ)

Does Life Really Exist?: Is life an illusion? Scientists challenge the concept, exploring how chemistry and physics blur the lines between living and nonliving matter. Discover why redefining life could revolutionize our understanding of existence. (Big Think)

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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.

This newsletter is for you and we truly value your feedback. Never hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

To health!