If in January you make grand plans to overhaul your diet, only to be dining on chips and candy by February, you need to find ways to boost your motivation through the year. One of the most reliable ways I’ve found to stay motivated over time is to keep reading – and re-reading – the books that reconnect me to my “why.” Here are five really important ones for me. Full disclosure: there’s one I haven’t actually read cover-to-cover… yet! But I’ll do it before the end of 2026, promise. I’d love to know which ones are meaningful to you. Please add your own favorite books about the plant-based lifestyle to the comments below!
I posted a video to YouTube about it or you can keep on reading below.
I encourage you to buy these books from your local bookshop or get them from your public library. If you choose to order them online from Bookshop (suggested) or Amazon using the links below, the Plantwise Book Club will receive a small amount at no additional cost to you.
UnDo It! by Dean Ornish and Anne Ornish
I first read UnDo It! back in 2020 but I’m revisiting it because it’s the Plantwise Book Club feature for January 2026.
This book is co-written by Dr. Dean Ornish with his wife Anne Ornish, who plays a major role in how the Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program is implemented in real life.
Dr. Ornish is famous for the studies showing that an intensive lifestyle intervention can help prevent and even reverse many chronic diseases, including heart disease, prostate cancer, and mild cognitive impairment.
In this book, Dean lays out his unified theory of disease, explaining how many of our most common modern ailments share root causes, and how four core practices can help prevent and even reverse those diseases:
- Eat well
- Move more
- Stress less
- Love more
What makes this book especially powerful is that it’s not only inspiring, it’s practical.
Anne’s contributions really focus on the “how,” explaining the way the programs are structured and giving very concrete examples of the activities participants do to overhaul their health in nine weeks.
Plus, half of the book is recipes, many of which quite appealing. (No pictures though!)
The biggest reason I’m re-reading this is the central message: change doesn’t last because it’s fueled by fear of dying, but because we’re attracted to the prospect of living a happier, more pleasurable life. That’s what makes change stick in the long run.
One defining aspect of this book is that Ornish and Ornish insist that, if one already suffers from chronic disease, they should invest everything they can in the program, going “all in” on nutrition, movement, stress management, and community participation. That way, they are likely to experience near-immediate results. The joy of living pain free will keep them motivated to stick with the changes. “Big efforts lead to big results.”
How Not to Die (10th anniversary edition) by Michael Greger
Bookshop ~ Amazon (careful to buy the right edition!)
Next up is another classic and, yes, I’m reading it again in its new edition, just published in December 2025. It’s the Plantwise Book Club pick for March.
The book is divided in two parts. Part 1 presents the fifteen main causes of death in the United States the the evidence about what causes them and how to prevent them. Part 2 shifts into the twelve daily habits – mostly food related – that dramatically reduce our risk and improve our outcomes.
Even though I read it a few years ago, I know that re-reading it will be powerful. In addition to including a significant amount of new and updated information, the book will nourish my motivation, and I will be reading it through a different lens as I have gone through a lot since I first read it.
Also: Dr. Greger can be funny. He’s the king of puns, and the book is a surprisingly entertaining read considering how science-packed it also is.
If you feel intimidated by the heft of the book (485 pages before the notes!!), here’s my tip: start with the chapter that relates to what’s affecting you the most right now. It’s going to feel instantly relevant, and you’ll want to put the tips into practice right away.
The Alzheimer’s Solution by Dean Sherzai and Ayesha Sherzai
This one is very meaningful to me. I read it not long after it came out, around the time when my father was officially diagnosed with dementia. That’s when I decided to seriously investigate the health claims of plant-based diets. To be honest, at first, I believed that vegans were playing up the health benefits for the sake of rallying more people to this way of eating. But as I watched my father’s health and cognition deteriorate, I was motivated to dig deeper. What I discovered, including in this book, turned me into a committed advocate for whole food plant based cooking and eating.
This book gave me the knowledge, confidence, and also relief: my father’s fate wasn’t my destiny. Yes, genes load the gun, but lifestyle pulls the trigger. Now, I know what to do to radically improve my odds of aging healthily. And I am spreading this message far and wide because I want to save other families from going through what we had to live with.
The Sherzais are neurologists and their work emphasizes that brain health is shaped by daily habits. Their NEURO plan is similar to the Ornish program, as it includes nutrition, exercise, stress management, rest, and building a habit system that fits your life.
Because Alzheimer’s disease is so scary, I find this book deeply motivating. I’ll be re-reading it in 2026 and featuring it as a Plantwise book of the month.
The First 20 Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds
This one is not about food, but about movement.
The author, Gretchen Reynolds, was New York Times exercise columnist at the time (now works for the Washington Post) and in this short book she brings together research showing something very encouraging:
Brief daily movement has an outsized impact on health and longevity.
One reason I love this book is that it’s not written for elite athletes obsessed with performance. It’s written for everybody who has a body!
It argues that we don’t need perfection, extreme intensity, or heroic workouts to build our heart, muscles, bones, and resilience. An empowering message!
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
Time to confess: though obviously I know what it’s about, I haven’t actually read The China Study from cover to cover! I hereby make myself accountable to remedy this in 2026.
The China Study is a landmark nutrition book arguing that diets rich in whole plant foods correlate with lower chronic disease risk, while animal-heavy diets are associated with higher rates of chronic disease and mortality.
It blends epidemiology, lab research, and big-picture framing.
As a sociologist of science, I’ve always appreciated T. Colin Campbell’s broader perspective, especially his ability to think holistically about how nutrition research is shaped, communicated, and organized. I look forward to engaging more deeply with his early work.
Want to read with us?
The Plantwise Book Club is a welcoming community of people who, like you, are not just curious about what keeps us healthy but also willing to change their habits to improve their odds of living a long, healthy, active, and even FUN life. It’s a lovely group and you’d fit right in.
It’s a supportive environment where you can connect with other who care about health, learning, and habits. Learn more here: Plantwise Book Club.
What books about the plant-based lifestyle are YOU committed to reading… for the first time, or again?
Share below. Your suggestion might change someone’s life for the better.