You Know I'm Obsessed With Goop
The wellness world, how we're influenced by it and why I wrote an entire book about it.
Hi everyone,
You know I’m obsessed with Goop and Gwyneth and all things GP. If. you’ve been reading my newsletter for any amount of time and you are a fan of my Goop Translations, you know that I love her and hate her and find her incredibly obnoxious! But I love her! And hate her!
So it makes perfect sense that I would write a book about the wellness world and how it seeps its way into our psyche and influence people. Yes. I wrote a book about Goop.
First, let me say this. When I look at the countless influencer recommended products online or in other substacks, I don’t even think about it twice. I just buy it. Like this product Hanni “the fatty” a fatty acid moisture stick that I just picked up at Sephora. It was 10 percent off from the Sephora sale, and that’s hardly anything to be excited about. But everyone is flipping out about the Sephora sale! It’s like you’re missing out if you don’t get it. Right? Why do I need a fatty acid moisture stick? Because the wellness industry and the beauty industry told me I need it. And life is so hard right now, so anything that they tell me to get… I’m going to get.
I’m a 53 year old woman. I love products as much as the next person, but imagine what this does to the brain of a 15 year old girl?
Even the wellness influencers who sell the products know it’s a scam! This is an interview with Charlotte Palermino who runs the company Dieux skin which is a beauty company. I love Dieux skin and their products. But guess how I found them? On the internet. Tik Tok. Through the wellness friendly algorithm!! Even Charlotte Palermino, the frigging CEO of this company, calls wellness a scam. Who can you trust, really?
So I did what any writer like me would do. I wrote about it.
My next book that comes out is a YA book called YOU BELONG TO ME from Penguin Teen April 15, 2025. Yes you can pre order and I hope you do! Also please ask your local bookstores or your libraries to carry it. This is a huge ask, I know, but I love you for doing it.
You Belong to Me is a sapphic thriller about a little goth girl named Frances Bean (yes, I went there) who falls in love with a gorgeous girl named Julia Patterson. Julia happens to be the daughter of a super famous and gorgeous wellness guru, Deena Patterson, the CEO and president of Deep. (Think of Deep as Goop. Though if my legal department asks, I didn’t make this comparison.) The closer Bean and Julia get, the more intense their relationship becomes, the more Bean sinks into Deep and the whoo-whoo business of it all until she realizes that she’s been sucked into a cult.
What is better than Gwyneth Paltrow and cults? To me, not a whole lot.
Right now, Goodreads is doing a big giveaway for You Belong To Me, so please enter it and put the book on your TBR while you’re at it.
If you’re in the media or you’re a book influencer and you want an arc or access to Net Galley, please get in touch with me and I’ll hook you up.
I really love this book for so many reasons. Without even realizing it,I wrote a book about a cult leader who lies and manipulates young, vulnerable people. Look at the outcome of our election. They elected a cult leader. That Orange Guy has been on the brain for the past 12 years. How do we not write about it?
Tell The Bees, a great substack about culture, just sent out a fascinating newsletter today about how young men are isolated more than ever and the rising conservatism in the fashion world. I highly recommend reading it. It ties into wellness and the election and where we are in our country right now. In short: Fuck Joe Rogan. Fuck the bro boy podcasters. If you think your kid is listening to some innocent podcast, think again. They’re getting brainwashed.
I’m having a hard time even thinking about what to say about this election and where we are at as a country except that I need a break from all of it right now. I’m doing what Mel Robbins calls “Let Them.” And I’m letting them. For now.
I’ve sunk deep into writing again which feels really good. I hope you’re finding a place for solace too.
What I’m Reading/ Watching:
The Diplomat; Bad Sisters; La Maison; My Brilliant Friend (adapataion on HBO); Abbott Elementary; English Teacher The Hurricane Girl by Marcy Dermansky; Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe; The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz; Shred Sisters by Betsy Lerner.
Love,
Hayley