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An engaging exploration of the unique history and biology of fasting - an essential component of many traditional health practices, religions, and philosophies, resurging in popularity today - perfect for readers of Breath by James Nestor and Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker.. We fast all the time, even when we're not conscious of doing so. A fast manifests the idea of holding back, resisting the animal impulse to charge ahead. Its flip side is similarly everywhere: call it splurging, self-indulgence, or a variant of "self-care." Based on extensive historical, scientific, and cultural research and reporting, The Fast illuminates the numerous facets of this act of self-deprivation. John Oakes interviews doctors, spiritual leaders, activists, and others who guide him through this practice - and embarks on fasts of his own - to deliver a book that supplies readers curious about fasting with profound new understanding, appreciation, and inspiration.