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The Fruit Cure: The Story of Extreme Wellness Turned Sour
A powerful critique of the failures in our healthcare system and an inquiry into the sinister strains of wellness culture that prey on people’s vulnerabilities through schemes, scams, and diets.
Jacqueline Alnes was a Division One runner during her freshman year of college, but her season was cut short by a series of inexplicable neurological symptoms. What started with a cough, escalated to Alnes collapsing on the track and experiencing months of unremembered episodes that stole her ability to walk and speak.
Two years after quitting the team to heal, Alnes’s symptoms returned with a severity that left her using a wheelchair for a period of months. She was admitted to an epilepsy center but doctors could not figure out the root cause of her symptoms. Desperate for answers, she turned to an online community centered around a strict, all-fruit diet which its adherents claimed could cure conditions like depression, eating disorders, addiction, anxiety, and vision problems. Alnes wasn’t alone. From all over the world, people in pain, doubted or dismissed by medical authorities, or seeking a miracle diet that would relieve them of white, Western expectations placed on their figures, turned to fruit in hopes of releasing themselves from the perceived failings of their bodies.
In The Fruit Cure, Jacqueline Alnes takes readers on a spellbinding and unforgettable journey through the world of fruitarianism, interweaving her own powerful narrative with the popularity and problematic history of fruit-based, raw food lifestyles. For readers plagued by mysterious symptoms, inundated by messages from media about how to attain “the perfect body,” or caught in the grips of a fast-paced culture of capitalism, The Fruit Cure offers a powerful critique of the failures of our healthcare system and an inquiry into the sinister strains of wellness culture that prey on people’s vulnerabilities through schemes, scams, and diets masquerading as hope.
Jacqueline Alnes was a Division One runner during her freshman year of college, but her season was cut short by a series of inexplicable neurological symptoms. What started with a cough, escalated to Alnes collapsing on the track and experiencing months of unremembered episodes that stole her ability to walk and speak.
Two years after quitting the team to heal, Alnes’s symptoms returned with a severity that left her using a wheelchair for a period of months. She was admitted to an epilepsy center but doctors could not figure out the root cause of her symptoms. Desperate for answers, she turned to an online community centered around a strict, all-fruit diet which its adherents claimed could cure conditions like depression, eating disorders, addiction, anxiety, and vision problems. Alnes wasn’t alone. From all over the world, people in pain, doubted or dismissed by medical authorities, or seeking a miracle diet that would relieve them of white, Western expectations placed on their figures, turned to fruit in hopes of releasing themselves from the perceived failings of their bodies.
In The Fruit Cure, Jacqueline Alnes takes readers on a spellbinding and unforgettable journey through the world of fruitarianism, interweaving her own powerful narrative with the popularity and problematic history of fruit-based, raw food lifestyles. For readers plagued by mysterious symptoms, inundated by messages from media about how to attain “the perfect body,” or caught in the grips of a fast-paced culture of capitalism, The Fruit Cure offers a powerful critique of the failures of our healthcare system and an inquiry into the sinister strains of wellness culture that prey on people’s vulnerabilities through schemes, scams, and diets masquerading as hope.
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2023
31 people are currently reading
585 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
February 3, 2024
So, I knew going in that this book was going to be a hybrid of a memoir about the authors experience in college of developing an undiagnosed neurological disorder, and an investigation into fruitarian eating, but I wasn’t expecting the large amount of history that was also present. In general, I did enjoy the read, but I did have some struggles with the structure, and in the end felt that the author was a little too permissive of the difficult topics of restricted eating and wellness spaces on social media.
I think the writing was best in the memoir portion. The author clearly had time to be thoroughly introspective about her experience, and was able to very thoughtfully tease out her overlapping and complicated emotions. The beginning didn’t quite reach me as so much of the author’s identity was wrapped up in her athleticism, which I personally can’t connect with. But as the book went on the struggles with reconnecting with your disabled body and trying to find control without self harm became really engaging. Personally, the memoir portion wasn’t why I picked up the book, but the author did win me over and I became pretty invested in her story.
I didn’t realize how much time was going to be spent on the history of vegetarian, vegan, and fruitarian diets and honestly, I thought the section was a little weak. I don’t know enough about the topic at hand to tell if any of the actual information was wrong, but the author seemed to spend a lot of time speculating on the interior emotional lives of the people she was discussing and that tends to be a pet peeve of mine. Alongside such a personal narrative, filled with a lot of introspection, it kind of felt like the author was projecting onto these historical figures.
The portion of the book spent on Freelee and Durianrider were the closest to what I was expecting when I picked up the book. I am very interested in investigations into the predatory nature of wellness culture, especially as it spreads through social media and conspicuous consumption, so this part was very engaging. Parts of it did come across as a lot more gossipy than investigatory, but I think that’s more reflective of the nature of the community than any fault of the author. I was honestly pretty surprised that it felt like the author didn’t go hard enough on Freelee and Durianrider. She mentions that their social media presence was borderline or a little fatphobic, which was a dramatic understatement given the upsetting and cruel anti-fat hatred that she had already quoted them on and the very nature of the weight loss portion of the diet.
I think the thing that I kept coming back to was a disconnect between these three different parts of the book. At the beginning especially they were very jarring as there didn’t seem to be a lot of overlap between the author’s neurological symptoms and traumatic college experience and 19th century diet “pioneers”. I was honestly flabbergasted when the author revealed that she never actually participated in the fruitarian diet, and only attempted it for one day and pretty halfheartedly. I am, of course, glad that the author’s experience with disordered eating wasn’t worse than what she already described, but I was left feeling kinda like the author had lost a credential. I did eventually come around to feeling invested about the memoir portion, but by the end of the book, I’m not sure its existence ever felt truly justified. I’m a little suspicious that the personal memoir and the investigation of the high carb, incredibly restrictive vegan diet should’ve been two separate books and I probably only would’ve picked up the second one.
Other folks might not be as bothered by the mixed genre of this book. I will fully admit that memoir and educational nonfiction hybrids are not my favorite. And the memoir writing was strong. But I wish the whole book had come down harder on wellness culture and its dangers and spent a little less time in the author’s head or speculating on the interior lives of people who were either long dead or declined to be interviewed.
I think the writing was best in the memoir portion. The author clearly had time to be thoroughly introspective about her experience, and was able to very thoughtfully tease out her overlapping and complicated emotions. The beginning didn’t quite reach me as so much of the author’s identity was wrapped up in her athleticism, which I personally can’t connect with. But as the book went on the struggles with reconnecting with your disabled body and trying to find control without self harm became really engaging. Personally, the memoir portion wasn’t why I picked up the book, but the author did win me over and I became pretty invested in her story.
I didn’t realize how much time was going to be spent on the history of vegetarian, vegan, and fruitarian diets and honestly, I thought the section was a little weak. I don’t know enough about the topic at hand to tell if any of the actual information was wrong, but the author seemed to spend a lot of time speculating on the interior emotional lives of the people she was discussing and that tends to be a pet peeve of mine. Alongside such a personal narrative, filled with a lot of introspection, it kind of felt like the author was projecting onto these historical figures.
The portion of the book spent on Freelee and Durianrider were the closest to what I was expecting when I picked up the book. I am very interested in investigations into the predatory nature of wellness culture, especially as it spreads through social media and conspicuous consumption, so this part was very engaging. Parts of it did come across as a lot more gossipy than investigatory, but I think that’s more reflective of the nature of the community than any fault of the author. I was honestly pretty surprised that it felt like the author didn’t go hard enough on Freelee and Durianrider. She mentions that their social media presence was borderline or a little fatphobic, which was a dramatic understatement given the upsetting and cruel anti-fat hatred that she had already quoted them on and the very nature of the weight loss portion of the diet.
I think the thing that I kept coming back to was a disconnect between these three different parts of the book. At the beginning especially they were very jarring as there didn’t seem to be a lot of overlap between the author’s neurological symptoms and traumatic college experience and 19th century diet “pioneers”. I was honestly flabbergasted when the author revealed that she never actually participated in the fruitarian diet, and only attempted it for one day and pretty halfheartedly. I am, of course, glad that the author’s experience with disordered eating wasn’t worse than what she already described, but I was left feeling kinda like the author had lost a credential. I did eventually come around to feeling invested about the memoir portion, but by the end of the book, I’m not sure its existence ever felt truly justified. I’m a little suspicious that the personal memoir and the investigation of the high carb, incredibly restrictive vegan diet should’ve been two separate books and I probably only would’ve picked up the second one.
Other folks might not be as bothered by the mixed genre of this book. I will fully admit that memoir and educational nonfiction hybrids are not my favorite. And the memoir writing was strong. But I wish the whole book had come down harder on wellness culture and its dangers and spent a little less time in the author’s head or speculating on the interior lives of people who were either long dead or declined to be interviewed.
April 13, 2024
This book is split up into two different categories. It opens up with the narrator detailing the start of her chronic illness. How her symptoms started showing up then slowly how it got worse and worse for her. Next, it is interspersed with history sections on different individuals in vulnerable states experiencing illness. The focus is on how these people were preyed on, or who willingly began to self diagnosis and turn away from the modern medicine and doctors who failed them, and turned instead towards a miracle cure-all fix. The author moves between these two lines of storytelling (memoir and history lesson). 🤔
Instead, I wish this had focused more on the memoir aspect because the history lessons and side stories of other (random) individuals really dragged...especially as the book progressed. Or instead lose the memoir aspect and take a more journalistic approach to the craze of the fruitarian movement over time. MY NUMBER ONE CRITIQUE is I wish she had tried tweezing out the undertones of sympathy and applied a bit more pressure to the danger of wholistic diet lifestyle movements (and include, ya know, the medical proof of the health consequences).
I do get the impression that the narrator still has a lot of sympathy for the 30 bananas a day movement and Freelee. I appreciate the nuance but I do wish there was more of a dissonance. This whole movement to me feels highly dysfunctional and dangerous. I think we need more elaboration on that and less empathizing for everyone involved.
The tone here is really bizarre. The ending didn't feel like a conclusion. I don't feel like I learned anything or got anything out of this. Maybe it was a cathartic writing experience for the author herself. As a reader I would like my time back.
Thoughts and notes along the way...
.
.
.
◙ This poor girl's experience with her doctors, coaches, teammates, friends, and adults in her life that were supposed to be advocating for her, having her best interest in mind when they made decisions for her, is absolutely infuriating. The irresponsibility of these adults in the situation.
◙ Gets VERY DARK.
◙ Need more focus about the fruit diet. I mean it's in the title after all so shouldn't that be the focus? 20%.
◙ 30% last bit has been focusing on people who tried to self diagnose and heal themselves with fruit diets. Grapes, banana, etc. It drags a bit here.
◙ So many times she would say something like this person thought grapes could cure them. She started puking blood but then started eating grapes. THE END. like huh?! Can you elaborate on what happened to this person? did they die from their cancer? what happened with their health?
◙ "The right way of eating" ..."Their way of life is best on a level of morality."...wow yeah I know what she means here and how dangerous this way of thinking is. I was a vegetarian and vegan for MANY years and spent a lot of time in these circles, absorbing this narrative, and in retrospect it is incredibly damaging. In my situation as I started to get sick and needed to make a change in my diet for my own health or die sticking to the narrative of "im wrong if I eat meat again. Im bad, evil, Im the problem"...it felt like the most difficult decision of my life because of how deeply ingrained that narrative of "morality" was entrenched in my diet.
◙ 46% I'm getting really confused the relevance of all these side stories. And the random specific details that the narrator is including to tell these stories?? Like the guy who went on mushrooms and seen a sphere in the sky and his friend walked up to him on the highway and then they went off together to do whatever they did next. And the girl who started dating a drug dealer she met on the beach and went to a club in a white crop top and danced with an Australian tennis player. Like WHAT?!?!?! who is this girl and HOW is she relevant to this book?
◙ Freelee and durian seem SO GROSS from everything that was described about these two... I'm appalled. And I just looked up freelee, she is STILL uploading content to YouTube with a following of almost a million subscribers.
◙ Everything about freelee and durian made my skin literally feel itchy. They are despicable. Durian in particular makes me feel physically ill.
.
.
.
I would not recommend reading this unless in a good and safe mental health state. This book is very triggering, TW chronic illness, SA, bullying, eating disorders, medical trauma, dismissal of women's pain.
Instead, I wish this had focused more on the memoir aspect because the history lessons and side stories of other (random) individuals really dragged...especially as the book progressed. Or instead lose the memoir aspect and take a more journalistic approach to the craze of the fruitarian movement over time. MY NUMBER ONE CRITIQUE is I wish she had tried tweezing out the undertones of sympathy and applied a bit more pressure to the danger of wholistic diet lifestyle movements (and include, ya know, the medical proof of the health consequences).
I do get the impression that the narrator still has a lot of sympathy for the 30 bananas a day movement and Freelee. I appreciate the nuance but I do wish there was more of a dissonance. This whole movement to me feels highly dysfunctional and dangerous. I think we need more elaboration on that and less empathizing for everyone involved.
The tone here is really bizarre. The ending didn't feel like a conclusion. I don't feel like I learned anything or got anything out of this. Maybe it was a cathartic writing experience for the author herself. As a reader I would like my time back.
Thoughts and notes along the way...
.
.
.
◙ This poor girl's experience with her doctors, coaches, teammates, friends, and adults in her life that were supposed to be advocating for her, having her best interest in mind when they made decisions for her, is absolutely infuriating. The irresponsibility of these adults in the situation.
◙ Gets VERY DARK.
◙ Need more focus about the fruit diet. I mean it's in the title after all so shouldn't that be the focus? 20%.
◙ 30% last bit has been focusing on people who tried to self diagnose and heal themselves with fruit diets. Grapes, banana, etc. It drags a bit here.
◙ So many times she would say something like this person thought grapes could cure them. She started puking blood but then started eating grapes. THE END. like huh?! Can you elaborate on what happened to this person? did they die from their cancer? what happened with their health?
◙ "The right way of eating" ..."Their way of life is best on a level of morality."...wow yeah I know what she means here and how dangerous this way of thinking is. I was a vegetarian and vegan for MANY years and spent a lot of time in these circles, absorbing this narrative, and in retrospect it is incredibly damaging. In my situation as I started to get sick and needed to make a change in my diet for my own health or die sticking to the narrative of "im wrong if I eat meat again. Im bad, evil, Im the problem"...it felt like the most difficult decision of my life because of how deeply ingrained that narrative of "morality" was entrenched in my diet.
◙ 46% I'm getting really confused the relevance of all these side stories. And the random specific details that the narrator is including to tell these stories?? Like the guy who went on mushrooms and seen a sphere in the sky and his friend walked up to him on the highway and then they went off together to do whatever they did next. And the girl who started dating a drug dealer she met on the beach and went to a club in a white crop top and danced with an Australian tennis player. Like WHAT?!?!?! who is this girl and HOW is she relevant to this book?
◙ Freelee and durian seem SO GROSS from everything that was described about these two... I'm appalled. And I just looked up freelee, she is STILL uploading content to YouTube with a following of almost a million subscribers.
◙ Everything about freelee and durian made my skin literally feel itchy. They are despicable. Durian in particular makes me feel physically ill.
.
.
.
I would not recommend reading this unless in a good and safe mental health state. This book is very triggering, TW chronic illness, SA, bullying, eating disorders, medical trauma, dismissal of women's pain.
February 4, 2024
The Wellness Cure is not exactly a takedown of wellness culture or vegan diets, but more of a nice look back on “WTF was I thinking in my 20s”—a coming of age, if you will.
I’m the same age as Alnes, and I even raced cross country against her in high school. Like her, I also was exposed to and dabbled in disordered eating all through my 20s in the pursuit of “health.” So her style of reflection as well as the main lenses used felt relevant. She weaves together her personal experience with illness that forced her to quit her college cross country team, with the history of extreme diets, and a narrative from a prolific vegan vlogger couple on YouTube. There were some entertaining twists and turns, as well as a lot of challenges, and Alnes maintains a sense of levity through it all.
I’m the same age as Alnes, and I even raced cross country against her in high school. Like her, I also was exposed to and dabbled in disordered eating all through my 20s in the pursuit of “health.” So her style of reflection as well as the main lenses used felt relevant. She weaves together her personal experience with illness that forced her to quit her college cross country team, with the history of extreme diets, and a narrative from a prolific vegan vlogger couple on YouTube. There were some entertaining twists and turns, as well as a lot of challenges, and Alnes maintains a sense of levity through it all.
August 22, 2023
I tried to like this. I wanted to like this, but I finally gave up at 41%. The author has still not gotten to the whole point of the book and her trying this bizarre diet.
January 14, 2024
This book is a timely and pertinent reminder not to get too wrapped up in "wellness culture".
At a time of year when lots of set New Years resolutions, I suspect a lot of us that partake would think about wellness, being healthy, maybe losing weight too.
Part memoir, part social commentary, this gives an opinionated take based on the author's own experiences of fad diets, recommendations, and the extremes medical experts can suggest.
Having all of this encapsulated into one book was educational, thought provoking, surprising and at times, hard hitting. I think to call this out is very brave.
At a time of year when lots of set New Years resolutions, I suspect a lot of us that partake would think about wellness, being healthy, maybe losing weight too.
Part memoir, part social commentary, this gives an opinionated take based on the author's own experiences of fad diets, recommendations, and the extremes medical experts can suggest.
Having all of this encapsulated into one book was educational, thought provoking, surprising and at times, hard hitting. I think to call this out is very brave.
March 7, 2024
Super uneven. The memoir section was written well, but the deep dive into influencers of the past and present were terminally dull. They were also uneven (the history of veganism and racism) or gossip rag recounts of some YouTubers. It seemed like the author was patching together papers to make the page count required for publication.
October 8, 2023
This was an eye opening read as far as western medicine and so called wellness culture, but it was very much based on personal experience and opinionated.
February 6, 2024
The Fruit Cure is part investigation into the world and history of fruitarianism, part memoir telling the authors story as an elite runner who develops a mystery condition and becomes interested in fruitarianism as a result.
Some part of this book were fascinating but overall I thought the book didn't quite live up to its promise. Unlike other reviewers who thought the book was at its best in the memoir sections, I thought the history sections were where this book made the most impact. The author managed to have salient insights into what causes the rise of these sort of diets over the years and how it intersects with fatphobia, religion and racism.
The memoir section felt like it could have been removed without making a big difference to the overall book. I got what the author was trying to do using her own experiences to explain why people end up in the world of these crazy diets, but I think the links weren't well enough (or perhaps strongly enough) made to make their inclusion worthwhile.
Some part of this book were fascinating but overall I thought the book didn't quite live up to its promise. Unlike other reviewers who thought the book was at its best in the memoir sections, I thought the history sections were where this book made the most impact. The author managed to have salient insights into what causes the rise of these sort of diets over the years and how it intersects with fatphobia, religion and racism.
The memoir section felt like it could have been removed without making a big difference to the overall book. I got what the author was trying to do using her own experiences to explain why people end up in the world of these crazy diets, but I think the links weren't well enough (or perhaps strongly enough) made to make their inclusion worthwhile.
March 13, 2024
To be honest, I’m quite disappointed with this book. My student asked me to co-advise the students’ Book Club, and this is the next book they’re reading. Dr. Alnes is even coming to our campus because she knows the main advisor, and he asked her to talk to the Book Club. I was excited to start listening to this book, especially because Alnes narrates it herself, and it felt so personal.
I was invested from the start. I cared about Alnes, and her treatment by coaches and teammates and doctor at times nearly angered me. I felt for her and wanted her to just be okay. Then, she began weaving in other stories, which I also loved. I learned a lot about fad diets and quacks and found these other historical accounts fascinating.
Then, she started talking about Freelee the Banana Girl and Durianrider, these YouTube influencers. It all felt sinister and wrong.
Then, it just became repetitive. More of the same types of stories and more anecdotes about Freelee and DR and more of her own struggles that didn’t change. More names and histories that became a little hard to follow, especially listening to the book. By the end, I found myself asking what the point was. Okay, she exposes the sexist and ableist and racist under and overtones of the fad diet culture, specifically fruit diets, and the harm in these perceptions of people. But she doesn’t talk about why the diets themselves are harmful. There are people that do well on them, she owns. She talks about doctors who didn’t listen to her but doesn’t talk about the healthcare system at large, really. She never explains what her own illness is, if she ever got a clear diagnosis. The book just becomes tons of open ends that all never get clarity.
Okay, so Freelee and DR aren’t together anymore, and Freelee is still at it (I googled her and found her current pages myself). I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with all this information. That’s all it is for me—just tons of info without any purpose. Exposure? But of what? For whom? To effect what change? I don’t know. So, ultimately, a book I really enjoyed and wanted to give five stars to because I thought it was building towards something is just a book I learned from a bit and that’s really it. I am happy that Alnes is doing better now, mentally and physically, it seems. I’m glad she’ll be on campus, and I do want to hear her speak. But this book just let me down in the end. I wonder what the Book Club will have to say about it?
To be honest, I don’t recommend it. I can’t say why I would or who would get what out of it.
I was invested from the start. I cared about Alnes, and her treatment by coaches and teammates and doctor at times nearly angered me. I felt for her and wanted her to just be okay. Then, she began weaving in other stories, which I also loved. I learned a lot about fad diets and quacks and found these other historical accounts fascinating.
Then, she started talking about Freelee the Banana Girl and Durianrider, these YouTube influencers. It all felt sinister and wrong.
Then, it just became repetitive. More of the same types of stories and more anecdotes about Freelee and DR and more of her own struggles that didn’t change. More names and histories that became a little hard to follow, especially listening to the book. By the end, I found myself asking what the point was. Okay, she exposes the sexist and ableist and racist under and overtones of the fad diet culture, specifically fruit diets, and the harm in these perceptions of people. But she doesn’t talk about why the diets themselves are harmful. There are people that do well on them, she owns. She talks about doctors who didn’t listen to her but doesn’t talk about the healthcare system at large, really. She never explains what her own illness is, if she ever got a clear diagnosis. The book just becomes tons of open ends that all never get clarity.
Okay, so Freelee and DR aren’t together anymore, and Freelee is still at it (I googled her and found her current pages myself). I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with all this information. That’s all it is for me—just tons of info without any purpose. Exposure? But of what? For whom? To effect what change? I don’t know. So, ultimately, a book I really enjoyed and wanted to give five stars to because I thought it was building towards something is just a book I learned from a bit and that’s really it. I am happy that Alnes is doing better now, mentally and physically, it seems. I’m glad she’ll be on campus, and I do want to hear her speak. But this book just let me down in the end. I wonder what the Book Club will have to say about it?
To be honest, I don’t recommend it. I can’t say why I would or who would get what out of it.
February 5, 2024
I might be a bit biased, having had Jacqueline Alnes as my professor, but I genuinely loved this book. It unveils a side of the wellness community I never knew existed. The lack of prior knowledge wasn't an issue, thanks to the incredible research that went into it. The book presents everything in a clear and understandable way, making it accessible to all. Her story is not only eye-opening but also incredibly relatable for many. I'm genuinely impressed by the depth and impact of this book.
August 9, 2024
Somehow a book about a banana cult lead by a sexist and bombastic man and his very attractive/much younger girlfriend was...boring? While I'm really hoping that HBO does a documentary about 30 Bananas a Day, this particular narrative wasn't great. It had all the makings of a great story (Mystery illness! Followers of a cult diet! Good looking people who yell a lot! An international following!) but was just kind of slow.
November 6, 2024
Jacqueline Alnes writes a thorough examination of the origins of fruitarianism, and its impacts on the followers of Freelee and Durianriader. I would describe this book as less of a critical examination of the movement and more of a personal anecdote, dotted with factual and cultural context. Her insights are valuable, especially for anyone who is experiencing doubt and uncertainty related to a chronic health condition. It may be a useful read for future healthcare professionals who should be aware of how *not* to treat a patient. I would have liked a bit more analysis of the diet and the movement in the modern day, as there was a lot of historical and societal context in this book but not much modern perspective. There was also very little dietetic or scientific analysis offered. This book was quite an easy read and definitely a good way to gain a bit more perspective on fruititarianism and chronic illness, and how health movements prey on the vulnerable. Anyone wanting a more thorough analysis should look elsewhere - it's worth noting that this book is not marketed as such, and this is more of a personal complaint.
October 1, 2025
An intimate account of how disability, chronic illness, an impersonal medical system, and isolation so often drive people into the welcoming arms of pseudoscience and grift. The memoir portions were tenderly written and often heart wrenching, and illustrated the appeal of “the fruit cure” very well. Some of the explanatory sections about the online fruitarian movement lacked a bit of depth or bite, but I think that came from the author’s hesitation to be too much a hater. I’m happy to make that my job instead!
December 3, 2025
This was interesting- part memoir about how, after her college running career was cut short by strange neurological symptoms that never received a definite diagnosis, Jacqueline became interested in the fruit-only diet espoused by influencers Freelee the Banana Girl and Durianrider, and part history of such diets. I wish there had been a bit more on other Internet fruitarians and more about how the diet can be physically harmful, but the writing is excellent.
December 1, 2024
Wish there was more about the author and less about freelee tbh
November 24, 2025
Disclaimer: I listened to this audiobook and often fell asleep, so there are chunks that I missed. I'm fairly certain those chunks would not have changed my assessment of the book overall. And in fact, the fact that I kept falling asleep probably is a good assessment of the book overall.
As other reviews have said, this book is composed of three essays hastily sewn together with rough seams. There's a (pretty boring) historical review of raw food/fruit diets, interspersed with a (rather repetitive and tedious) personal reflection about the author's undiagnosed health issues, topped with a (impressively researched, yet somehow shallow?) report about two disgraced raw fruit influencers. None of this material mingles the way it should; chapter breaks feel abrupt, and the "so what?" underpinnings of the book never become clear. The author never gets a definitive answer about why she began suffering sporadic and unpredictable seizures and aphasia, there is no comeuppance for the influencers who led people astray, and there's no satisfying indictment of Diet Culture. It should also be noted that the author never actually followed the 30 Bananas a Day diet or anything else that extreme; she simply watched a few YouTube videos during the throes of her illness and became interested in the movement.
This whole book is kind of a big -shrug-.
As other reviews have said, this book is composed of three essays hastily sewn together with rough seams. There's a (pretty boring) historical review of raw food/fruit diets, interspersed with a (rather repetitive and tedious) personal reflection about the author's undiagnosed health issues, topped with a (impressively researched, yet somehow shallow?) report about two disgraced raw fruit influencers. None of this material mingles the way it should; chapter breaks feel abrupt, and the "so what?" underpinnings of the book never become clear. The author never gets a definitive answer about why she began suffering sporadic and unpredictable seizures and aphasia, there is no comeuppance for the influencers who led people astray, and there's no satisfying indictment of Diet Culture. It should also be noted that the author never actually followed the 30 Bananas a Day diet or anything else that extreme; she simply watched a few YouTube videos during the throes of her illness and became interested in the movement.
This whole book is kind of a big -shrug-.
February 4, 2024
Interesting, but felt all over the place and could have used much more editing.
April 7, 2024
The biography / autobiography split structure threw me off, but it definitely has potential to be engaging. This fell flat in that the narratives didn’t really connect and felt scattered or jumpy. The specific diet here, 30 Bananas a Day, is certainly part of a larger “health” diet culture and I appreciated learning pieces of the history distinct from anorexia. This will likely be part of the cannon for literature on orthorexia.
January 13, 2024
The author details her experience with an illness that, for years, had no name. In seeking a cure, she becomes a fruitarian, or one who only eats fruit. Chapters are interspersed with the history of groups of people who used restrictive diets as cures.
*I read an advance copy and was not compensated
*I read an advance copy and was not compensated
February 16, 2024
I’m fascinated by diets and the people who make them not only a guide for eating but part of their identity. This was a well written and personal look at the author’s struggle with health and her attempt to find solutions in veganism. My favorite aspect of the book is her examination of prominent historical figures who eerily echo their contemporary counterparts.
March 7, 2024
what a truly fascinating insight into crazy diet culture, mental health, memory, learning, and letting things go, no matter the power they may have over you.
January 4, 2024
What do you do when modern medicine is unable to diagnose a medical condition and there seems to be no hope for your return to normalcy. People, for years, have turned to alternate medicines or alternate attempts to treat these problems and it is their plight that is highlighted in this new book by Jacqueline Alnes. Jacqueline, herself, was a college athlete when she was struck down by a mysterious medical condition that none of the doctors could cure. They ran her through batteries of tests with no positive results. She could no longer run, she could barely walk, she couldn't eat she couldn't speak at times, and yet at other times things mysteriously got slightly better before another setback. This is all detailed in “The Fruit Cure” a book which tells the tale of a normal college girl who no longer can function in society, as well as all those others who have had issues or ailments or beliefs that lead them away from normal patterns of living, lifestyle, and eating. Many have become either proponents or followers of those who have preached the gospel of vegetarianism, fruitarianism and the drastic change to their lives, all in an attempt to solve the mysteries that modern science cannot unravel. Jacqueline takes us to Banana Island along with some rather unique individuals who go by the name Freelee and Durianrider and who used the Internet and YouTube to expound their beliefs that eating 30 Bananas a Day will cure you of your medical problems. They preached that eating nothing but bananas and raw food will cure you. That meat and fats are poison and that anything other than what they believe in will cause you harm. The author traces the history of vegetarianism, fruitarianism and takes us on a journey that is most fascinating and educational as we get to read some of the actual transcripts of the YouTube messages and see how body shaming also plays a big part in causing people going to the extreme in order to lose weight. While the author never completely adapted to the 30 Banana a Day diet, she admittedly began to change her eating patterns and behavior, none of which cured her medical condition. Eventually the author was able to lead a normal life, is now a college professor, and therefore has approached this subject in a clinical manner. I appreciated this approach to these issues because I think that is the best way to explore all that was 30 Bananas a Day, fruitarianism and “The Fruit Cure”. 3.5 ***
February 16, 2024
As other reviewers have noted, this needed to be two separate books: one, a mainstream nonfiction book examining how "clean eating" and its history have been around since 1910 with that specific wording, and around even longer when slightly different wording is used. The second book would be that of an athlete's journey to getting doctors to stop gaslighting her and explain what's going on, and her navigating the disability and the identity shift that comes with that.
Her condition is never diagnosed. It's simply referred to as a neurological condition that's episodic.
She doesn't do the fruit diet for longer than a day, but tries to several times. Instead, she just talks about it. And talks, and talks, and I thought she was simply building up interest to her experience with it and no, she is not.
The author also repeatedly describes in detail a sexual assault against her when she was having an episode. I can't explain why, but something about how this book was -written- made me shout, THE AUTHOR REALLY NEEDED TO WARN FOR THIS. She did not, and keeps describing it every fifteen pages or something. Like pulling a string on a talking doll. I'm sorry she went through that, but seriously, I understood the first time you mentioned it. I absolutely hate to say it, but, shut up. It's awful, and you repeatedly draw attention to it for no real reason. ONCE WAS ENOUGH.
This book's structure is awful. Pages will be dedicated to the former athlete's experiences with running and how much joy it brings her, then she explains about Freelee and Durianrider. Uh, okay. Then she talks about the late 1800s and early 1900s for several pages. Did--did she squash a term paper into her disability memoir? Because that's what this felt like at times. What's her relationship to her disability? Does she interact with other people who have neurological disorders? Did fruit-heavy fad diets do anything to worsen her symptoms? No, not really. -Those- were questions that I was hoping this book would be about, and those were not addressed enough for me to notice. Freelee and Durianrider sure were. And people who preached fad diets. Them too. Lots of pages were dedicated to them. The author interviewed several people who lived by these principles, which I found interesting, but again, -how- they were included in the book was poor structure.
It became grating and I wondered if the book would never end. I was surprised when it did.
I wish the author all the best in managing her condition and I hope she has a wonderful support system. I hope she thrives. I just don't like her writing.
Her condition is never diagnosed. It's simply referred to as a neurological condition that's episodic.
She doesn't do the fruit diet for longer than a day, but tries to several times. Instead, she just talks about it. And talks, and talks, and I thought she was simply building up interest to her experience with it and no, she is not.
The author also repeatedly describes in detail a sexual assault against her when she was having an episode. I can't explain why, but something about how this book was -written- made me shout, THE AUTHOR REALLY NEEDED TO WARN FOR THIS. She did not, and keeps describing it every fifteen pages or something. Like pulling a string on a talking doll. I'm sorry she went through that, but seriously, I understood the first time you mentioned it. I absolutely hate to say it, but, shut up. It's awful, and you repeatedly draw attention to it for no real reason. ONCE WAS ENOUGH.
This book's structure is awful. Pages will be dedicated to the former athlete's experiences with running and how much joy it brings her, then she explains about Freelee and Durianrider. Uh, okay. Then she talks about the late 1800s and early 1900s for several pages. Did--did she squash a term paper into her disability memoir? Because that's what this felt like at times. What's her relationship to her disability? Does she interact with other people who have neurological disorders? Did fruit-heavy fad diets do anything to worsen her symptoms? No, not really. -Those- were questions that I was hoping this book would be about, and those were not addressed enough for me to notice. Freelee and Durianrider sure were. And people who preached fad diets. Them too. Lots of pages were dedicated to them. The author interviewed several people who lived by these principles, which I found interesting, but again, -how- they were included in the book was poor structure.
It became grating and I wondered if the book would never end. I was surprised when it did.
I wish the author all the best in managing her condition and I hope she has a wonderful support system. I hope she thrives. I just don't like her writing.
January 26, 2024
The Fruit Cure: The Story of Extreme Wellness Turned Sour is a spellbinding and unforgettable journey through the world of fruitarianism. It is a powerful critique of our healthcare system and wellness culture. The author shares her college experience as a Division One runner and the abrupt onset of mysterious neurological symptoms that led her to explore unconventional wellness practices. She talks about her fascination with fruitarianism, her eventual diagnosis, and the impact of this experience on her relationship with running, food, herself, and others.
The Fruit Cure is written more like a beautiful memoir than a health and wellness book. It starts with a riff on Adam and Eve. Chapter one is called The First Fall and begins, "A few years before my fling with fruit, I was a freshman in college, a Division One athlete. In the beginning, Coach said run, so I did. I ran eight miles easy, four hundred repeats, long runs on Sundays, twelve hundreds at a steady clip. I ran anything Coach wanted. I ran through rain, through cold, through illness, and through the ache of too many miles. I ran to meet pain, and I ran to escape from it. I ran to whittle myself into the number on a clock, faster and faster each time, until Coach said what I had done was good. Even then, I wanted more. In my wanting, my body betrayed me." I love the cadence of the author’s writing and the way she engages readers with her story. Ultimately, The Fruit Cure offers readers a reasonable alternative to the expensive and often harmful “treatments” being touted by the current health and wellness industry.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at: https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo...
The Fruit Cure is written more like a beautiful memoir than a health and wellness book. It starts with a riff on Adam and Eve. Chapter one is called The First Fall and begins, "A few years before my fling with fruit, I was a freshman in college, a Division One athlete. In the beginning, Coach said run, so I did. I ran eight miles easy, four hundred repeats, long runs on Sundays, twelve hundreds at a steady clip. I ran anything Coach wanted. I ran through rain, through cold, through illness, and through the ache of too many miles. I ran to meet pain, and I ran to escape from it. I ran to whittle myself into the number on a clock, faster and faster each time, until Coach said what I had done was good. Even then, I wanted more. In my wanting, my body betrayed me." I love the cadence of the author’s writing and the way she engages readers with her story. Ultimately, The Fruit Cure offers readers a reasonable alternative to the expensive and often harmful “treatments” being touted by the current health and wellness industry.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at: https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadboo...
January 28, 2024
In The Fruit Cure, Jacqueline Alnes takes readers through different fruit examples and how raw fruit changed their lives. She was a Division One runner during her freshman year of college. She would run in the rain and in the cold and she didn’t care. She began to experience a bad cough and was diagnosed with bronchitis and they gave her medications. She confessed to collapsing and hit her head and had neurological pain. She struggled to practice and kept wanting to run. She had some success and was able to beat her personal best record in running a 5K. Her symptoms would return again and again and no doctor could fix it. She at one point wound up in a wheelchair for several months and went to an epilepsy center. She sought help from an online community where they used fruit-based techniques to heal their bodies.
In the book, she looked at Esther Honiball and she lived in South Africa. She exercised regularly and was a lecturer who taught Health. She loved to swim and earned championship titles. She developed a cough which turned into night sweats, chest pain, and weight loss. She was diagnosed with tuberculous. She explained how she followed Cornelius and his special fruit diet. She goes into great detail providing an overview of her memoir.
I would recommend this helpful book about her journey with her fruit diet to anyone who is also experiencing a health scare. It was heartbreaking to read about her struggles in her health and how no doctor could help her. I have been there before too and it’s not fun. I liked how she enclosed example of others who also turned to fruit as a cure.
"I received this book free from Melville House for my honest review.”
In the book, she looked at Esther Honiball and she lived in South Africa. She exercised regularly and was a lecturer who taught Health. She loved to swim and earned championship titles. She developed a cough which turned into night sweats, chest pain, and weight loss. She was diagnosed with tuberculous. She explained how she followed Cornelius and his special fruit diet. She goes into great detail providing an overview of her memoir.
I would recommend this helpful book about her journey with her fruit diet to anyone who is also experiencing a health scare. It was heartbreaking to read about her struggles in her health and how no doctor could help her. I have been there before too and it’s not fun. I liked how she enclosed example of others who also turned to fruit as a cure.
"I received this book free from Melville House for my honest review.”
June 11, 2024
2.5 stars, rounding up because the audio experience was decent.
If you, like I, somehow entirely missed the BAD (banana-a-day) diet fad, this book will educate you not only on the fad itself, but on the individuals who made it popular, both current and historic. Those stories once we reached them, were interesting enough, although they ultimately dragged on in a way that made me wonder if the book simply needed to fill more pages.
However, the way the book begins—and, in fact, how it proceeds for at least a third or more—made me initially think that this was a memoir of someone who fell prey to the fruit cure. However, by the time Alnes recounts her own engagement with the BAD diet, it becomes apparent that she was intrigued by this diet and its promoters and developed an unhealthy relationship with food (again), but this is not, in fact, a story of Alnes actually fully and completely falling for any fruit cure. Which prompts the question: Did Alnes want to write a memoir, and shoehorning it into this fruit fad diet was the only way she managed to sell such a story? Or Did she actually want to write about fruit cures, and the only way she managed to sell that book was by adding her own personal story? I suspect the former, because the memoir portions read more smoothly and were the most engaging, but I'd be curious to know.
Ultimately, the book petered in the last quarter, and I returned it to the library without finishing, because there simply wasn't anything else Alnes would tell me that I had any interest in knowing. Overall it was "fine," but I feel a little duped. I wonder if she'll write another book and, if so, whether it will be more firmly in the personal story space or history-based nonfiction.
If you, like I, somehow entirely missed the BAD (banana-a-day) diet fad, this book will educate you not only on the fad itself, but on the individuals who made it popular, both current and historic. Those stories once we reached them, were interesting enough, although they ultimately dragged on in a way that made me wonder if the book simply needed to fill more pages.
However, the way the book begins—and, in fact, how it proceeds for at least a third or more—made me initially think that this was a memoir of someone who fell prey to the fruit cure. However, by the time Alnes recounts her own engagement with the BAD diet, it becomes apparent that she was intrigued by this diet and its promoters and developed an unhealthy relationship with food (again), but this is not, in fact, a story of Alnes actually fully and completely falling for any fruit cure. Which prompts the question: Did Alnes want to write a memoir, and shoehorning it into this fruit fad diet was the only way she managed to sell such a story? Or Did she actually want to write about fruit cures, and the only way she managed to sell that book was by adding her own personal story? I suspect the former, because the memoir portions read more smoothly and were the most engaging, but I'd be curious to know.
Ultimately, the book petered in the last quarter, and I returned it to the library without finishing, because there simply wasn't anything else Alnes would tell me that I had any interest in knowing. Overall it was "fine," but I feel a little duped. I wonder if she'll write another book and, if so, whether it will be more firmly in the personal story space or history-based nonfiction.
May 21, 2024
I thought I would love this book, and I did. I've been following Alnes on Instagram for awhile now, it was either just before covid or during covid that I was looking hard for other runners that were creative writers. I was so thrilled when she announced her book, a work of creative nonfiction.
The Fruit Cure weaves personal story and research beautifully to show how we are vulnerable to cures. Alnes shows us that it is more than searching for a quick fix - it's searching for community, it's searching for an answer when other experts have let you down.
I will *hopefully* write a longer post on my blog or pitch an essay that threads a review (my love of the memoir + research runs deep), but for now I'll leave you with this quote from the book that hit me really hard: "Even in my own sickness, my perception of disability was so skewed by cultural narratives that I stigmatized other people's experiences. I didn't want to be like them. I also resisted the idea that if I were diagnosed, the condition would last forever. At the time, I conceived of my episodes like some strange kind of animal I wanted to hunt down and kill...I wonder how much self-harm I might have saved myself had I had a gentler way of thinking about disability, about a body's vulnerabilities, about the way there is still so much beauty to be found in a form that occasionally lapses." (198)
For fans of Leslie Jamison, Kate Fagan, Morgan Parker.
The Fruit Cure weaves personal story and research beautifully to show how we are vulnerable to cures. Alnes shows us that it is more than searching for a quick fix - it's searching for community, it's searching for an answer when other experts have let you down.
I will *hopefully* write a longer post on my blog or pitch an essay that threads a review (my love of the memoir + research runs deep), but for now I'll leave you with this quote from the book that hit me really hard: "Even in my own sickness, my perception of disability was so skewed by cultural narratives that I stigmatized other people's experiences. I didn't want to be like them. I also resisted the idea that if I were diagnosed, the condition would last forever. At the time, I conceived of my episodes like some strange kind of animal I wanted to hunt down and kill...I wonder how much self-harm I might have saved myself had I had a gentler way of thinking about disability, about a body's vulnerabilities, about the way there is still so much beauty to be found in a form that occasionally lapses." (198)
For fans of Leslie Jamison, Kate Fagan, Morgan Parker.
January 25, 2024
Part memoir and part deep dive into the history of extreme diets, Alnes writes candidly about her difficult to diagnose neurological disturbances that kept her from feeling in control of her own body during college. While I thought extreme diets were more of a modern convention, her historical context on a few specific so-called "doctors" calls out how desperate people can get for relief from their ailments. When, in her isolation in college, Alnes stumbles onto The Banana Diet, she's desperate enough to try to control her health with food. The fruitarian high carb diet gained adherents with the svelte pics and videos that leaders, Freelee and Durianrider, posted on their site. (Side note, I felt sick at the thought of eating 30 bananas a day). Like many extreme diets, the desire to moralize and demonize certain foods always leads to disordered eating. Alnes admits that she never really had one day where she ate nothing but fruit. Hunger always got the better of her. However, her obsession with cutting out so many things from her diet gave her false control and contributed to more health issues. In an age where there are so many extreme complicated diets led by false gurus (often with dubious credentials), I took this as a cautionary tale about being mindful of who we let into our belief systems.
August 27, 2025
I am sorry, but no.
1) The audiobook is voiced by the author, and she sounds like she is about to sob the whole time. it's really not helping take her memoir parts seriously.
2) the author has a unique experience that she is trying to reframe in hindsight. She is reconstructing her memories to get to the truth of it. and yes, it does appear her own experience at the time was discounted and ignored by the medical establishment. However what that doesn't mean is that EVERY other person's experience should now be taken at face value, uncritically. Essie Honiball chapters are infuriating to listen to without proper context and author clearly projecting onto someone they never met (oh how the pool must have reminded Essie of her past yadayadayada) She does this selectively to some of her subjects.
3) Then the jarring tone shifts happen with different stories, each one not properly contextualised or even fleshed out. You almost feel like the author is on board with these wacky antics and then she turns around and gives you the most generic "don't do extreme diets, it's problematic you guys" message.
1) The audiobook is voiced by the author, and she sounds like she is about to sob the whole time. it's really not helping take her memoir parts seriously.
2) the author has a unique experience that she is trying to reframe in hindsight. She is reconstructing her memories to get to the truth of it. and yes, it does appear her own experience at the time was discounted and ignored by the medical establishment. However what that doesn't mean is that EVERY other person's experience should now be taken at face value, uncritically. Essie Honiball chapters are infuriating to listen to without proper context and author clearly projecting onto someone they never met (oh how the pool must have reminded Essie of her past yadayadayada) She does this selectively to some of her subjects.
3) Then the jarring tone shifts happen with different stories, each one not properly contextualised or even fleshed out. You almost feel like the author is on board with these wacky antics and then she turns around and gives you the most generic "don't do extreme diets, it's problematic you guys" message.
June 5, 2024
Jacqueline Alnes was a Division One runner during her freshman year of college, but her season was cut short by a series of inexplicable neurological symptoms. What started with a cough, escalated to Alnes collapsing on the track and experiencing months of unremembered episodes that stole her ability to walk and speak. Two years after quitting the team to heal, Alnes’s symptoms returned with a severity that left her using a wheelchair for a period of months. She was admitted to an epilepsy center but doctors could not figure out the root cause of her symptoms. Desperate for answers, she turned to an online community centered around a strict, all-fruit diet which its adherents claimed could cure conditions like depression, eating disorders, addiction, anxiety, and vision problems. [amazon synopsis]
Rambling and pointless. Warning - profanity. I am sure her problem was real, but the "cure" was ridiculous.
Rambling and pointless. Warning - profanity. I am sure her problem was real, but the "cure" was ridiculous.
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