AUTHOR PLATFORM: Active on social media and has a new TV show (also on Netflix), A User’s Guide to Cheating Death, which first aired in 2017 and ties in well to the themes in this book.

MEDIA STAR: Caulfield is well received by and regularly featured in various media.

ACCESSIBLE: Combines academic authority with pop culture savvy. Caulfield wears his learning lightly and is a perfect antedote to the era of fake news.

STRONG BACKLIST: Caulfield’s previous books similarly discuss health science and policy.

US PARTNER: Running Press (Hachette) will publish Relax, Dammit! in the US in January 2021

TIMOTHY CAULFIELD is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. His interdisciplinary research on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, the public representations of science, and health policy issues has allowed him to publish over 350 academic articles. He has won numerous academic and writing awards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Trudeau Foundation, and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He contributes frequently for the popular press and is the author of two national bestsellers: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness, and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash. Caulfield also has a strong social media presence and is the host and co-producer of the documentary TV series, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death.

Author Residence: Edmonton, AB

WINNER of the 2021 Science Writers and Communicators of Canada Book Award

WINNER of the 2021 Alberta Literary Awards' Wilfrid Eggleston Award for Nonfiction

“Perhaps you, like me, find yourself bewildered by conflicting claims about everything from the food you should eat, to the 'five second rule' if that food falls on the floor, to whether public toilet seats pass along terrifying diseases. Tim Caulfield masterfully, and humorously, walks you through all of the things you’re likely to encounter in a typical day and provides much needed sanity in a world of claims run amok. It also serves as an introduction to critical thinking for those who don’t know how to approach such questions, enabling all of us to make better sense of any new nonsense that comes forward. I devoured it (and it didn’t even fall on the floor).”
—Daniel Levitin, author of Successful Aging and The Organized Mind

“Tim Caulfield gives us an entertaining guide to some of the most entrenched as well as the more recent wellness fads. No one understands the impact of pop culture on health communication better than Caulfield, who is an expert in the marketing of health misinformation and disinformation. He is an entertaining science communicator who understands that fear is a big driver of our headline-driven 24/7 news cycle. Every day we are met with headlines—which often contradict the ones from the previous week—as to how we should be living our lives. Caulfield tackles this confusing clickbait by walking the reader through an imaginary day. His style of communication is effective and easy to understand. And I learned a lot! Read this book—it will vaccinate you against misinformation!”
—Dr. Jen Gunter, renowned gynecologist and author of The Vagina Bible

“This is Tim Caulfield at his best! He takes us on a witty romp through a day’s activities, casting a critical eye on the numerous decisions we routinely make. Should we worry about fluoride in our water, gluten in our food, shaking hands with strangers? Are dietary supplements all they claim to be? How often should we wash our hair, hug our friends or check e-mails? There is always a risk-benefit ratio to consider and Tim is marvelous at digging up the science that tells us when to worry and when to, dammit, relax!”
—Joe Schwarcz, PhD, Director, McGill Office for Science and Society, and author of A Grain of Salt and A Feast of Science

“Goop debunker Timothy Caulfield returns with a science-informed daily guide to living with less stress and better health.”
—Quill & Quire

“In the very clever format of walking us hour by hour through a typical day’s choices—to step on that scale; to try for a better parking spot; to have that fifth coffee, and with raw milk or no—Caulfield considers each choice in the context of the most-thorough science available.”
—Edmonton Journal