Welcome * ˚ ✦
East/West is a health and wellness newsletter that pays homage to the cultures it comes from. The essays I publish here are an attempt to unravel the threads of science, tradition, ritual, and commodity to better understand what health and wellness mean in a globalized world. It’s also an ever-evolving diary of a woman who can’t stop thinking about how Indian (and other eastern) health practices translate to the global West.
It’s also an ever-evolving diary of a woman who obsessed with holistic, functional and preventative approaches to health, who has tried it all and lives to see another day.
Every week or so, I publish essays about various aspects of the kaleidoscopic world we call wellness. Here, you’ll find deep-dives on single, life-changing plants, recipes from my family kitchen — in India and Montana, where I live — meditations on movement, examinations of our collective fixation on “health,” as well as wellness secrets that actually work.
Where should I start reading? * ˚ ✦
If you’re interested in the why behind wellness:
If you’re curious about the cultural histories of modern wellness:
If you’re a home cook who wants to level up, or want simple, practical ideas to live a healthier life:
Who are you? * ˚ ✦
I’m Surya Milner, a writer living in southwestern Montana. I once lived in Chicago, where I earned an MFA in creative writing from Northwestern University. My work has been published by The Colorado Review, High Country News, The Audacity, and others. When I’m not writing, I own Empress of Ghee, a small-batch grass-fed ghee venture, and I teach writing classes at the local university.
