The recipes in Fuhrman’s (who used to work as an international journalist for CNN) new book don’t start until page 95. There are over fifty of them, divided into the categories of blended soups, chunky soups, broths, and raw soups. The recipe names are creative and hint at what’s inside the soup (Easy Peas-y, And the Beet Goes On, I’m All Artichoke-d Up) and some leave one guessing about the ingredients (Ba Ba Ba Boom).

Each recipe is one or two pages in length and appears next to an appetizing color photograph of the prepared meal. Above each recipe is a small write-up about the benefits of eating that soup (A-Mung the Stars soup helps with irritability and headaches, and the soup It’s Chili and It’s Hot contains a variety of B vitamins and minerals such as copper, zinc and magnesium). The soups serve four to six people, sometimes eight, and are vegan. There is no dairy or meat in the ingredient list. Some of the recipes are from therapists and chefs she knows, while others were inspired by trips she took or articles she read.

The first section of the book is where she writes the soup cleanse basics and background information on topics that tie into the recipes in this book, such as Chinese medicine, homeopathy and naturopathy, and Ayurveda. In this beginning section, she also provides options for a 24-hour cleanse, a 3-day cleanse, or a 5-day cleanse.

Following the recipes are chapters which include information on what you can expect after the cleanse and tips for how and when to stop or continue, how to shop for the ingredients, and how to eat healthy on the go. The chapter on listening to your gut provides information on ways your body tells you your gut is out of balance, how to listen to your body, and how the soups in the book can heal the gut (and your skin). But this book goes beyond physical health. The author writes about the importance of positive thinking, guided imagery, mindfulness mediation, being out in nature, and practicing yoga. Back material consists of metric conversions, an index, and an extensive reference section.

A lot of emotion and work went into this book, created after the author was diagnosed with breast cancer. In her research, she learned health is a choice. She used her soups to heal herself, but she wrote this book to connect and share with others. “I realized that I could help people heal themselves”.