Do you struggle with anxiety around using the bathroom? Or spend days worrying about when your next bowel movement will be? Dr Trisha Pasricha takes us on a deep dive into our bowels to create an actionable framework to make pooping a breeze.

Do you struggle with anxiety around using the bathroom? Or spend days worrying about when your next bowel movement will be? Dr Trisha Pasricha takes us on a deep dive into our bowels to create an actionable framework to make pooping a breeze.

If you struggle with gut trouble and toilet anxiety, it’s not your fault, and more importantly, it’s fixable. No one would expect you to have stunning teeth if you were never shown a toothbrush. You would struggle to fall asleep if you never knew how to turn off the bedroom lights. But no one talks about the fundamentals of pooping, leading many to spiral into a quagmire of poor habits and anxiety.

This book will teach you:

- What a ‘normal’ bowel movement is

- All about the intricate connection between your brain and gut

- How to harness your gut’s microbiome to boost your health

- And much more…

You’ll learn the tools to achieve bowel consistency and ease, so that your gut flows on autopilot and you can live your life without obsessing about the bathroom.

Details

ISBN13: 9780008770730
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 288
Edition:
Publication Date: 14 Apr 2026
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23.4(H)x15.3(L)x2.2(W)320
Weight (gm): 320

Author Biography

Trisha Pasricha, MD, MPH is an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the “Ask A Doctor” columnist for The Washington Post where she translates complex medical topics into must-read insights—with a touch of humor—for millions each week. A graduate of Harvard College, Dr. Pasricha earned her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her training includes an internal medicine residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and gastroenterology and motility fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital. Currently, Dr. Pasricha serves as Director of the Institute for Gut-Brain Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, leading an NIH-funded research laboratory at the forefront of gut-brain science. Her work has been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA Network Open, and Nature Reviews.

Reviews

“This smart and funny debut guide from gastroenterologist Pasricha teaches readers the fundamentals of gut health…Filled with science-backed, practical advice and frank discussions of issues that can induce embarrassment, this is a comforting resource for anyone battling bathroom anxiety.” Publishers Weekly

“Dr Pasricha has become one of the most important medical voices of our time, and her new book reminds us why. She took a particularly awkward topic in medicine and transformed it into something that is enlightening, engrossing, witty and impossible not to share.” Sanjay Gupta, MD

“Dr. Pasricha has achieved something glorious and unprecedented. She has turned a taboo topic into a science lesson, a self-care guide, and a cultural critique – all at once. Reading this book is like having a brilliant (and often hilarious) doctor friend whispering secrets you wish you had known years ago.” Daniel H. Pink

“Our health is influenced and reflected by our bowel habits, a taboo subject that is now comprehensively addressed—practically and scientifically—by Dr. Pasricha’s brilliant book, which takes us on the path to poophoria.” Eric Topol, MD

“Smart, funny, and deeply evidence-based, this book does for digestion what most doctors never had time to explain. If you want to understand your gut—and finally fix your bathroom struggles—this is the book to read.” Will Bulsiewicz, MD

“Smart, compassionate and genuinely useful, this book gives readers language, tools and confidence to take ownership of a vital part of health — and to finally talk about it.” Tara Parker-Pope

“As entertaining and funny as it is informative, this book is a gift to anyone curious about gut health. Dr. Pasricha digests the topic with the clarity of a great teacher, the warmth of a trusted friend, and the authority of a scientist at the cutting edge of her field.” Justin Sonnenburg

“This should be on every family bookshelf! A joyous read.” Ann Compton