Books by Sophia Ruan Gushée
The Essential Home Detox Library.
The home detox books and workbooks of Practical Nontoxic Living™—resources for making healthier everyday decisions, at home and beyond.
Before there was Practical Nontoxic Living™, there were these books. They’re the resources I return to whenever life presents a new purchase, project, or question—and I wrote them to make complex science easier to discover, understand, and use, so thoughtful decisions feel simpler.
These books change how you see everyday life. After reading them, you don’t look at a candle the same way—or cookware, a mattress, a garbage bag, a fragrance. Even five minutes might change how you think about drinking water, food storage, furniture, and hundreds of other everyday choices. Not because every exposure matters equally—but because knowing what matters most changes how you shop, organize your home, and live. Questions like these:
What’s in your salt—and which options test lowest in heavy metals?
What should your food and drinks be stored in—and does the glass you choose matter?
Which pots and pans are the safer choices—and which coatings are worth replacing?
Which changes cost nothing at all?
Begin with the simplest step.
Books to Live With
These aren’t books to finish. They’re books to live with.
Keep them within reach. Every new purchase, every room you reorganize, every renovation, every habit you reconsider is another opportunity to apply the Practical Nontoxic Living™ lens—and reduce unnecessary toxic exposures, one decision at a time.
The Foundational Reference
A to Z of D-Toxing
The Ultimate Guide to Reducing Our Toxic Exposures
Nearly 500 Pages (mostly tips) · 916 Works Cited · 586 Scientific References
The book that started it all—the science of everyday toxic exposures, translated into hundreds of practical tips.
A to Z of D-Toxing helps you understand how the things you buy, own, and do influence your everyday toxic exposures. From there, it explores the products, materials, habits, and Household Repeat Offenders™ that quietly account for many of a home’s unnecessary exposures—so you know where your attention is most worthwhile.
Whether you’re choosing cookware, replacing a mattress, expecting a baby, planning a renovation, or simply wondering if there’s a healthier option, it’s a trusted reference to return to whenever a new decision arises.
Included in the Ultimate Home Detox™.
“I usually approach lay writing about detoxifying with skepticism, expecting alarmist rhetoric. Sophia’s [A to Z of D-Toxing], however, is just the opposite. It is fact-based, filled with common sense, and completely readable! I absolutely recommend her work as a starting place for anyone trying to get healthy by getting a handle on the lifestyle and environmental factors that we can control in our busy lives.”
Karl T. Kelsey, MD, MOH
Brown University School of Public Health
“I am truly impressed with Sophia Gushée’s [A to Z of D-Toxing] and it is an unbelievable resource. In our quest for healthier lives through preventative medicine with diet and exercise, we have forgotten the potential hazards lurking in common products all around us. This well researched and scholarly work is one that I know I will turn to often in my clinical practice.”
Hooman Yaghoobzadeh, MD
NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center; rated one of New York’s Best Doctors
The Essential Practice
Home Detox Workbook
Budget-friendly steps for your indoor environment, sleep, drinking water, and habits
You don’t have to figure out where to start—the Home Detox Workbook already did. Follow the checklists: room by room, topic by topic, one thoughtful step at a time.
Built around the Love Test Detox Stickers™, it organizes budget-friendly habits into a plan that’s easy to follow. If A to Z of D-Toxing shows you hundreds of healthier possibilities, this workbook helps you put the essential ones into practice—whether you’re just beginning nontoxic living or refining a long practice.
Inside the D-Tox Academy™, companion Power Lessons expand every checklist with demonstrations and updated recommendations—so the learning continues long after the workbook is complete.
Available with the Ultimate Home Detox™.
“It is not easy for women’s hormones these days and one of the biggest culprits stems from exposure to endocrine disruptive chemicals. It can feel overwhelming on how to get started, but Sophia’s new Home Detox Workbook is a fantastic and practical tool to make this so easy to do! In a series of concise checklists, you will work quickly through each aspect of your environment and detox your home and your health. It’s a must-have guide.”
Alisa Vitti
Founder of FLOliving.com; author of WomanCode and In the FLO
“I just finished reading the Home Detox Workbook. I love how the steps are organized and easy to follow. This is such a valuable resource, I can’t wait to recommend it to all my clients.”
Matthew Waletzke
Certified Building Biology Environmental Consultant, Healthy Dwellings
The Technology Practice
EMF Detox Workbook
A precautionary approach to the technology you live with
Technology should improve our lives—not quietly compromise our health. Wi-Fi, cell phones, smart devices: our homes now carry electromagnetic fields (EMFs) our grandparents never lived with, and the science is still evolving. That’s exactly why a precautionary approach makes sense.
Created in collaboration with leading EMF researchers, the workbook’s more than twenty focused lessons guide you through everyday decisions about phones, Wi-Fi, laptops, bedrooms, and travel—research-informed strategies for reducing chronic EMF exposures while protecting your enjoyment of modern technology.
Like the Home Detox Workbook, it stands on its own—while the D-Tox Academy™ expands each lesson as both technology and the science continue to evolve.
Included in the Ultimate Home Detox™.
“Sophia Ruan Gushée’s EMF Detox Workbook has done the world a great favor by providing an invaluable resource. Detailing how to enjoy technology and stay safer, this guide provides clear, compelling, concise, and practical strategies to avoid or lessen exposures. Buy, use, and share this workbook with your family, friends, colleagues, and schools. They will thank you.”
Devra Davis, PhD, MPH
Epidemiologist; Founder & President Emerita, Environmental Health Trust; lead author of IPCC reports awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize
“If you’re worried about how technology and toxins are affecting your family…her EMF Detox Workbook is a must-read as it empowers us with practical strategies to reduce radiation exposure from our technology. I cannot recommend them highly enough!”
Joey Gonzalez
CEO of Barry’s Bootcamp
One journal, two covers—flip it over.
The Companion Journals
My Detox Playbook & My Healing Playbook
Guided journals for the Practical Nontoxic Living™ Podcast
Some ideas are worth returning to. Created as companions to the podcast, these guided journals give you a place to capture insights, organize notes, and reflect on the conversations that resonate most deeply.
The conversations are only the beginning. The playbooks help you notice, organize, and apply the ideas that matter most to you.
Available only with the Ultimate Home Detox™.
Where to Start
Which resource is right for you?
There’s no wrong door—each one meets a different moment.
To understand the science and the bigger picture—A to Z of D-Toxing.
To develop habits that are essential for every health-conscious household—the Home Detox Workbook.
To enjoy technology with less radiation exposure—the EMF Detox Workbook.
To sharpen your senses for spotting toxic exposures—by capturing what you hear on the podcast—My Detox Playbook and My Healing Playbook.
For a guided transformation—the Ultimate Home Detox™, which includes them all.
Go Deeper
Want more than a book?
Sometimes information is enough. Sometimes a checklist is enough. Sometimes a trusted guide makes all the difference.
The Ultimate Home Detox™
Every resource in this library—plus guided change.
All of the books, workbooks, and playbooks are included—alongside the guided 40-Day Home Detox™, a full year of D-Tox Academy™ membership, coaching, Design Masterclasses, and daily audio guidance: an implementation plan designed to help healthier decisions become lasting habits.
Explore the Ultimate Home Detox™
About the Author
Sophia Ruan Gushée
Sophia has researched household toxic exposures since 2007, when she discovered concerning chemicals in her infant daughter’s products—and left a career in institutional investing to find the answers herself. She has served on the Brown University School of Public Health Advisory Council, and her work has been featured in Today, Well+Good, Fast Company, and Elle.
She is the founder of Ruan Living, host of the Practical Nontoxic Living™ podcast, and creator of the Ultimate Home Detox™, which starts with the 40-Day Home Detox™ and continues with the D-Tox Academy.
Read Sophia’s full story →
Where to Begin
Start seeing your home differently.
The Ultimate Home Detox™ Kickstart is a free 10-day email series introducing the key concepts, science, and first practical steps of Practical Nontoxic Living—a natural companion to the books, one shift at a time.
Start the Kickstart →The books and resources of Ruan Living offer education in environmental and public health. They are not medical advice and do not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual experiences vary. As an Amazon Associate, Ruan Living may earn from qualifying purchases.
Ruan Living offers education in environmental and public health. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual experiences vary. Learn more.