You've Been Pooping All Wrong: How to Make Your Bowel Movements a Joy

"This book is a must read. It answers every question you're too embarrassed to talk about."--Mel Robbins

A GI's guide to the brain-gut-microbiome connection, including research on why people develop IBS and how anyone can achieve poophoria

Welcome to the easy-to-digest user's manual for your body's unsung hero: the gut. Leading Harvard gastroenterologist, Dr. Trisha Pasricha takes us on a riotous deep dive into our own bowels with new insight from neuroscience, enteric biology, and physiology for an actionable framework to make pooping a breeze.

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, and so many--even the highest of achievers--spiral into a quagmire of poor habits and toilet-anxiety.

You've Been Pooping All Wrong will teach you:

• What is a "normal" bowel movement? What do different colors mean? Is there a wrong way to sit? Is there a better way to wipe?
• The intricate connection between your brain and your gut: Why do you suddenly need to find the restroom right before your turn at karaoke and why does stress make you constipated?
• How to harness your gut's microbiome to boost your health: How does your lifestyle influence your microbiome and how can your microbiome, in turn, reshape you?
• The three P's of having a perfect poop: A simple framework to transform your bowel habits based on years of gastroenterological expertise.
• And much more...

Here, you'll learn the tools to achieve bowel consistency, ease, and--yes--joy so that your gut flows on autopilot and you live your life without obsessing about the toilet: in short, poophoria.

Author: Trisha MD MPH Pasricha
Publisher: Avery Publishing Group
Published: 04/07/2026
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.70w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780593855133


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/16/2026

About the Author
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.