Media entrepreneur and author June Cohen has published The Great Remembering: Powerful Ancient Practices—and the New Science Bringing Them Back, a book examining what modern wellbeing culture might learn from longstanding communal traditions. Released on October 20, 2026, by Authors Equity, the 368-page publication looks at practices associated with shared grief, collective celebration, physical challenge and social belonging.
Cohen is known for her work helping develop TED Talks, Masters of Scale and Meditative Story. Her new book moves from the world of digital storytelling into cultural history, examining how communities have used rituals and demanding shared experiences to navigate uncertainty and maintain social bonds. Its central question is whether some of today’s wellbeing challenges are being approached too narrowly as problems for individuals to solve alone.
The book draws on examples including communal festivals, sauna traditions, physical ordeals and shared ceremonies of mourning. Cohen considers these practices as social arrangements that gave people ways to experience strong emotions, participate in collective events and maintain a sense of connection. She also brings contemporary research in psychology, neuroscience and biology into the discussion, although the book’s broader argument should not be mistaken for proof that every traditional practice has a demonstrated health benefit.
That distinction is relevant in an industry where self-care is frequently packaged as an individual routine. Meditation, journaling and other personal practices can have value, but they do not necessarily address isolation or the absence of supportive relationships. Cohen’s approach directs attention toward experiences that require participation with others, rather than another technique to perform privately.
The publisher describes the book as an investigation across cultures, continents and historical periods. Its examples range from sensory and physical experiences to occasions that make room for grief and awe. These are different kinds of activity, and their significance depends on cultural context. Treating them all as interchangeable wellness tools would miss part of what the book is examining.
Cohen’s professional background also gives the subject an unusual contemporary setting. Having worked on widely distributed media projects, she now considers forms of human connection that predate digital communication. The contrast does not establish that older practices were uniformly better, but it invites a closer look at what happens when belonging becomes something people are expected to manufacture by themselves.
For coaches, wellness educators and community organizers, The Great Remembering offers a timely subject for discussion: the difference between helping individuals manage their feelings and creating environments in which people can experience connection together. The book presents that argument through cultural examples and selected research, rather than as a tested intervention or a universal prescription.
Source: June Cohen
Web: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Great-Remembering/June-Cohen/9798893311563
