“It’s completely changed our lives,” said Sabine Zetteler, a London communications agency director, who last year, with her partner, Alex Booker, an artist, built a kit sauna cabin by Polhus in their backyard in the London borough of Hackney.

Looking out across serene plantings, the cabin is a slice of city solitude that Zetteler now finds hard to imagine living without. She is not alone. Demand for home saunas is soaring in Britain and the United States as interest in the ancient ritual of sweat bathing deepens.

A bathing pond designed by the architect Richard Parr at a family home in Oxfordshire, England, in July 2025. Saunas and other water-based amenities are booming in societies that once turned their backs on them. (Andy Haslam/The New York Times)

Why the resurgence? Emma O’Kelly, the author of “Wild Sauna: The Best Outdoor Saunas in Britain” and “Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat,” has spent the past five years immersed in sauna culture as both observer and participant. She sees this return to what some have described as “analog living” as a powerful antidote to modern life.

“I think post-pandemic, there has been more of a focus on health and wellness, a sense of our own mortality — and also this narrative of self-care and preventative health, rather than just reaching for a prescription,” she said, speaking of the time period after January 2022, when the vaccine had been widely rolled out and most lockdowns lifted.

Like many others, O’Kelly thinks of a sauna, especially a “wild sauna” in an outdoor setting, as a healthy third space. “It’s cheap. It’s good for you,” she said. “It doesn’t involve drinking. Going to a wild sauna for an hour is cheaper than going to the pub.”

Jane Withers, the co-author of “Social Sauna: Bathing & Wellbeing” and the co-editor of the Substack newsletter Culture of Bathing, sees the revival as part of a broader cultural and physiological shift.

“There’s more understanding from neuroscience of what happens to the brain, and why we feel this deep relaxation — a moment of euphoria,” she said. “We spend so much of our time in the digital realm. We long for an experience that’s profoundly physical, embodied in the moment. It’s about the social dimension, physical dimension and perhaps a spiritual or transformative dimension — a way of changing states.”

The pool at Ridge House and Barn, a residence in New York in the Catskill Mountains, July 28, 2025. Saunas and other water-based amenities are booming in societies that once turned their backs on them. (Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)

The roots of sweat bathing stretch across centuries. In a blog post, the British Sauna Society noted Britain’s forgotten rituals, from Bronze Age sweat lodges to the elaborate Thermae the Romans built at Bath: “Before the Romans, before the Celts — even before written language — there was sweat.”

In some countries — Finland, Morocco and Turkey, to name a few — these traditions have been upheld. In Japan, the onsen — the hot spring used in bathing — remains central to a practice that is spiritual as well as physical. Earlier this year, Yuval Zohar published “Towards a Nude Architecture,” offering a visual meditation on onsen culture in Japan and its deep-rooted connections to landscape and the body.

Elsewhere, however, many other developed nations abandoned their bathing traditions during the 20th century. “In many countries, the decline came with the arrival of domestic plumbing,” Withers said. “People turned away from public bathhouses, and they became increasingly associated with poverty and necessity. Through the 20th century, many of the ones that survived were in poorer areas. At the same time, medical interest in water therapies diminished, and support for water cures was withdrawn. And of course, AIDS certainly didn’t help, with the closure of bathhouses in the U.S. and Europe.”

The reversal in attitude is written in new products and gathering places for bathing.

In an email, Marjo Karhu, marketing and content executive at Finnmark, an English sauna company, said that the company recently experienced an 80% year-on-year rise in online sales, with demand for two- to four-person saunas especially high in London and the south of England.

The company has also worked on larger-scale commercial projects like Arc, a Roman-inspired 65-person sauna in the heart of Canary Wharf in London. In New York, a bathing club called Lore is scheduled to open in September. In an email, its co-founder James O’Reilly billed the bathing club as an alternative to bars or boutique fitness studios.

According to Verified Market Reports, the North American sauna market as of June was $1.2 billion. A report by Technavio, a market research company, predicted that this market in the United States alone will have grown by $151.3 million from 2024 to 2029.

The recent rise in sauna cabin options amounts to a juggernaut. Companies including Kohler, Koto and Thermasol are rolling out new models for domestic settings — indoor, outdoor, flat-pack and off grid.

In the absence of a traditional frigid lake or ocean, bathers who want a cold plunge after a sauna or steam are installing natural swimming ponds in their backyards. Instagram is awash with DIY efforts like the pond, some 43 feet (13 meters) long, belonging to Jon and Caroline Edwards in Gloucestershire, England. Built from scratch with a mini digger and a lot of trial and error, it is now the heart of their backyard and their lives.

“Even my 90-year-old mum gets in and writes poems about it,” Caroline Edwards said.

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Once a rarely used lawn, the couple’s backyard is now teeming with frogs, dragonflies, newts and even deer. “There’s been a definite shift,” Jon Edwards said. “People are more aware of the power of nature — and more open to these kinds of projects.”

Elsewhere in England, Richard Parr, an architect, recently completed a family home in Oxfordshire with a lily pad-fringed pond. “Swimming ponds have become an almost obligatory add-on to country living,” he said. “They’re a great alternative to traditional spas with their artificial enclosures.” But, he warned, while they may appear low-tech, they demand careful attention that involves tending plants and removing debris.

“It’s a far cry from chucking in a few chemicals and waiting for a pool company to call by,” he said. “That level of participation and understanding adds a further dimension to the enjoyment and connection with the landscape.”

At Ridge House and Barn, a residence in the Catskill Mountains designed by the architectural firm Worrell Yeung, the journey to the pool is as important as the destination. “The audible sensation of hearing your feet on gravel takes you out of that typical resort context,” said the firm’s co-founder, Jejon Yeung.

This shift away from a slick resort ambience speaks to a broader rethinking of wellness, Yeung said. “The pandemic accelerated something. What used to be seen as luxury — cold plunges, saunas, outdoor showers — is now essential. These are no longer just amenities, but spaces for restoration and routine.”

— This article, which was first published in the New York Times, is part of that newspaper’s Design special section about new design solutions for healthy living.

 

Where did the summer go? It’s time for a preview of fall/winter fiction and nonfiction by Minnesota authors and publishers. Thrillers/crime top the list followed by memoirs and history. (This is a clip-and-save list of books too new to be reviewed. Some information comes from the publishers.)

(Courtesy of Atria Books)
William Kent Krueger (Diane Krueger / Simon & Schuster)

Let’s start with William Kent Krueger”s “Apostle’s Cove” (Atria Books), 20th in Krueger’s bestselling Cork O’Connor series and one of the most anticipated novels of the season.

But Daniel didn’t move. “What if it all goes south, Cork? For Jenny or you or me or Waaboo? The Windigo’s out there. It’s hungry.” He turned and gave Cork a cold stare. “And God alone knows who it’s come for.” — from “Apostle’s Cove”

Aphrodite McGill was found kneeling by the bloody corpse of her daughter, Chastity, 25 years ago when Cork O’Connor, newly elected sheriff of Tamarack County, sent Axel Boshey to prison for his wife Chastity’s murder. Even after the conviction, Cork was never sure the Ojibwe man was guilty.

Now Cork, who’s glumly approaching his 60th birthday in northern Minnesota, gets a call from his son, Stephen, who’s working for the Innocence Project in the Twin Cities. He believes Boshey was unjustly incarcerated and urges his father to reopen the case.

The first half of the story takes place in the past when Cork is married to his first wife, Jo, a lawyer who’s pregnant with Stephen after giving birth to their two daughters. This is a way for Krueger to introduce this family to new readers and refresh the memories of devoted fans who know what is in store for them. Henry Meloux, for instance, an Ojibwe elder and healer and Cork’s mentor, is only in his 70s.

The second part takes place in the present, as Cork reluctantly begins a new investigation into Boshey’s incarceration, even though the man doesn’t want to be released from prison. Cork is helped by his daughter Jenny, an author who is looking for a good story. There isn’t much for Cork to go on and he isn’t getting help from those who were involved in the case. He is married to Rainy, full-blood Ojibwe and niece of Henry, who’s now around 100.

As the investigation continues, Cork is led to Aphrodite McGill, one of the most compelling characters in this long series. A woman who has a notorious reputation around the town of Aurora, she lives in an opulent home on Apostle’s Cove. She’s known for hosting wild parties for adults and her easy ways with men. After her daughter Charity is murdered, she will do anything to get control of her grandchildren, even though she’s not grandmother material.

As Cork goes deeper into the past and danger to his family increases, his grandson Waaboo (Little Rabbit), who sometimes has foresight, says the Ojibwe monster Windigo is on the prowl, hungry for humans.

As in his previous O’Connor books, Krueger pays respect to Ojibwe culture. And his depiction of sexy Aphrodite’s Halloween party at her Shangri-La estate provides the story’s biggest thrills. Kudos to him for smoothly integrating past and present while highlighting Cork’s love of his family. Every character is drawn precisely and it’s good to know that old Henry is still with us and Sam’s Place, Cork’s burger joint, is still going strong. And no reader is going to forget Aphrodite.

Krueger embarks on a multi-state reading tour this week. Here are his metro-area appearances:

Wednesday, 6 p.m., Whittier Recreation Center, 425 W. 25th St., Mpls., presented by Once Upon a Crime mystery bookstore;  Sept. 4, 7 p.m. Barnes & Noble, 2100 N. Snelling Ave., Roseville; Sept. 5, 10 a.m.-noon, Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake; Sept. 8, 6 p.m., Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul; 5 p.m. Sept. 10, Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour, Grand Banquet Ballroom, 301 Second St. S., Stillwater, presented by Valley Bookseller; 7 p.m. Sept. 15, SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., St. Paul; 2 p.m. Oct. 19, Big Hill Books, 405 Penn Ave. S., Mpls.

Here’s what else is in store for readers.

SEPTEMBER

Fiction

(Courtesy of Penguin Random House)

“Boy From the North Country”: by Sam Sussman (Penguin Press) — A debut novel from a Manhattan-based author about a son returning home to his dying mother to discover the truth of his origins and the secrets of a woman whose life and wisdom he is only beginning to understand, including her relationship with musician Bob Dylan and the narrator’s uncanny resemblance to Dylan. It is loosely tied to Sussman’s own uncertain celebrity paternity and connection to Minnesota native Bob Dylan, born in Minnesota’s north country. Based on the author’s memoir essay “The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan’s Son,” published in Harper’s magazine in 2021 and available online.

(Courtesy of Crooked Lane Books)

“The Deepest Cut”: by P.J. Tracy (Crooked Lane) — The cyber-sleuth Monkeewrench gang is back in their 11th thriller, which finds them threatened by two homicidal maniacs who escape prisons; one has an eight-person kill list that includes the Monkeewrenchers, who operate out of a St. Paul mansion. They work with Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi, who is about to retire, and food-loving Gino Rolseth. These quirky characters work together (with lots of funny dialogue) to stop the plan of vengeance. Also, love is in the air in the Monkeewrench mansion. (5 p.m. Sept. 3, Totally Criminal Cocktail Hour, Lowell Inn, Stillwater, ticketed event presented by Valley Bookseller; 6:30 p.m. Sept. 9, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.)

(Courtesy of Crooked Lane)

“Last One Seen”: by Rebecca Kanner (Crooked Lane) — A woman fights her own mind and memory to understand how she ended up in the passenger seat of a car speeding away from a murder scene in this dual-timeline psychological thriller. (Launch at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Once Upon a Crime, 604 W. 26th St., Mpls.)

“Life, & Death & Giants”: by Ron Rindo (St. Martin’s Press) — No one in Lakota, Wis., knows what to make of Gabriel Fisher, who walks at 8 months old, communicates with animals and has prolific athletic abilities. When his brother dies, his Amish grandparents, disapproving of the attention he is getting, hide him away from the English world. When he’s nearly 8 feet tall, he’s discovered by a football coach, leading to events that transform Gabriel’s life and the lives of everyone he meets. The author teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

(Courtesy of McSweeney’s)

“Martha’s Daughter”: by David Haynes (McSweeney) — The first short-story collection from Haynes, who began his writing career in St. Paul, where he was an elementary school teacher. This is the first time his stories have been published in one volume. They range widely, from a rundown motel and its long-term guests to the title story about the first hours after a woman finds out her mother has died.

(Courtesy of Hyperion Teens)

“Seven for a Secret”: by Mary E. Roach (Hyperion) — In the town of Ava Island there was a group home for girls no one cared about. Over the course of six months, eight of them disappeared. But one did not. She wants to put what happened to her in the forest behind her, but six years later the men running the group home are turning up dead.

“Trigger Warning”: by Jacinda Townsend (Graywolf Press) — A woman who is no stranger to loss (a brother who died, a father murdered by the police, her house burned down) is in the midst of a divorce. She takes her child on a cross-country road trip to California where she’s confronted by her estranged sister and the past that haunts them. The author teaches at Brown University in Rhode Island.

(Courtesy of Atlantic Crime)

“The Whisper Place”: by Mindy Mejia (Atlantic Crime) — Third book in the bestselling Iowa Mysteries thriller series featuring Max Summerlin and Jonah Kendrick, an unlikely pair of private investigators who specialize in finding people who don’t want to be found. In this one they investigate the disappearance of a woman whose past holds a dangerous secret. (Launch at 7 p.m. Sept. 16, Wooden Hill Brewing, 7421 Bush Lake Road, Edina, presented by Once Upon a Crime.)

Nonfiction

“Her Place in the Woods: The Life of Helen Hoover”: by David Hakensen (University of Minnesota Press) — The first complete biography of Hoover, whose stories of life in the northern Minnesota wilderness were widely published during the 1950s through the 1970s. Leaving a corporate career in Chicago, Hoover moved to a small cabin without electricity or running water, finding a place for herself in what she described as the world of her time. (Launch at 7 p.m. Sept. 30, Magers & Quinn, 3038 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls.)

“Sugar Bush Babies: Stories of My Ojibwe Grandmother”: by Janis A. Fairbanks (University of Minnesota Press) — This memoir from a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa revisits her life during Indian relocation from reservations to urban areas, from Ojibwe villages to white communities whose ideas about Indians come from Hollywood westerns, grounded in the wisdom she learned from her grandmother.

OCTOBER

Fiction

“The High Heaven”: by Joshua Wheeler (Graywolf Press) — In this multi-genre story, Izzy is orphaned on the first night of the first Apollo space mission and taken in by a struggling rancher trying to keep his mind from falling apart as NASA rocket tests encroach on his land. Izzy’s life moves from tragedy on the ranch through addiction, meeting eccentrics, and counseling people who have lost the ability to see the moon. The author teaches at Louisiana State University.

(Courtesy of the University of Minnesota Press)

“The House On Rondo”: by Debra J. Stone (University of Minnesota Press) — In this middle-grade fiction, Zenobia is spending the summer at her grandparents’ St. Paul home as eviction notices spread through the neighborhood when work on the Interstate 94 freeway begins. As Zenobia learns what this means for displaced residents, she discovers how her story intertwines with the history of her family going back to her great-grandmother and learns the consequences of taking a stand against the unseen government forces destroying a thriving Black community.

“The Mind Reels”: by Fredrik deBoer (Coffee House Press) — In this debut novel highlighting mental illness, deBoer, who has written about his struggle with bipolar disorder, writes of Alice losing her mind in her dorm room after drunken hook-ups and roommate fights. So begins a march of lithium, antidepressants and Klonopin, doctors and therapists as Alice descends deeper into chaos.

“Photograph”: by Brian Freeman (Blackstone Publishing) — Although bestselling Freeman has moved to Florida, we will always consider him a Minnesota author because his career began here. His new thriller is an emotional cold case of hidden identities.

“The Naming of Aki”: by Thomas Peacock (Minnesota Historical Society Press) — Retelling of a traditional Ojibwe story that celebrates what First Human and First Wolf see, taste, hear, smell and touch as they wander Aki, the Earth, to be the namer of things.

“Leaf Town Forever”: by Kathleen Rooney and Beth Rooney, illustrated by Betsy Bowen (University of Minnesota Press) — Picture book based on a true story about a Midwestern “town” created by children using leaves, sticks, and their imaginations.

NOVEMBER

(Courtesy of the University of Minnesota Press)

“Mysterious Tales of Old Minneapolis”: by Larry Millett (University of Minnesota Press) — Three tales of intrigue and murder in historic Minneapolis, introducing three unlikely but talented new detectives bringing the 19th-century city to life from the St. Paul author of 10 crime novels featuring Sherlock Holmes and sleuth Shad Rafferty.

(Courtesy of the University of Minnesota Press)

“What Doesn’t Kill Me Makes Me Weirder and Harder to Relate To”: by Mary Lucia (University of Minnesota Press) — The author, a media broadcast personality, writer, actor and voiceover artist, tells her personal story of what it’s like to be in the public spotlight when it might get you killed. As a rock DJ, Lucia dealt with many fans, but for one listener that connection became a dangerous obsession, leading to Lucia’s three-year nightmare. (7 p.m. Dec 9, Granada Theater, 3022 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls., presented by University of Minnesota Press and Magers & Quinn bookstore.)

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Looking for a mentor: Zoe (Kids ‘n Kinship)

Kids ‘n Kinship provides friendships and positive role models to children and youth ages 5-16 who are in need of an additional supportive relationship with an adult. Here’s one of the youth waiting for a mentor:

First name: Zoe

Age: 12

Interests: Zoe loves the arts. She is an incredible artist! She loves being creative in her drawing, making videos, crafts, music, etc. She played a part in her middle school’s musical. She also enjoys camping and being in nature.

Personality/Characteristics: Zoe is very talkative, especially with those she trusts. She’s also a bit of an old soul, and is a deeply empathetic person, easily picking up on the feelings of others around her. Zoe has had a lot of challenges and big changes in her life recently that have led her to be very independent. She lives with her grandma, and grandma describes Zoe as resilient, outrageously funny, emotionally intelligent, and with a knack for language. Zoe’s first language was ASL (American Sign Language).

Goals/dreams: Zoe loves being involved in the arts!  She’d love a mentor who would listen to her, enjoy the arts, and who wants to be active – maybe go on a roller coaster with her, or take her on a hike. When asked what she’d wish for if she had 3 wishes, Zoe said 1: For Unlimited money (so she could give away a lot of it to people who need it) 2: For her grandma and her to live forever! And 3: For there to be peace in our world and for people to be able to be themselves.

For more information: Zoe is waiting for a mentor through Kids n’ Kinship in Dakota County. To learn more about this youth mentoring program and the 39+ youth waiting for a mentor, sign up for an Information Session, visit www.kidsnkinship.org or email programs@kidsnkinship.org. For more information about mentoring in the Twin Cities outside of Dakota County, contact MENTOR MN at mentor@mentormn.org or fill out a brief form at www.mentoring.org/take-action/become-a-mentor/#search.

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Today is Sunday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2025. There are 122 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 31, 1992, white separatist Randy Weaver surrendered to authorities in Idaho, ending an 11-day siege by federal agents that had claimed the lives of Weaver’s wife, son and a deputy U.S. marshal.

Also on this date:

In 1881, the first U.S. tennis championships (for men only) began in Newport, Rhode Island.

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In 1886, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of up to 7.3 devastated Charleston, South Carolina, killing at least 60 people.

In 1962, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago became independent of British colonial rule.

In 1980, Poland’s Solidarity labor movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk (guh-DANSK’) that ended a 17-day-old strike.

In 1994, Russia officially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltics after half a century.

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed after the car she was riding in crashed in Paris; her partner Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul (who was found to have been intoxicated at the time of the accident) also died.

In 2006, Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream” was recovered by Norwegian authorities after being stolen nine days earlier.

In 2010, President Barack Obama announced the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed and telling those divided over the war in his country and around the world: “it’s time to turn the page.”

In 2019, a gunman carried out a shooting rampage that stretched ten miles between the Texas communities of Midland and Odessa, leaving seven people dead before police killed the gunman outside a movie theater in Odessa.

Today’s Birthdays:

World Golf Hall of Famer Isao Aoki is 83.
Violinist Itzhak Perlman is 80.
Singer Van Morrison is 80.
Rock musician Rudolf Schenker (The Scorpions) is 77.
Actor Richard Gere is 76.
Actor Stephen McKinley Henderson is 76.
Attorney and author Marcia Clark is 72.
Olympic gold medal hurdler Edwin Moses is 70.
Rock singer Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) is 68.
Rock musician Gina Schock (The Go-Go’s) is 68.
Singer-composer Deborah Gibson is 55.
Queen Rania of Jordan is 55.
Golfer Padraig (PAH’-drig) Harrington is 54.
Actor Chris Tucker is 54.
Actor Sara Ramirez is 50.
Former NFL wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is 42.
NBA All-Star Jalen Brunson is 29.