Human. Author. MacGyver in the kitchen.
I’ve written about food and love for The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Huffington Post, Kveller, Scary Mommy, Hippocampus, and more. Now, I’m thrilled to announce my first book:
Kitchen Medicine: How I Fed My Daughter Out of Failure-to-Thrive.
Kitchen Medicine is about learning to feed my daughter through medical challenges. It’s for people who cook for fuel and those who cook for love; for those who see the miracle in the growing child and in the fresh peach; for matzo-ball lovers and the gluten-intolerant; and for parents who want to feed their kids without starving their souls.
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Recent Published Work
Five Hosting Lessons I Learned from Feeding My Daughter, Who Could Not Seem to Eat (Bon Appetit)
Tiny Love Stories: “Everyone Should Have a Maxine” (New York Times)
Unless You’re My Kids, Please Don’t Call Me Mom (Kveller)
My Daughter Was Misdiagnosed, And I Could Have Sued. Here’s What I Did Instead. (Huffington Post)
Debi Lewis’ writing is poignant and dogged. So, too, is the journey to medically manage her daughter’s mysterious 9-year illness, which she expertly chronicles, an explorer without a map. Equal parts heartbreaking and triumphant, these glimpses into one mother’s attempt to feed her family in medical uncertainty remind us, as adults who love and care for children, of both the magnificent power of human resilience and the horrible illusion of control.
Interviews
Kitchen Medicine—A Story of Food and Love with Author Debi Lewis (Conversations About Conversations with Ivan Farber)
“They Say ‘Failure to Thrive’ but Moms Hear ‘Failure To Feed.'” (Burnt Toast with Virginia Sole-Smith)
Kitchen Medicine with Debi Lewis (That’s the #Truth with Daniel & Jenny Muscatell)
Overcoming a “Failure to Thrive Diagnosis” – Debi Lewis (Mothers of Misfits)
Words With Writers – Debi Lewis (Kathy Biehl’s Empowerment Unlimited)
Healing Her Child and Learning to Thrive (Happiness Through Hardship with Pretty Wellness’ Caryn Sullivan)
Writing About Our Children (Let’s Talk Memoir with Ronit Plank)
Beating Failure to Thrive (Heart to Heart with Anna)
About Debi
Debi Lewis holds a BA and MA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin. Her experience as the parent of a medically complex child honed her empathy and reinforced her need to articulate both her and her child’s needs in writing. As both a fiction writer and an essayist, Debi believes in empathy and compassion as the keys to a compelling story.
Debi's Work
Debi Lewis has been publishing essays and short stories in popular and niche publications for more than twenty years. Covering parenting, social action, and issues of faith, her writing has a distinctive crossover style.
Connect with Debi
In the intersections of health reporting, parenting, great food, and the writing world is Debi’s @growthesunshine Twitter feed. Connect there to read her latest musings and interests.