Book Summary – GULP.

The book will be available on my website and Amazon - likely (realistically) just before or just after Christmas - I will let you know. 🍾

Here’s what it is ALL about …

GULP. is a practical and insightful guide designed to help people navigate the physical, emotional, and social challenges of eating after dysphagia or related feeding difficulties. The book’s core purpose is to provide both patients and caregivers with structured guidance, actionable strategies, and lived-experience insights that clinical care alone often cannot address.

The book is written for individuals recovering from head and neck cancer, radiation therapy, or other conditions affecting swallowing, as well as their caregivers, family members, and healthcare professionals seeking a patient-centred perspective.

Central themes include rebuilding confidence around food, reclaiming social participation, understanding the physiological and psychological aspects of dysphagia, and integrating practical, evidence-informed strategies into daily life. Readers are introduced to the Back At The Table (BATT) Framework, a structured approach to recovery that emphasizes attention to mind, body, nutrition, and social connection. Key takeaways include the importance of embracing failure as part of progress, the role of social and emotional nourishment, and the value of personalised, step-by-step approaches to regaining independence.

The book is organised into chapters and series that guide readers progressively: understanding the impact of feeding challenges, practical strategies for home and social eating, culinary exploration, and integrating life skills. Modules include personal stories, real-world examples, exercises, and illustrative frameworks, making complex concepts tangible and relatable.

Distinctive elements include first-person narratives, reflective insights from personal journeys such as the Camino, practical exercises, and applied frameworks like BATT and IDDSI.

By reading GULP., readers gain the confidence, knowledge, and practical tools to rebuild their relationship with food, navigate social settings, and restore a sense of agency and enjoyment in daily life, transforming eating from a source of anxiety to a pathway for connection, resilience, and well-being.

Eat Well - Merry Christmas 🎄

Circa 2019.

I know many of you reading here are not HNC patients or recipients of treatment.

I created these PEG tube videos because I knew at some point they would help someone else with their journey.

I had no idea what to do nor how to live with my PEG tube.

Small things like tucking it in my bra, what to do when the end broke off and was told and I quote “that’s because you are using it too much” …

I mean really? - I’ll omit the expletive I used after I left the clinic.

Do you think they were joking? No - they were not, and it wasn’t until I threatened to go to the local hardware and replace the plug myself did someone actually go an do something about it.

Monty Python indeed.

“Tis but a scratch!”

“No it isn’t!, I have had worse”

Except of course I hadn’t, and the comedy continued.

My point is - if you are going through this now, or about to - there’s a lot you have to learn.

Ask questions.

How, why and what if - unless someone is a specialist in tube feeding, tube care or is the Black Knight of PEG tube feeding, there’s a high chance they don’t know.

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, that “’Tis but a scratch!” scene happens when King Arthur encounters the Black Knight, a lone, overconfident guard blocking a bridge. Arthur defeats him easily, slicing off one limb after another, but the Knight refuses to admit defeat. Even with no arms or legs left, he’s still yelling, “Come back here and take what’s coming to you! I’ll bite your legs off!” - that sounds pretty much how I managed this whole PEG process.

The whole bit is a brilliant parody of blind heroism, macho pride, and British stoicism, that absurd determination to “keep calm and carry on” long past the point of reason.

So when someone says “’Tis but a scratch,” it’s become shorthand for downplaying something serious often as dark humour, or as a badge of stubborn resilience.

Sounds like me.

Eat Well. x

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I flew up to Brisbane to present at the inaugural Australian IDDSI conference as a guest speaker. IDDSI stands for International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative and it refers to texture modified food for people with swallowing difficulties.

I asked one the members of our reference committee to nurse my iPhone tripod and just ensure it captured me presenting - mostly because I wanted to hear how many um’s i said .. quite a few.

Just a bit of housekeeping to put this in context. The woman introducing me is Dr Lisa Sossen APD, PhD who aside from keeping me fed whilst away via Textured Concept Foods - is a Dietitian who works mainly in the aged care field. Lisa is the founder of Lisa Sossen & Associates and also specialises in cancer nutrition.

It was an emotional introduction and it took me by surprise and then it hit me as I started to present.

This is just a snippet and I have the full recording which (despite my nerves and dry mouth) I managed to get it out in the allotted 20 minutes!

My book GULP. Taking a seat back at the table after head and neck cancer was not ready for this presentation despite my best efforts and it will be finalised this week.

Shoutout to Precise - they have some Mango Jelly in a tub I have now a new craving for and it’s packed with protein and will make brilliant future hiking snacks.

Super special thanks to Julie Cichero and Peter Lam founders of IDDSI and all round good humans.

If you would like to view the whole presentation leave a comment below and I’ll send you the private link. Only to my subscribers here at GAG.| eating life.

Eat Well.