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.

You can find the book launch details by signing up here - it will be available on Amazon and my Payhip Store - by October 2025.

At the heart of GULP is the Mind Food Body System - the practical framework designed to help individuals eat safely and live socially after head and neck cancer. But behind the system lies a deeper philosophy: the Commensality Comeback. This model represents the emotional and social restoration that occurs when eating becomes more than nutrition-it becomes connection. GULP brings them together, offering both the strategy and the soul to navigate life after radiated dysphagia.

* GULP = the full package

* Mind Food Body = the “how” (system/process)

* Commensality Comeback = the “why” (philosophy/purpose)

I developed the Mind Food Body System based on my own experience recovering from head and neck cancer and learning to eat again after a PEG tube. During that time, I noticed significant gaps- especially in how information was shared between patients, carers, and the clinical team. This system was created to close those gaps with a practical, structured approach that supports safer eating and better communication.

The Commensality Comeback isn’t a concept I invented-it’s the bigger picture. It reflects the return to shared meals and social eating after medical treatment. GULP supports that comeback by combining the system with easy-to-use tools.

Here’s how it all fits together:

* Philosophy – The Commensality ComebackA shift toward restoring shared meals and connection after treatment

* System – The Mind Food Body SystemA practical framework to guide patients and clinicians through the return to oral eating

* Tools – GULPA set of resources (book, app, and toolkit) to support learning, planning, and implementation

GULP. Is my story, my challenges and how I went about creating my best food life and new life having had a PEG tube for 15 months. It is intended as a story but an educational story, built with layers of experience in food, cooking, hiking, strategy and an unwavering belief in oneself.

It’s all designed and created to ensure that you..

Eat Well.

If cancer gave me anything it was a hot cup of tea and a good talking to.

I wanted to read stories from people who had a clue.

I wanted to get some sort of idea about what it was I was going through and what others had experienced.

I didn’t want to get unsolicited advice from a thousand people on social media about the dodgy looking ulcer on their tongue.

Not helpful, non of it.

…and so GAG.| eating life was born.

This is a documented life journal told in story format of my setbacks and comebacks after surviving head and neck cancer.

Now I am a writer and international hiker.

A story teller and still, after everything a foodie at heart.

May it provide the inspiration and clarity you need.

Eat Well.

Wow survivorship. The second battle - I didn’t see it coming.

There are people who actually do their PhD’s in this so I’ll leave the details to them.

I guess the nuance of what I write is now based on “survivorship” and as I have documented my journey from day 1 - it’s becomes a useful resource, for not only me but those that unfortunately are coming up the rear of which there are many.

This next stage is where I need your help. Your thoughts, comments and ideas publicly written if possible, that way it doesn’t just become because “I said”.

You know what I mean, so if you can make a comment here on Substack, Linkedin, social media or even just send me an email - and being comfortable with me using your words in the public arena is all super helpful.

Please share this publication - it helps get the message out there …

Becoming a paid subscriber also super helpful. 😉

GAG.| eating life is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Eat Well.