It's good of you to visit. I know many of you are gluten-free, and will be tickled to note that, after twenty-five years in an eighteenth century house, my husband and I recently moved into the modern world via a new loft home in what was once a bread factory. I am sitting here under my prized Butter-Nut Bread poster, circa 1905. Add to this the fact that my mother's family name was Petitpain, French for "little bread," and that I have been a writer and a celiac for over twenty years, and I guess you can say I didn't have much choice but to become the author of the now classic, Against The Grain, The Slightly Eccentric Guide to Living Well Without Gluten or Wheat (unbelievably ten years old this June with over 75,000 readers worldwide). Descended from bakers, journalists, eccentrics, and lovable oddballs, a better example of genes as destiny I challenge you to find.

I have not been sitting on my laurels (wherever they are). In between packing boxes (where does all that stuff come from?), I've tended my ailing parents, recovered fully from yet another celiac-related mystery illness, penned a much-praised novel, Mothers, which is now back in print thanks to the Authors Guild. I also contribute cheeky articles on living fully and well despite challenging food restrictions to Living Without Magazine.From time to time, I am hired to write film posters and movie trailers, which I love to do. Recently, I worked on Sex And The City for HBO and Sylvia for Focus Features.

This has been a particularly productive year. My dream girl, Izzie O'Brien, has finally made her debut in an illustrated story for the littlest celiacs and their parents – No More Cupcakes & Tummy Aches -- with a foreword by the eminent researcher, celiac activist, and matinee idol, Alessio Fasano, M.D. There's even a real-life cupcake recipe from Lee Tobin, the celiac and mastermind behind the brand new Whole Foods Market Gluten-Free Bakehouse. This collaboration has been one of the happiest of my life, as the illustrator is none other than my oldest and dearest friend Jane Kirkwood, an accomplished painter and portraitist, among her many talents.

A little worried, frankly, that too many people were still buying Against The Grain, (while its attitude and lessons on resourcefulness are eternal, information never is), I set about to capture all that is new in the brave new world of celiac disease in a brand new and exhaustively expanded edition. The result is The Gluten-Free Bible, The Thoroughly Indispensable Guide to Negotiating Life Without Wheat, published this February by Henry Holt & Co., New York.

At nearly twice the size of Against The Grain, this doorstop of a book, really is the bible for living, loving and learning all there is to know about the gluten-free life. And there's plenty because these are boom times for the grain-challenged (in my opinion, there's never been a better time to be diagnosed). As always, there is food. Wonderful, glorious, mouth-watering, gluten-free food. With my trademark assertiveness (it's really easy, once you get the hang of it), I've knocked on the doors of quite a few celebrity kitchens and came away with a new appreciation for the generosity of professional chefs and a few new friends to boot. Nigella Lawson, Bobby Flay, Rick Bayless, Johnny Alamilla, Bryan Sikora, Beth Hillson, Connie Sarros and Cristina Pirello are just some of the contributors. Gluten-free gods and goddesses all.

I will be visiting support groups and bookstores this spring (see Events & News), but, as always, if you would like autographed copies, wish to arrange a visit to your support group or book club, or ask a question (there is no such thing as a silly question), you can always write to me directly.

As you read this, I am hard at work on a new novel and a short story collection and I've begun to try my hand at a few poems. You will be surprised to know (but not if you have already read Mothers) that celiac disease is not always a theme in my work. What does run through all my writing is an interest in the transformative power of loss. I am fascinated by the seductive force of memory, how it shapes who we are now. They say a good novel teaches us how to live and can sometimes influence cultural change. I know firsthand that fiction peopled with characters we care about can bridge the widening gap between people and do much to banish bigotry and superstition.

All that I do reflects my belief in living fully, joyfully, with humor and with heart, even though sometimes said heart is in tatters. Life is messy, human beings are fallible, but I am convinced there are gifts to be found along the way. They glitter in what we think at first is rubble. I believe that our challenges, indeed, our very injuries, are what make us shine the brightest. It doesn't matter whether those challenges confront us at the dinner table, or in the often difficult choices we must make.

I write, very early in the morning and close to dreamtime, from a place deep under the skin, from that part of us that floats in the soup of the subconscious and rises to the surface, clear and sharp as a shard of glass. To me, writing about how it feels to long for an English muffin, is the same as being hungry for a lost father, or for a time we all drank the water and felt safe. I don't mind putting a part of myself on the page. That is where truth is found, souls are touched and friendships are forged.

Stay awhile and come back often. I wish you health, courage, and the ability to laugh all the way from your shoes. Always give more than you receive.