# Celiac vs Me — When Gluten Turns Your Food World Upside Down **Author:** Gregory Wilson ([Amazon Author Page](https://www.amazon.com/author/gdubs-books)) **Site:** https://celiacvsme.com **Editions:** - Paperback — ISBN 9798196047985 - Kindle Edition A practical and deeply personal companion for coping when gluten turns your food world upside down — written for the newly diagnosed and the people who love them. ## About the Book The test result came back positive for celiac. Not borderline. Overwhelmingly. My doctor called within five minutes. "Well," she said, "we know what the problem is. You have celiac disease." That was May 2024. What followed was two years of figuring out how to live a normal life again — the kitchen audit, the second toaster, the first time I had to ask a waiter whether the fries shared a fryer with anything breaded, the afternoon at a mall food court where I sat down and quietly said *I hate this* until I had said it enough times. Part memoir, part guide, *Celiac vs Me* walks you through the real-world details no one thinks to explain — how to shop, eat out, travel, plan ahead, handle holidays, talk to people, and rebuild confidence in your body and your choices. The confusion, the grief, the mistakes, the awkward conversations, the surprising places gluten hides, the gradual return to ordinary life. Written for newly diagnosed celiacs and the people who love them, this is not a medical textbook or a recipe collection. It is a practical and deeply personal companion for coping when gluten turns your food world upside down — and finding your way forward. ## What's in the book Eight chapters, a resource appendix, and a thank-you. The chapters are roughly chronological — the diagnosis itself, the first weeks at home, then outward in widening circles to other people, the grocery store, the restaurant, the road, the holiday calendar, and finally back inward to the body underneath. Every chapter has a substantial free excerpt on this site (linked below). 1. **The Diagnosis.** The morning the number on the screen changed your life — what the test results actually mean, the language doctors use, and what to do with the first 48 hours. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-diagnosis/) 2. **The First Weeks.** A celiac diagnosis walks into your kitchen and starts opening drawers. Two toasters, a clean cutting board, the soy sauce, and the slow project of making the floor stop shifting. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-first-weeks/) 3. **Telling People.** The conversation you have to have, over and over, with everyone you love. Strategic word choice, the "severe gluten allergy" shorthand, and how to spot the ones who already understand. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/telling-people/) 4. **The Aisles.** The cereal box that says *Certified Gluten-Free* versus the one that just says *gluten-free*, the apps that help, and the shopping geography of your new life. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-aisles/) 5. **The Table.** "Any pizza can be made gluten-free" — six words on a menu and what they actually mean. How to order, what to ask, the questions that work, and the ones that don't. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-table/) 6. **The Road.** Six hours into a drive when nothing at the rest stop is safe. How to plan a trip, what to pack, and the surprising places that turn out to be easy. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-road/) 7. **The Calendar.** The first Thanksgiving, the first birthday, the first wedding. How to retool the scheduled occasions of your life around the new diet, year by year. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-calendar/) 8. **The Body Underneath.** 1021 on diagnosis day. 101.4 nine months later. What the antibody numbers tell you, what they don't, and how to rebuild trust in a body that has been quietly unreliable for years. — [Read excerpt](https://celiacvsme.com/the-body-underneath/) Plus a resource appendix — *Where to Learn More*: the apps, YouTube channels, Instagram creators, advocacy organizations, and online communities that helped me most. ## Where to Learn More The full annotated list of apps, channels, creators, organizations, and communities is in the back of the book; this is the working version that I will keep updated here. Not every voice on this list is a celiac. Most of the people you will meet in your gluten-free life will be gluten-free for reasons other than celiac. Each entry below names what the creator's situation is. ### Apps - **[Fig](https://www.figapp.com)** — Daily product scanner. Scan a barcode at the grocery store, or search by name, and Fig tells you whether the product is safe for your specific diet. The single tool I open most often. - **[Find Me Gluten Free](https://www.findmeglutenfree.com)** — Long-running, crowd-sourced restaurant directory with five-star celiac safety ratings. The first place I check before walking into anywhere unfamiliar. - **[Atly](https://www.atly.com)** — Newer crowd-sourced gluten-free map and listing service. Worth checking alongside Find Me Gluten Free. ### YouTube - **[Robyn's Gluten-Free Living](https://www.youtube.com/@robynsglutenfreeliving)** (celiac) — My online entry point into this whole universe. If you only follow one creator, follow her. - **[Let Them Eat Gluten Free Cake](https://www.youtube.com/c/LetThemEatGlutenFreeCake)** (celiac) — Kim's channel. Strong on baking-recreation: real gluten-free versions of the desserts and breads you didn't think were possible. - **[The Gluten Free Blogger](https://www.youtube.com/@GFBlogger)** (celiac, UK) — Sarah's daily-life voice. UK-oriented but plenty travels. - **[G-Free Foodie](https://www.youtube.com/@GFreeFoodie)** (celiac) — K.C. Cornwell. Gourmet-leaning gluten-free. - **[Celiac Kitchen](https://www.youtube.com/@celiackitchen)** (celiac) — Recipe-focused, everyday cooking. ### Instagram - **[@glutenfreeglobetrotter](https://www.instagram.com/glutenfreeglobetrotter/)** (celiac since 1981, 25+ countries) — Erin Smith. The established voice on celiac travel. - **[@the_celiac_space](https://www.instagram.com/the_celiac_space/)** (celiac, RD) — The credentialed-medical voice in the space. - **[@healthylivingellie](https://www.instagram.com/healthylivingellie/)** (coeliac since 2003, UK/Europe) — Ellie. UK and European travel and product reviews. - **[@collegeceliackc](https://www.instagram.com/collegeceliackc/)** (celiac) — Casey Cromwell. Newly-diagnosed-friendly grocery 101 walkthroughs. - **[@celiacsarahexplores](https://www.instagram.com/celiacsarahexplores/)** (celiac, world traveler) — Sarah. International celiac travel. - **[@philhatesgluten](https://www.instagram.com/philhatesgluten/)** (NOT celiac — eosinophilic esophagitis, hiatal hernia, GERD) — Phil. A useful reminder that most gluten-free people you'll meet got there for reasons other than celiac. ### Advocacy & Research Organizations - **[Beyond Celiac](https://www.beyondceliac.org)** — Major US celiac advocacy nonprofit. Strong on plain-language research updates. - **[Celiac Disease Foundation](https://celiac.org)** — The other major US advocacy organization. - **[National Celiac Association](https://nationalceliac.org)** — Administers the 5 ppm Gluten-Free Recognition Seal program, the strictest of the common third-party certification marks. - **[Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG)](https://gluten.org)** — Parent organization behind the GFCO certification mark. - **[ClinicalTrials.gov](https://clinicaltrials.gov)** — Search "celiac" to see the live research pipeline. ### Community - **[r/Celiac on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/Celiac/)** — A very active community. Search any product or restaurant before you commit; there is usually a thread. The single most useful free resource on this list, for me. - **Local Facebook groups** — Search for celiac groups in your city, state, or country. Hyper-local in a way the bigger creators cannot be. --- **One thing to keep in mind.** I am not a doctor or a dietitian. Nothing on this site, or in the book, is medical advice or a substitute for it. Before you change anything about how you eat, take any medication, or stop taking any medication, talk to your doctor. Use this site as a companion, not a manual. --- © 2026 Gregory Wilson. *Celiac vs Me* is available in Paperback and Kindle editions.