Feed Me: A Story of Food, Love and Mental Illness

Feed Me is Erika Nichols-Frazer's candid and penetrating account of growing up with undiagnosed bipolar disorder. From the age of five, she felt a storm inside her, a battle raging between light and dark. Yet no one -- not her family, her teachers, or her doctors -- could explain the frightening places she would find herself. When she was nine, she proclaimed herself a vegetarian; and at ten, she taught herself to cook. Whenever she worked with food, she was happy, hopeful, and in better control of her moods. Somehow, the flavors and textures of her meals were the antidotes to the chaos in her mind. Cooking nurtured her; it centered her. With every meal she prepared for herself and others, she was able to feed the light inside her. She was able to nourish herself, body, and soul. Feed Me is a story about a young woman's journey to save herself. It's about sustenance, and the ways in which we feed ourselves and each other. It's a reminder of how food brings us together, and how learning to feed our bodies teaches us to love ourselves. It's also about the connections we make with others that help us to prevail, the daily rituals that help us to heal, and the food we prepare, and share with the people we love.