invisible grains: short stories for celiac disease

Description

The symptoms and burdens of celiac disease are embedded in the invisible grains of everyday life, making them easy to dismiss yet all the more critical to understand. This book explores the journey from diagnosis to transformation and, ultimately, to hope, heard directly through the voices and experiences of those with the disease.

This book is titled “invisible grains” because living with celiac disease means navigating an invisible illness—something that doesn’t always show on the outside, but shapes everyday life in unseen ways. The word “grains” speaks to that experience in two ways. On a literal level, it nods to gluten—the culprit behind all celiac symptoms, found in wheat, barley, and rye. But “grains” also represents the pieces of this book: small, digestible poems and stories that reflect fragments of living with this condition. Together, invisible grains is about what’s hidden, what’s harmful, and what’s quietly powerful.

About the author Sophia Bagley

Sophia Bagley is a senior in high school. She is a Girl Scout of 13 years who has been with her troop since kindergarten. Her interest in celiac disease stems from her own diagnosis at age 10, and she has been passionate about finding a cure for the disease and advocating for the celiac disease community ever since. As a recent camp counselor for Camp Celiac at Camp Arroyo, she has heard countless stories from children about what it’s like to live with the disease. She hopes that in publishing this book, she can spread awareness on the social implications of day-to-day life with celiac for both adults and kids. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, playing the flute, singing in her choir, conducting research, and volunteering.