Interview With Author Kelsey Dietrich
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! My name is Kelsey and I’m from Port Clinton, Ohio. I earned my BA in English and Psychology from Bowling Green State University (2021) and MA in Psychological Science from the University of Minnesota Duluth (2024). Currently, I’m a PhD student studying clinical health psychology at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. As an undergraduate, I became curious about mindfulness and yoga as ways to promote well-being; this led me to seek out lots of ways of learning about the topics which included personally practicing, working in academic research labs, becoming certified as both a mindfulness and yoga facilitator, reading lots of books about these topics, and then, writing one of my own. In March 2024, I self-published Mindfulness for Type 1 Diabetes: 21 practices to support you through the literal and figural highs and lows of T1D.
For fun, I enjoy exploring cute cities, taking photographs (mostly of my dog and nature), painting (especially pumpkins, rocks, and canvases!), drinking tea (and collecting tea tags with quotes), checking out coffee shops, listening to music, and snuggling with my adorable dog, Leo.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune health condition where the pancreas cells that produce insulin, a hormone in the body that regulates blood glucose levels, stop working. As a result, a person with T1D has to take synthetic insulin, via shots or an insulin pump, to keep the level of glucose in the bloodstream in a healthy range. This requires a lot of attention and awareness because there are more than 20 factors that can impact blood glucose; levels that are too high are life-threatening and can have long-term physical complications, and levels that are too low are life-threatening and cause acute crises. T1D is a 24/7/365 job that is added to everything else that goes on in life. Mindfulness is a way of relating to experience, bringing attitudes of nonjudgmental, openness, awareness, and curiosity to meet the present moment – no matter what the present moment is.
I wrote my book as a result of the intersection of my experiences living with T1D (since 2001), practicing mindfulness (since 2017), researching mindfulness from an academic scientific perspective (since 2018), and facilitating mindfulness (since 2019). After a really scary low blood sugar, I experienced a lot of anxiety about it happening again. There’s a fine line between being prepared for what could happen for health and safety reasons and letting the possibility of a medical crisis consume so much of your life that you start missing out on what is truly happening. For the first time ever, I found myself having a lot of negative thoughts and feelings about diabetes, even though I had lived with it for 21 years at that point. I also realized that I went most of my life without thinking much about T1D and realized how mentally, emotionally, and physically draining life with a chronic health condition truly was, compounded by the lack of T1D-specific mental health resources. I’m grateful to have had lots of strategies for self-exploration to help recognize how impactful this particular low blood sugar was for me and the courage to find peace, acceptance, meaning, growth, and presence through it all. Reflecting on my personal and professional experiences with mindfulness, I searched for a T1D and mindfulness book. When I surprisingly couldn’t find what I was looking for, I decided to create it. Mindfulness for Type 1 Diabetes serves as a gentle guide for integrating mindfulness into daily diabetes scenarios and is a symbol of my post-traumatic growth.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Hmmm…I’m not sure if I have any “unusual” writing habits. Most of my writing is done on my laptop while I sit on my couch with my dog, Leo, snuggled up next to me.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Zahabiyah A. Yamasaki stands out as an incredible and influential author who meets the world with such a gentle, grounding, kind, and caring presence; her work is truly such a special gift.
What are you working on now?
I am very excited to be working on the kids’ version of mindfulness for T1D! You’re welcome to connect on Instagram for updates…stay tuned!!!
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Instagram has been a fun way to promote the book and share mindfulness offerings.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Remember your “why.” When things feel tough or when you inevitably run into roadblocks, taking a step back and reflecting on why you started, why you keep going, and why this is important to you can be a helpful reminder that connects you back to your values and passion.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
One of my graduate school professors said “no feeling lasts forever” and I really love this statement because it is true even when we are stuck in a feeling that DOES seem like it will be around forever. This reminds me to bring some curiosity to how the feeling (i.e., body sensation, emotion), might be changing over time. Maybe it’s the actual quality or intensity of the feeling; it could also be my perception of the feeling, what I’m thinking about it, and what I’m doing about it. There is so much that goes on in the moment that when we become more attuned to the micro-shifts, we can realize that, indeed, no feeling lasts forever.
What are you reading now?
I recently finished reading “The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion” by Christopher K. Germer, PhD, and I absolutely loved it!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Preparing for the launch of my first kids’ book and entering the third year of my PhD program – which also includes a lot of different writing endeavors!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
All Along You Were Blooming written by Morgan Harper Nichols
The Power of Breathwork: Simple Practices to Support Wellbeing written by Jennifer Patterson
Embodied Healing: Survivor and Facilitator Voices from the Practice of Trauma-Sensitive Yoga edited by Jenn Turner and foreword by Viann Nguyen-Feng, PhD
Author Websites and Profiles
Kelsey Dietrich Amazon Profile
Kelsey Dietrich’s Social Media Links
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