After losing both legs below the knee and nine fingers to complications from sickle cell disease, New York Times cooking columnist Yewande Komolafe returned to her kitchen with an assistant, discovering that food remained her pathway to survival and a continuum connecting her former self to her present life. Yewande managed sickle cell disease for decades by carefully pacing work, sleeping adequately, and staying hydrated—strategies that required deep self-knowledge but allowed her to build a successful culinary career.