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Frances Boswell

Author, food editor, licensed acupuncturist

After graduating from Vassar College with a concentration in both Art History and Philosophy, Frances Boswell pursued her interest in food by working in restaurant and catering kitchens. She was part of the start-up team for Martha Stewart Living and eventually became the magazine’s food editor. In addition she has contributed to several other publications and co-authored a book, Food Adventures.

To address some health problems, Frances turned to Chinese Medicine. She enrolled and graduated from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City, and is now a licensed acupuncturist with a private practice, Qi Sera Sera Acupuncture, which focuses on a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine which identifies poor diet as one of the most common causes of all disease.

My philosophy: Diet—what you eat and how you eat—is our first line of defense in health and wellbeing. Cooking with seasonal, whole ingredients and infusing our meals with generous intent cannot be considered an inconvenience. What’s inconvenient is illness: doctor appointments, sick days, unpleasant tests, and recuperation time that all follow.

If I wasn't doing what I'm doing now I'd be: a translator for the United Nations. I can hardly order a coffee in any language save my own so it’s a pipe dream really.

Best piece of advice: It’s not so much advice but words that resonate with me. “Blessed are the hearts that bend: they shall never be broken,” from the work of Albert Camus, was used by one of my professors to illustrate the importance of ample blood supply, one of the Vital Substances according to Traditional Chinese Medicine, in wellbeing. More simply put; the ability to change with the changes engenders health and happiness, and given the author, no doubt romance, too. Oh and remember these wise words from my daughter’s teacher: “Potted plants fare better than cut flowers.”

Web site: qiserasera.com