An ode to postpartum confinement cuisine

now available for preorder + some personal news...

Hi all. I’m writing in with a couple of really big life updates:

I wrote a cookbook about postpartum recovery, rooted in the Chinese diasporic tradition of “sitting the month,” or zuò yuè zǐ 坐月子. It’s an ancient initiation into motherhood by way of food, where new moms are fed a progression of warming dishes to heal and reset the body.

For context: In Chinese culture, it is believed that giving birth disturbs the equilibrium of the body, and that a person’s qi, or life force, is depleted in the process. New mothers are expected to stay indoors and rest for a full month to conserve energy and allow the body to fully heal. More importantly, we aren’t expected to cope alone. We are cared for and fed recovery dishes so specific that there’s an entire industry behind them, from ready-to-eat meals, to dedicated hotels, to nannies who specialize in what is known as confinement cuisine.

I got the idea for the book when my son was born. I had checked into a specialized postpartum confinement hotel here in Taipei (read about my experience there in The New Yorker) and realized there were little to no resources about confinement cuisine in the English language.

So I took meticulous notes on all the dishes I was served at the hotel, enlisted the help of a second-generation herbalist here in Taiwan (who gave birth to her first kid shortly after I had mine), and spent the next two years furiously developing recipes and interviewing postpartum care providers in Taiwan and the States.

What I learned: There are specific stages of recovery to follow. Postpartum recovery isn’t just limited to the first month; it can take up to two years. Herbs should be layered in thoughtfully, not aggressively.

The timing couldn’t be better because…well, I just gave birth to my second child…a week ago.

Yep.

But this time, instead of splurging on a postpartum hotel for a full month, I’ve been at home following the recipes and guidance from my own cookbook, and the difference in my mental health has been significant. A big part of it is because this isn’t my first time with a newborn. But I feel much more confident and nourished because I finally know what I’m eating, why I’m eating it, and what each dish is meant to do for my body. At the confinement hotel, by contrast, I was simply handed trays of food with little to no context.

I’ve been documenting and filming my postpartum recovery process at home and will be posting updates on my Instagram over the next five months leading to publication. I hope you’ll follow along.

Preorders for the book are now open. The book will be available across the United States on September 15, 2026 and yes—I’ll be doing a book tour this time around.

If you know a new mom, or are entering early motherhood yourself, I hope you’ll consider ordering. To encourage preorders, I’m putting together a digital bundle of exclusive discounts and perks for new moms and anyone interested in traditional Chinese herbalism. Just upload your order receipt on my website and I’ll email you the link.

My hope is that this cookbook becomes a universal go-to resource for postpartum recovery—one that brings intention and care into a stage of life that’s too often overlooked.

I poured my heart into this book, and I’m excited to finally share it with you.