After recovering from surgery, Williams began to experience severe diarrhea almost every time he ate. Doctors told him that his bowel just needed time to heal. “It got to the point where I couldn’t go out, because I would constantly eat something that would make me sick,” he said. During the next few years, Williams saw a series of nutritionists and gastroenterologists—eight clinicians in total—but none could pinpoint the reason for his symptoms. “Doctors are sometimes just, like, ‘Are you not dying? O.K., then come back another time,’ ” he said. Williams largely restricted his diet to eggs, rice, applesauce, and sourdough bread. “You don’t understand how much food is a part of life—socially, culturally—until you can’t eat it anymore,” he told me. “It’s awkward to be on a date and explain why you can’t get the mozzarella sticks. When your food is bland, your life becomes bland, too.”journey-inline-newsletterinline-newsletter