The Recipe for Resilience: Illness, Influence, and Inspiration

Episode #033

Sendy Mom Rachel Farnsworth from The Stay At Home Chef

What would you do if you knew you were dying?
It’s a question most of us avoid—but one that Rachel Farnsworth, founder of The Stay at Home Chef, has lived through more than once.

Rachel has faced Addison’s Disease, an atypical presentation of Stiff Person Syndrome, and even a brain tumor. At one point, she prepared her husband and children for her decline. Then, through a medical miracle involving immunoglobulin therapy, Rachel found her way back to life—and to the kitchen.

Her journey is more than a story of survival. It’s a story of courage, creativity, and the choice to keep showing up when life feels uncertain.

Curiosity Over Catastrophe

Many of us start with a spark of passion. For Rachel, it was curiosity—and one very memorable kitchen fail.

At just twelve years old, she made her first batch of chocolate chip cookies… with ¼ cup of baking soda instead of ¼ teaspoon. The cookies were a disaster, but something wonderful happened: she fell in love with the science of cooking.

“I thought if there’s that big of a difference between a quarter teaspoon and a quarter cup, what do all of the other ingredients do? Yeah. And so I started baking batch after batch after batch of cookies and I would change just one small thing with each ingredient.”
Rachel Farnsworth

We all have to be bad at something before we can be good at it. The people who succeed aren’t the ones who get it right the first time—they’re the ones who keep iterating, experimenting, and learning.

So ask yourself: What are you passionate about? What would happen if you gave yourself permission to keep trying until it works?

Colleagues, Not Competitors

Rachel believes deeply in abundance:

“Rising tides lift all boats.”
Rachel Farnsworth

She’s known for sharing her knowledge freely with other influencers, encouraging new creators to collaborate rather than compete. Find a community you trust and work together to lift the whole industry.

Instead of fighting for followers and likes, Rachel reminds us to be honest, generous, and kind. Ambition alone can burn out even the most talented people—but collaboration creates lasting success.

Courage Through Challenge

“I tell people it’s the best thing that ever happened to me because it changed my perspective. I thought, ‘I want to live life. I’m not going to take this for granted—I’m going to live.’”
Rachel Farnsworth

When faced with a death sentence, Rachel didn’t shrink back—she chose to live fully. She flew a helicopter over a volcano, swam with sharks, and booked last-minute trips just to feel alive.

Her story invites each of us to ask:
If you lived every day like it was your last, what would you do differently?

Confidence in Your Contribution

Rachel’s rise in the online world has taught her an important truth: the world values your contribution—and so should you.

Too often, women undervalue their creative work, assuming that if they love doing it, they shouldn’t expect to be paid. But as Rachel points out, if you’re not earning from your content, big platforms like Spotify, Apple, and Google probably are.

Learn to advocate for yourself. Your time, creativity, and expertise have worth.

“You are not selfish or greedy to be compensated for your time in the work that you do. It’s okay to put goodness out in the world and be paid for it. You do not have to self sacrifice and be the person who just does things all the time for free.”
Rachel Farnsworth