Michelle Petties is a Food Story coach and emotional eating expert who gives voice to what happens at the intersection of food, feelings, and everyday life.

A recovering food addict, Michelle explores how memories, emotions, and culture, not hunger, shape our eating habits. Her award-winning memoir,  Leaving Large – The Stories of a Food Addict, is not a weight-loss book—it's a powerful reckoning with the past and a path toward healing and wholeness. Through a powerful blend of personal narrative, social commentary, and storytelling, Michelle unpacks 40 years of emotional wounds, ingrained beliefs, and cultural expectations that shaped her journey—and ultimate victory—over food addiction. As a sought-after speaker and workshop facilitator, Michelle leads healing-through-reading-writing-and-storytelling experiences that help participants uncover their food truths and reclaim their power. Through these workshops, retreats, and her ebook Mind Over Meals, she helps others uncover their food truths, rewire their thinking, and create lasting change from the inside out.

With experience in media sales and leadership at companies like Radio One, Disney/ABC, and NPR/PBS member stations, Michelle now employs storytelling as a tool for transformation.