I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections.
– D.H. Lawrence
I’m Karly Randolph Pitman, the facilitator and founder of growing human(kind)ness.
I’m a teacher, author, mother, and a midwife for the call of the sacred, the gifts of grief, and the healing balm of connection. I help people understand and embrace the vulnerability that lies underneath food compulsions like binge eating and overeating, uncovering the deeper, more merciful story that is being writ through their journey.
This new way of seeing fosters a change of heart, a softer, more compassionate way of relating to our humanity, and to each other’s – what is the essence of ‘growing human(kind)ness.’
Growing human(kind)ness arose out of my own journey, which included 20 years of multiple eating disorders, a deep embarrassment about my sensitivity, and a life long initiation through anxiety and depression. In bearing witness to my suffering and the suffering of others, the mystery of eating disorders gripped my soul, mind and my heart. I’ve used all to seek their clues and unearth their secrets, to map their underpinnings and respect and bow to their beauty.
I’m the author of several books and courses, including When Food is Your Mother and The 30 Day Lift, teach regularly, and speak to groups.
I am passionate about creating a culture that nurtures and supports human vulnerability, human emotion, connection, and relationship, for these things are the ultimate answer to eating disorders. I offer my work in service to individuals who yearn for wholeness, to the soul of food, and the body, which longs to speak; and to our greater culture, which yearns for restored connection in its relationship to food, sugar and the body.
Undergirding all my work is awe and love for the human heart.
My husband and business partner Patrick and I live in Austin, Texas with our four children, one very sweet Australian shepherd, a frisky cat, lots of dust bunnies, and thank God, beautiful trees. I love good stories, good music, good movies, good food, good words, good play, and long, good walks.
Media inquiries & speaking start here
My teachers:
Many have blessed and awed me with their teachings, but a few stand out in how their work has impacted me and shaped my thinking and perceiving. I share them with you to honor their great hearts.
- Tara Brach, Buddhist meditation teacher, clinical psychologist, founder, Insight Meditation community of Washington, author, True Refuge and Radical Acceptance
- Dr. Gordon Neufeld, therapist, theorist, developmental psychologist, founder of the Neufeld Institute, and his co-author, addiction expert Dr. Gabor Maté
- Abby Seixas, therapist, facilitator, trainer, creator and author, Finding the Deep River Within
- My grief teachers, Francis Weller and Stephen Jenkinson