Like the "snake oil" salesmen who sold faux remedies with a hope and a dream, pastor and entrepreneur Becca Stevens claims healing through liniments and oils, through touch and time.  But the social enterprise she founded, Thistle Farms, has reclaimed the term's negative connotations by turning a dream of healing into a reality for those who needed it most.

Thistle Farms employs women recovering from violence, prostitution, addiction, and life on the streets to create, market, and sell all-natural bath and beauty products, while the Magdalene residential community - also founded by Stevens - offers a safe place to live, education, therapy, and more at no cost.  As more and more women found purpose, employment, and the ability to begin new lives.  Stevens realized that it wasn't just Thistle Farms' balms that soothed the soul, but the story itself:  a story of hope, renewal, and the people who make it all possible.

In "Snake Oil", Stevens tells how her own childhood, marked by sexual abuse and her father's tragic death, equipped her with the insight to understand other broken lives, giving her the strength to pursue a path of transformation and social activism that she never could have imagined.  Along the way, she introduces us to the heartbreaking, riveting, and inspiring stories of many who thought they had no chance, and discovered that restoration was possible.

From crowns of clover to casseroles, soothing balms to prayer, "Snake Oil" offers an empowering narrative as well as a selection of recipes that readers can make themselves.  Let the hope inspire you, the healing move you, and the sage wisdom of this powerful story warm your heart like a balm.