Fields of Yellow

[image error]I can't wait for dandelion season! Seeing a field of yellow always brings joy to my heart. My boys and I love gathering these happy yellow flowers to make fritters and coffee. The walks are as enjoyable as the treats they'll produce. When the rest of the neighborhood is cursing the yellow dotting their yards, I lovingly tend to mine.

(Which I'm certain the neighbors appreciate, given the dandelion's tendency to spread. They're probably counting the days until my family leaves suburbia for a farm!)

I used to dutifully pull them from my gardens because that's what I was supposed to do. The hillbilly in me knew they were edible and pretty useful, but to have them dot my yard meant I was doing something wrong as a proper suburban homeowner. The more I learned about dandelions, though, the less able I was to pull them.

They're a pretty cool plant. They've been around for about 30 million years and have provided a source of food and herbal medicine for most of our recorded history. Other than making dandelion chains, here are some other uses and/or benefits that have been discovered over the years:

Important source of early nectar and pollen for bees and butterflies
Roots used as a source for cheap coffee
Flowers can be used to make wine
Add flavors to salads, sandwiches and teas
Fresh dandelion jelly has a light, honey-like taste
Rich source of vitamins A, B complex, C, and D, as well as minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc
Used to treat liver problems, kidney disease, swelling, skin problems, heartburn and stomach upset, digestive disorders, appendicitis, breast problems (such as inflammation or lack of milk flow), fever, boils, eye problems, diabetes, diarrhea, gallbladder problems, acne and warts
Can also be a diuretic, laxative, an antiviral agent, appetite stimulant, digestive aid, and antioxidant
Can improve the immune system, detoxify the liver, support kidney function and improve the health and function of natural bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract

Perhaps the most interesting claim of all came from George Cairns of Woodstock, Illinois when he published a recipe for a cure… for cancer. Sound crazy? While I certainly wouldn't disregard my doctor's advice in favor of a dandelion cure, scientific studies have shown that caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) can increase effectiveness in radiation therapy for lung cancer. Other researchers point to CAPE as a potential preventative and/or therapeutic agent in controlling cell transformation. Breast cancer researchers have shown that caffeic acid inhibits tumor growth.

Wanna guess what produces caffeic acid? Dandelions.

Wouldn't it be ironic if Americans were spending millions of dollars on chemicals to kill off the one plant that has shown promise in developing a cure for cancer?

As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, "A weed is just a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."

So when I wrote Jailbird, a story about a resilient young woman whose virtues had gone completely unnoticed by the world at large, it only seemed natural that dandelions would be a part of her story.

Neena's journey began when I dreamt her jailbreak. It was such a vivid dream it never even occurred to me to open the book any other way. I loved writing this novel – I love the characters so much that to this day, three years later, when I see a dandelion, I think of Neena and smile.

This book is so important to me that when, a couple of years ago, I was told a successful career in writing meant walking away from trying to see Jailbird published, I decided to take my chances with an oddly warm and funny book about a jailbird named Neena. (For the record, I'm so very glad I did because that led me to Booktrope, a publisher who saw what I did in this book.)

When Booktrope told me they wanted to give Jailbird away for five days as a promotion on Amazon, I couldn't have been happier. I'm thrilled to get this story in the hands of more readers. Her story embodies the idea that no matter how dark it seems, no matter how bad it gets, there is hope.

Maybe this week is what Neena's story needs to, like a dandelion seed in the springtime breeze, spread hope like field of yellow.

Now through Saturday, February 25, you can download Jailbird for Kindle free on Amazon.

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