This woman has been following The Gentle Barn for years on Facebook and had also read my book, My Gentle Barn. She felt so connected to our organization and to the animals that live here that she decided to come all the way from Ohio on a train to visit us. She and her mom booked an all day, VIP tour to visit our main location and our Sun Chlorella Healing Center as well. They got to meet all 170 rescued animals and hear their stories. They also got to have lunch with Jay and I in our home.

While we were having lunch, we talked about their interest in adopting a plant based diet and their fears and worries about it. Brook shared with us that she suffered from chronic ear infections and had experienced six ear surgeries. We explained to her that she was most likely lactose intolerant and would benefit greatly from giving up dairy in her diet. It is very common for people to have ear, eye, and sinus infections, and multiple allergies and when people give up dairy, their allergies and infections go away. Jay and I then showed her all the dairy free items we eat in our home, such as, broccoli, kale and almonds for calcium, Daiya cheese, Tofutti cream cheese and sour cream, So Delicious ice cream, Silk yogurt, and Earth Balance butter. Brook could not believe how easy a dairy free diet could be and she left at the end of the day feeling very encouraged.

Brook promised to keep in touch and share her progress with us but we feel very confident that in the next few months her body and her health will be brand new. Brook loved the tour and her favorite thing was meeting Buttercup and Faith. It is no coincidence that both Buttercup and Faith were rescued from the cruelty of the dairy industry. Both Brook and her mom had a great time and loved the animals, but deeper connections were made that day that will stay with Brook and her mom forever!

Written by Ellie Laks

Founder, The Gentle Barn