Welcome Lazarus: Palmetto Publishing

Her son has the power to heal. The world will never let him be.

Becky Lazzarus is a young, unwed mother with nothing but her five-year-old son Jake and the small storefront church that took them in when no one else would. Abandoned by her family at fifteen, Becky has clawed her way to survival through sheer will, waitressing tips, and the charity of a tight-knit congregation led by a charismatic young pastor with ambitions of his own. Jake is her world, her purpose, the reason she left her rebellious past behind. But Jake is also something more.

The boy can heal people with his touch. It is a gift that terrifies Becky more than anything she has ever faced. She knows what the world does to those who are different, and she will do whatever it takes to shield her son from those who would exploit him. With the help of the few who love Jake, she guards his secret fiercely. But as whispers spread and curiosity grows, the fellowship that once sheltered them begins to change. The congregation swells to a size no one imagined, and the line between faith and ambition starts to blur.

In Welcome Lazzarus, belief collides with greed, devotion wrestles with doubt, and a mother's fierce love becomes the last defense against a world that wants what her son can give. When protecting Jake means standing against everyone she trusts, how far will Becky go to keep him safe from the very people who call themselves family?