As Eric Zielinski, a trained aromatherapist, public health researcher and chiropractor, began to research essential oils when a client of his requested a series of public health reports about essential oils. During his research he claims he learned four invaluable lessons: most bloggers aren’t trained as public health researchers, medical writers, or aromatherapists and have no business teaching the therapeutic use of oils, most bloggers information is biased to the brand they typically sell, there is a large chasm separating different factions of essential oils, and many doctors and pharmacists are leery of essential oils and therefore don’t practice using them with their patients making their patients nervous about potential contraindications and drug interactions. A confusing mess of opinions and information created a yearning in Zielinski to create a book that was unbiased and unaffiliated with any specific essential oil brand and that contained all things relating to essential oils safety and effectiveness. Thus was born his book, The Healing Powers of Essential Oils.

Not only does Zielinski cover the basic history and science behind essential oils, but he throughly educates his readers about different terms one may see on the bottles different products such as CO2 extraction, distillation, expression, cold-pressed and more. He enlightens his readers on how to decipher the scientific names of essential oils. He also reminds and encourages his readers that every individual is different, and their unique biochemical individuality affects their response to certain essential oils. He offers solutions to this predicament and truly assists his reader on their journey making it as uncomplicated as possible.

The Healing Powers of Essential Oils offers the basics of essential oil use and tools as well as gives so much information that even a well-versed essential oil user can glean new knowledge from browsing the pages of this book.

I was sharing this book with my sister, who has studied essential oils in a much deeper regard then I have, and I mentioned that Zielinski thoroughly equips his readers with questions to ask a company to inquire of the potency and purity of their oils. My sister expressed a great appreciation for this part of the book explaining how a novice to essential oils has no idea what they are looking for, what to ask, and what information to glean when making the pivotal decision of which company to purchase from. This makes this book unique and valuable in contrast to other essential oil books.

Another aspect to this book that I greatly appreciate is the sources for the author’s information are all sited in the back of the book. A great majority of them are from medical journals or government websites. This book has a great balance of personal testimony as well as medically backed knowledge.

I enjoyed that most chapters have interesting health topics woven throughout them such as the effects of taurine and caffeine on the body, or the detrimental effects and causes of Candida overgrowth and the overuse of antibiotics. Each chapter reads like a book that you don’t want to put down instead of simply a glossary of recipes, although it does include over 150 recipes pertaining to everything from women’s health to pet health and more.

A theme that Zielinski strives to maintain is to reach for the “low hanging fruit”, meaning start with what you can handle, make small changes, and simply add onto the basics as you grow and handle oils more and more in your life. This takes a vast quantity of information and ideas and creates a freeing atmosphere more inviting to a newbie in essential oils. The Healing Powers of Essential Oils is not an overwhelming book by any means.

One criticism I have of this book is the conflict of the author’s claiming to be a Christian and quoting many mystics and new agers throughout the text attributing to them as great leaders in his journey in faith and wellness as well as his continual use of misinterpreting scripture. An example of this is the scripture John 10:10 in the introduction of this book. The verse quotes Jesus stating, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” From what I understand, this Scripture is speaking of the eternal life that we have in Christ and is not referring to a life free from sickness, pain or disease as is implied by the author.

One of the verses Zielinski uses in support of his theory of “biblical health” is Revelation 22:1-2 that speaks of the tree of life that will be found in the new heaven that bears twelve fruits and heals the nations. This has absolutely no reference to the use of essential oils as a basis for “biblical health” on earth, but instead references what heaven will be like, yet it is the forerunner in Zielinski’s mission statement for his book.

There are a few verses like this one used in the text to support an idea of “biblical health” that I don’t see as supported by scripture; instead I see scripture trying to be used to support the author’s agenda. What I see is this book being more new age or mystic than Christian. I would appreciate if this book were strictly informational instead of blending many different spiritual world views together and calling it “Christian” or in support of “biblical health.”

One last point I would like to mention is Zielinski’s website, http://healingpowerofessentialoils.com, which offers a wealth of more information including video tutorials and more and is available with the purchase of The Healing Powers of Essential Oils book.

Overall, I admire this book for it’s essential oil information and recipes only. I do not believe this is a great spiritual book, nor do I support any claims the author makes regarding his Christianity or “biblical health.” I think it’s a great tool for one interested in exploring the road to a healthy lifestyle by implementing essential oils into their daily routine or in an effort to treat an ailment they possess. I also think it’s a great book to add to the resources of an essential oil user, such as my kid sister mentioned above. In fact, I believe after writing this review I won’t see much of this book anymore since she will probably have it on her coffee table alongside her bottles of essential oils.

-Product review by Cassie Deputie, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, May, 2018