What role does purple honey play in the book?

Though purple honey in North Carolina is rare but real, what role does it play in the book? Did it arrive just to cure the mysterious flu, or is it a symbol for something larger?

Purple honey was the magic elixir for the “gall-double-dang-flu” but it also served to bring Trula Freed respect back in Mrs. Brown’s eyes, and thus, welcoming her into their household.

It certainly is the 'magical elixir' capable of saving lives even for those who don't have faith in its potential. It seems to me to be the physical manifestation perhaps of the healing hand of God.

I had never heard of purple honey. This rare honey not only helped heal the very serious physical ailments of many people in the story, it helped to also heal the emotional and psychological challenges and scars. I liked how the purple honey brought some of the characters together when they had been at odds in the past.

Although purple honey is a real type of honey found only in southeastern USA especially in North and South Carolina, in All the Little Hopes it served as a metaphor as both the conduit that it had magical medicinal qualities to help heal the Brown family during their near fatal case of the flu but also the game changer of Mrs. Brown accepting Trula Freed as a friend rather than outcast to their family. From that point on Trula Freed became a valued citizen in their community.

Purple honey was the real healer. It helped all that were sick. Had never heard of purple honey before.

Purple honey healed people physically but it was also used to forge relationships. I had never heard of purple honey so that was interesting to learn about it’s use and rarity.

The whole "mystical magic" woven into the purple honey was entertaining. I just took it as an extension of the subplot with Trula so her powers would be accepted in the Brown household. She added a little of that mystery woven into the history of the deep south. The juxtaposition between staunch Christianity and a little black magic seemed to weaken a little when everything revolved around faith of some sort.

The purple honey helped to heal people - both physical ailments and emotional. The townspeople believed that it would cure the family members who got sick with the flu.

Honey is known today to have natural antibiotic properties, but I would imagine at the time of this novel and in the area where the story takes place, it would have been mainly the holistic healers who were acutely aware of its benefits. In this story the purple honey was accepted as a gift of healing and as a time of relationship development between family and healer.

I have heard of purple honey, but have never actually seen it. Honey does take on the color and flavor of the flowers the bees are pollinating. I love bees and all they represent. They are so amazing in so many ways. The challenges they are now facing relates to how we have to find our way back to connecting with nature. I think in this book the purple honey represents a connection to life and nature that people often ignore. It is a magical link to a world that Trula inhabits. The family sees the purple honey as a way to heal themselves and others with faith in something beyond the normal world.