The Serpent's Tooth

After graduating with a BA in psychology from California State University, Fullerton, Nancy Marston worked in the mental health unit of a private hospital. Her work in substance abuse and addiction began at a chemical dependency unit affiliated with the prestigious Loma Linda University. She went on to counsel children at Five Acres, a residential treatment facility for abused and neglected children, where she worked with youths unable to thrive in the foster care system. She eventually became a case manager in a substance abuse group home for adolescent girls on probation and worked closely with courts, social workers, and doctors. Nancy also was a court appointed special advocate (CASA), working with children in the foster system in Los Angeles County. CASA is a nationally known organization that advocates for children in the foster care system. Nancy is a certified alcohol and drug counselor and did an internship at Loma Linda University Behavioral Medicine Center in Redlands, California and at River Community Recovery Center in Azusa Canyon, California. Nancy has been called by the Los Angeles district attorney to testify in the “Rehab Mogul” Christopher Bathum addiction recovery centers medical fraud case. The case was settled in the summer of 2020, Bathum was given a twenty-year sentence. Bathum was also sentenced to fifty-two years in prison for thirty-one counts of sexual assault. With the debut of her first book, The Serpent's Tooth, Nancy is currently writing a second book about family and addiction, which will include the Christopher Bathum story and her connection to the fraud case. Nancy is a guest speaker on addiction podcasts and at colleges.