Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul Read online

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  title : Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul : 101 Inspirational Stories of Overcoming Life's Challenges

  author : Canfield, Jack

  publisher : Health Communications, Inc.

  isbn10 | asin :

  print isbn13 : 9781558746992

  ebook isbn13 : 9780585104942

  language : English

  subject Conduct of life, Spiritual life.

  publication date : 1999

  lcc : BJ1597.C45 1999eb

  ddc : 158.1/28

  subject : Conduct of life, Spiritual life.

  Page i

  What People are Saying about Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul . . .

  "This is a very smart book. It understands that no obstacle in life is hardy enough to resist a strong character, a valiant heart and a ready sense of humor."

  Eunice Shriver

  founder, Special Olympics,

  executive vice president, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation

  "It is known that nothing is more important than persistence and perseverance. Unsinkable Soul is a moving read."

  James Redfield

  author, The Celestine Prophecy

  "Too many of us stuff our bodies and starve our souls. Now straight out of God's kitchen comes Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul. I heartily recommend it for those who've learned that we cannot live by bread alone."

  Jack Anderson

  news correspondent

  "The search for inspiring, uplifting and challenging illustrations for the Sunday sermon has been made extremely easy through the wonderful stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul. The congregation always wants to know the source of the stories. These true-life stories are great encouragement to hungry souls."

  Dennis G. Wood

  president, Purpose Ministries

  "My dreams were dashed at age eighteen; I was completely paralyzed by polio. I eventually achieved my dreams because of encouragement from people like the ones in Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul."

  Dan Miller

  motivational speaker and author,

  Living, Laughing and Loving Life!

  Page ii

  "Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul is a wonderful selection of inspirational stories. They tell how you can achieve a meaningful life with belief in yourself, in the greatness of people and the goodness of God."

  Ruth Stafford Peale

  chairman, Guideposts, Inc.

  "Each story in Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul will be read with zest, pondered quietly, and used widelya truly life-affirming accomplishment."

  Rabbi Earl A. Grollman, DHC, D.D.

  author, Living When a Loved One Has Died

  "Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul is a collection of short stories that are inspirational, heartwarming and profoundly meaningful. These anecdotes provide examples of the indomitable human spirit. Open your heart with this book and your life will be forever enriched."

  Dr. Nilufer P. Medora

  professor, child development and family studies

  "Thank you for Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul! Everybody goes through tough times sooner or later. This book shows how others made it and how you can too."

  Harold H. LeCrone Jr., Ph.D.

  psychologist and author, Striking Out at Stress

  "The stories in Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul are incredible! People need a well-balanced dietthis extraordinary Chicken Soup book meets that requirement resoundingly."

  Ronnie Marroquin

  president, Rutherford Publishing, Inc.

  "Here is a book that can give hope to those in search of courage to those who need courage, and fresh insight into how to live every day to its fullest."

  Venita VanCaspel Harris

  author, Money Dynamics for the 1990s

  founder, VanCaspel & Company, Inc.

  Page iii

  Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul

  101 Inspirational Stories of Overcoming Life's Challenges

  Jack Canfield

  Mark Victor Hansen

  Heather McNamara

  Health Communications, Inc.

  Deerfield Beach, Florida

  www.bci-online.com

  www.chickensoup.com

  Page iv

  We would like to acknowledge the following publishers and individuals for permission to reprint the following material. (Note: The stories that were penned anonymously, that are in the public domain, or that were written by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen or Heather McNamara are not included in this listing.)

  Growing Roots. Excerpted from Front Porch Tales, ©1997 by Philip Gulley. Used by permission of Multnomah Publishers, Inc.

  A New Day for Dorothy. By Frances Leslie. Reprinted with permission from Guideposts magazine. Copyright ©1966 by Guideposts, Carmel NY 10512.

  My Mother's Greatest Gift. Reprinted by permission of Marie Ragghianti. ©1999 Marie Ragghianti.

  Sensory Deprivation. Reprinted by permission of Deborah Hill. ©1999 Deborah Hill.

  The Ugliest Cat in the World, The Flight of the Red-Tail, The Ludenschide Connection and Cyclops Stole Our Hearts. Reprinted by permission of Penny Porter. ©1999 Penny Porter.

  (Continued on page 368)

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Chicken soup for the unsinkable soul: 101 inspirational stories of overcoming life's

  challenges / [compiled by] Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Heather

  McNamara.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 1-55874-698-6

  1. Conduct of life. 2. Spiritual life. I. Canfield, Jack. II. Hansen, Mark Victor.

  III. McNamara, Heather.

  BJ1597.C45 1999

  158.1'28dc21 99-28465

  CIP

  ©1999 Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

  ISBN 1-55874-698-6 (trade paper) ISBN 1-55874-699-4 (hardcover)

  All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

  Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.

  3201 S.W. 15th Street

  Deer field Beach, FL 33442-8190

  Cover redesign by Lisa Camp

  Book design by Lawna Patterson Oldfield

  Page v

  CONTENTS

  Acknowledgments

  xi

  Introduction

  xv

  Share with Us

  xvii

  1. Taking the Challenge

  Growing Roots

  Philip Gulley

  2

  A New Day for Dorothy

  Frances E. Leslie

  5

  My Mother's Greatest Gift

  Marie Ragghianti

  10

  The Ugliest Cat in the World

  Penny Porter

  16

  Small Soldiers

  Rachel Berry

  22

  Journey Out of Silence

  William L. Rush

  27

  The Flight of the Red-Tail

  Penny Porter

  31

  Albert

  Magi Hart

  40

  The Racking Horse

  Lori Bledsoe as told to Rhonda Reese

  42

  Tina's Ten Points

  Tom Krause

&nb
sp; 47

  Don't Quit

  Clinton Howell

  49

  Beat the Drum

  Carol Barre

  50

  The Letter

  Julane DeBoer as told to Bill Holton

  54

  Just Do What You Can

  D'ette Corona

  58

  2. Living Your Dream

  New Directions

  Maya Angelou

  60

  Page vi

  Dare to Imagine

  Marilyn King as told to Carol Kline

  63

  The Little Girl Who Dared to Wish

  Alan D. Shultz

  66

  Perseverance

  Anne Stortz

  69

  Never Give Up

  Jason Morin

  70

  How to Be New and Different

  Patricia Lorenz

  73

  I Was Thirty-Seven Years Old at the Time

  Erma Bombeck

  78

  The Secret Behind My Success

  Carol Burnett

  80

  3. The Power of Love

  No Greater Love

  Col. John W. Mansur

  86

  Dharma

  Deborah Tyler Blais

  89

  Dear Jesse

  Paula Bachleda Koskey

  94

  The Other Mother

  Diane Payne

  97

  A Prayer for Children

  Ina J. Hughs

  100

  Washing Teddy Bears

  Jean Bole

  102

  To Love Enough

  Cynthia M. Hamond

  105

  The Angel Who Fetched

  Susan McElroy

  108

  Ben

  Terry Boisot

  112

  Heaven's Very Special Child

  John and Edna Massimilla

  115

  Lavender Roses

  Charles A. Hart

  117

  4. The Power of Support

  The Ludenschide Connection

  Penny Porter

  124

  The Day I Finally Cried

  Meg Hill

  130

  The Sound of One Hand Clapping

  Tim Hansel

  133

  The Joy of Usefulness

  Philip Gulley

  134

  The Writer

  Willy McNamara

  137

  Tzippie

  Ruchoma Shain

  139

  Sharing Beauty

  Sherry Maddox

  142

  Mama's Visit

  Victoria Robinson

  144

  Margaret of New Orleans

  Sara Cone Bryant

  149

  Bridge Builder

  Will Allen Dromgoole

  152

  Page vii

  The Yellow Ribbon

  Nikki Willett

  154

  And, And, And

  Robin L. Silverman

  157

  5. Insights and Lessons

  The Day at the Beach

  Arthur Gordon

  162

  A Lesson in Cloud Recognition

  Joyce A. Harvey

  168

  A Story to Live By

  Anne Wells

  171

  Sensory Deprivation

  Deborah E. Hill

  174

  The Birthday Present

  Mavis Burton Ferguson

  176

  Mrs. George

  William L. Rush

  178

  A Bowl of Humility

  Linda LaRocque

  182

  Wind Beneath My Wings

  Karyl Chastain Beal

  185

  Sorrow

  Abraham Lincoln

  190

  How I Came to Terms

  Mike Cottrill as told to Bill Holton

  191

  Like Me

  Emily Perl Kingsley

  195

  6. On Courage and Determination

  The Best Advice I Ever Had

  Maurice Chevalier

  200

  The Victim's Voice

  Richard Jerome

  206

  Barriers or Hurdles?

  Irvine Johnston

  211

  A Tribute to Courage

  Victoria Robinson

  213

  Riley

  Jeffrey Weinstein

  217

  You Can Beat the Odds and Be a Winner, Too

  Abigail Van Buren

  220

  Superman Learns How to Ride

  Robert Tate Miller

  222

  A Father's Advice