A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul Read online

  Lunch with Helen Keller

  Lilli Palmer

  244

  One Kid at a Time

  Sarah Ann Reeves Moody

  250

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  Low-Fat and Happy

  Teresa Collins

  254

  Graduation Message

  Robert A. Concolino

  259

  Our Christmas Boy

  Shirley Barksdale

  263

  Judy's Birthday

  Shelley Peterman Schwarz

  267

  The Special Olympics

  Denaé Adams

  271

  The Classified Ad

  Marsha Arons

  274

  The Mop Angel

  Lizanne Southgate

  278

  Grandma Is on Her Feet Again

  Margaret McSherry

  283

  8. Special Moments

  The Department Store Santa

  Sally A. Breslin

  288

  Halloween Angels

  Steven J. Lesko Jr.

  292

  Lucky Pennies

  Jill Williford Mitchell

  293

  Let Our Requests Be Known

  Donna Kay Heath

  297

  Christmas in the Silver Egg

  Mechi Garza

  299

  A Coke and a Smile

  Jacqueline M. Hickey

  305

  Enduring Labor

  LeAnn Thieman

  309

  The Smile Behind the Tear

  Helen Luecke

  311

  The Not-So-White Christmas Gift

  Harrison Kelly

  315

  9. MIRACLES

  It Happened on the Brooklyn Subway

  Paul Deutschman

  320

  Take My Hand

  Mary Ann Hagen as told to LeAnn Thieman

  325

  Love Can Last Forever

  Deb Plouse Fulton

  328

  Highway Hero

  Carol A. Price-Lopata

  330

  Plenty of Sunsets

  Cindy Jevne Buck

  333

  Mom, Can You Pull Some Strings?

  Carol Allen

  337

  Never, Never Give Up

  Diane Novinski

  341

  The Baby Blanket

  Winona Smith

  343

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  10. Across The Generations

  Stories on a Headboard

  Elaine Pondant

  349

  Mother's Hands

  Louisa Godissart McQuillen

  352

  Every Woman Needs a Champion

  Carole Garbuny Vogel

  354

  The Trellis

  Daniel Schantz

  358

  A Final Letter to a Father

  Gail Rosenblum

  361

  A Penny Saved

  Carita Barlow as told to Carol McAdoo Rehme

  366

  Emma's Bouquets

  Pamela George

  370

  Between the Lines

  Charlotte Adelsperger

  373

  Bean Talk

  Veronica Hilton

  376

  A Legacy in a Soup Pot

  Barbara Davey

  379

  More Chicken Soup?

  383

  Supporting Women of the World

  384

  Who Is Jack Canfield?

  385

  Who Is Mark Victor Hansen?

  386

  Who Is Jennifer Read Hawthorne?

  387

  Who Is Marci Shimoff?

  388

  Contributors

  389

  Permissions (continued)

  403

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul has taken more than a year to write, compile and edit. It has been a true labor of love for all of us. One of the greatest joys of creating this book was working with people who gave this project not just their time and attention, but their hearts and souls as well. We would like to thank the following people for their dedication and contributions, without which this book could not have been created:

  Our families, who have given us love and support throughout this project, and have been chicken soup for our souls!

  Dan Hawthorne, whose unconditional acceptance, enthusiasm for our work and great sense of humor always keep us going. Thank you for being one of our biggest fans.

  Amy and William Hawthorne, for sharing their youthful perspective and being part of our cheering section.

  Maureen H. Read, for always being there for us.

  Louise and Marcus Shimoff, who are always thinking of us and providing love and support on every level.

  Georgia Noble, for her love and her gracious support while we worked on this project.

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  Christopher Noble Canfield, for sharing his innocence, his art, his singing, his acting, his great hugs and his irrepressible love for life with us.

  Patty Hansen, and Elisabeth and Melanie Hansen, for once again sharing and lovingly supporting us in the process of creating yet another book.

  Patty Aubery, the glue that holds everything together at the central Chicken Soup for the Soul office. Your heart, your clarity and your dedication are a constant inspiration, and we always appreciate how much we can count on you.

  Beverly Merson, for putting her heart and soul into this project. We are grateful for your extraordinary talents in researching and creative problem-solving, and for your great dedication to this book. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

  Elinor Hall, who did an extraordinary job in helping us read and research stories for this book. We deeply appreciate your support, your love and your friendship.

  Carol Kline, for her wonderful contributions in researching, writing and editing stories for this book. Carol, you are a brilliant writer and we are grateful for your talent and your never-ending friendship.

  Cynthia Knowlton and Sue Penberthy, for their devoted support and care of Jennifer's and Marci's respective lives. Thank you for keeping us sane. We couldn't have done this without both of you.

  Sharon Linnéa, Erica Orloff and Wendy Miles, for their marvelous job of editing numerous stories. Your editor's touch captured the essence of Chicken Soup.

  Joanne Cox, for an outstanding job typing and preparing our initial manuscripts. Thank you for your great attention to detail and your loyalty to this project.

  Craig Herndon, our information management hero, for assisting with the preparation of the initial manuscript.

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  Suzanne Thomas Lawlor, for her excellent contributions in researching and reading hundreds of story submissions.

  Jeanette Lisefski, for keeping parts of our office impeccably on track.

  Peter Vegso and Gary Seidler at Health Communications, Inc., our publishers extraordinaire, for their vision and their commitment to bringing Chicken Soup for the Soul to the world.

  Heather McNamara, senior editor for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, for working with us throughout the process of compiling this book, and for preparing and editing our final manuscript. You are a pro and a joy to work with!

  Nancy Mitchell, for managing the ever-challenging process of obtaining permissions for the stories used in this bookand somehow staying sane through it all. Thanks for your invaluable help.

  Leslie Forbes, who was always there when we needed her and always had a smile on her face and love in her heart.

  Veronica Romero and Robin Yerian, for working in Jack's office to make sure everything ran smoothly during the production of this book.

  Rosalie Miller, who kept all of the communication flowing efficiently throughout this project. Your smiling face and never-ending encouragement ha
ve lightened our hearts.

  Teresa Esparza, who brilliantly coordinated all of Jack's speaking, travel, and radio and television appearances during this time.

  Kimberly Kirberger, for her ongoing support in all areas.

  Larry and Linda Price, who, in addition to keeping Jack's Foundation for Self-Esteem operating smoothly, continue to administrate the Soup Kitchens for the Soul

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  project, which distributes thousands of Chicken Soup for the Soul books free each year to prisoners, halfway houses, homeless shelters, battered women's shelters and inner city schools.

  John and Shannon Tullius, John Saul, Mike Sacks, Bud Gardner, Dan Poynter, Bryce Courtney, Terry Brooks and all our other friends at the Maui Writers Conference and Retreat who inspire and encourage us every year.

  Christine Belleris, Matthew Diener, Lisa Drucker and Allison Janse, our editors at Health Communications, for their generous efforts in bringing this book to its high state of excellence.

  Randee Goldsmith, Chicken Soup for the Soul manager at Health Communications, for her masterful coordination and support of all the Chicken Soup projects.

  Terry Burke, Irene Xanthos, Jane Barone, Lori Golden, Kelly Johnson Maragni, Karen Baliff Ornstein and Yvonne zum Tobel, the people at Health Communications, responsible for selling and marketing the Chicken Soup books.

  Kim Weiss, Larry Getlen and Ronni O'Brien at Health Communications, for their publicity and marketing efforts.

  Andrea Perrine Brower at Health Communications, for working with us so patiently and cooperatively on the cover design of this book.

  Robbin O'Neill, and George and Felicity Foster, for their artistic input and invaluable ideas on cover design.

  Rochelle Pennington, for assisting us with quotes.

  Sandra McCormick Hill and Lynn Ramage at Reader's Digest and Maria Porzio at Economics Press, who generously go out of their way to help us.

  Jim Rubis and the Fairfield (Iowa) Public Library, and Tony Kainauskas, Arnie Wolfson and Shirley Norway at 21st Century Bookstore, for their outstanding research assistance.

  Fairfield Printing, especially Stephanie Harward and

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  Cindy Sharp, for their enthusiastic support of our work.

  Tom Simmons and Sherry Johnson at the Fairfield Post Office, for assistance above and beyond the call of duty.

  Jerry Teplitz, for his inventive approach to testing manuscript and cover design.

  John Reiner, who nourished our bodies and souls with his exquisite food during the final weeks of the project.

  Robert Kenyon, for always being there with love, humor and support.

  Debra Poneman, for her inspiration.

  Terry Johnson and Bill Levacy, for their astute guidance on aspects of this project.

  M., for the gifts of wisdom and knowledge.

  Ann Blanchard, for her strength, clarity and loving guidance on this project.

  The following people, who supported and encouraged us during this project: Ron Hall, Amsheva Miller, Birgitte Necessary, Paul and Susan Shimoff, and Lynda Valles.

  We extend our gratitude to the following people, who completed the monumental task of reading the preliminary manuscript of this book, helped us make the final selections, and made invaluable comments on how to improve the book: Christine Belleris, Carolyn Burch, Diana Chapman, Linda DeGraaff, Lisa Drucker, Leslie Forbes, Mary Gagnon, Randee Goldsmith, Elinor Hall, Amy Hawthorne, Carol Jackson, Allison Janse, Carol Kline, Jeanette Lisefski, Kathy Karocki, Cynthia Knowlton, Robin Kotok, Ariane Luckey, Barbara McLoughlin, Karen McLoughlin, Heather McNamara, Barbara McQuaide, Beverly Merson, Holly Moore, Sandra Moradi, Sue Pen-berthy, Maureen H. Read, Wendy Read, Karen Rosenstein, Heather Sanders, Marcus and Louise Shimoff, Belinda Stroup, and Lynda Valles.

  We also thank the following people, who took the time to spread the word about this book and helped us

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  network with other writers: Terry Marotta, Marsha Arons, Jean Ravenscroft, Rob Spiegel, Eddy Hall, Marilyn Strube, Melanie Hernry, Maxine Holder, Marlene Bagnull, Bob Lightman, Carol Zetterberger, Pam Gordon, Ray Newton, Marion Bond West, John Fuhrman, Robyn Weaver, Susan Osborne, Meera Lester, Reg A. Forder, Elaine Colvin Wright, Elizabeth Klungness, Anita Gilbert and Marden Burr Mitchel.

  We deeply appreciate all the Chicken Soup for the Soul coauthors, who make it a joy to be part of this Chicken Soup family: Patty Aubery, Marty Becker, Ron Camacho, Irene Dunlap, Patty Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger, Tim Clauss, Carol Kline, Hanoch McCarty, Meladee McCarty, Nancy Mitchell, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte, Barry Spilchuk and Diana von Welanetz Wentworth.

  We also wish to acknowledge the hundreds of people who sent us stories, poems and quotes for possible inclusion in A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul. While we were not able to use everything you sent in, we were deeply touched by your heartfelt intention to share yourselves and your stories with our readers and us. Many of these may be used in future volumes of Chicken Soup for the Soul. Thank you!

  Because of the size of this project, we may have left out the names of some people who helped us along the way. If so, we are sorryplease know that we really do appreciate all of you very deeply.

  We are truly grateful for the many hands and hearts that have made this book possible. We love you all!

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  INTRODUCTION