Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul: Stories of Triumph and Overcoming Life's Obstacles

1999·0.79 MB·english

by  Jack Canfield

Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul : 101
title:
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.
1
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!

2
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.

3
4
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

5
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.
6
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

7
Page v
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xv
Share with Us xvii
1. Taking the Challenge
Growing Roots 2
Philip Gulley
A New Day for Dorothy 5
Frances E. Leslie
My Mother's Greatest Gift 10
Marie Ragghianti
The Ugliest Cat in the World 16
Penny Porter
Small Soldiers 22
Rachel Berry
Journey Out of Silence 27
William L. Rush
The Flight of the Red-Tail 31
Penny Porter
Albert 40
Magi Hart
The Racking Horse 42
Lori Bledsoe as told to Rhonda Reese
Tina's Ten Points 47
Tom Krause
Don't Quit 49
Clinton Howell
Beat the Drum 50
Carol Barre
8
The Letter 54
Julane DeBoer as told to Bill Holton
Just Do What You Can 58
D'ette Corona
2. Living Your Dream
New Directions 60
Maya Angelou

9
Page vi
Dare to Imagine 63
Marilyn King as told to Carol Kline
The Little Girl Who Dared to Wish 66
Alan D. Shultz
Perseverance 69
Anne Stortz
Never Give Up 70
Jason Morin
How to Be New and Different 73
Patricia Lorenz
I Was Thirty-Seven Years Old at the Time 78
Erma Bombeck
The Secret Behind My Success 80
Carol Burnett
3. The Power of Love
No Greater Love 86
Col. John W. Mansur
Dharma 89
Deborah Tyler Blais
Dear Jesse 94
Paula Bachleda Koskey
The Other Mother 97
Diane Payne
A Prayer for Children 100
Ina J. Hughs
Washing Teddy Bears 102
Jean Bole
To Love Enough 105
Cynthia M. Hamond
The Angel Who Fetched 108
Susan McElroy
10