Chicken Soup for the New Mom's Soul is a collection of stories from the hearts of mothers, old and new, about the most amazing and profound experience in a woman's life-the birth of her first child.
Jack Canfield had been traveling around delivering key note speeches and organizing workshops to help audiences build their self-esteem and maximize their potential when he had an in-flight brainstorm that changed his life. While flying home from a gig, Canfield realized that the very same advice he had been delivering during his in-person addresses could potentially form the basis of a book. Canfield used inspirational stories he'd gleaned over the years as the basis of his speeches, and he thought it would be a terrific idea to gather together 101 inspirational stories and anthologize them in a single volume. Upon returning home, Canfield approached friend and author Mark Victor Hansen about his concept. Hansen agreed it was a great idea, and the two men set about finding a publisher. Believe it or not, the mega-selling series was not an easy sell to publishers. "We were rejected by 123 publishers all told," Canfield told Shareguide.com. "The first time we went to New York, we visited with about a dozen publishers in a two day period with our agent, and nobody wanted it. They all said it was a stupid title, that nobody bought collections of short stories, that there was no edge -- no sex, no violence. Why would anyone read it?"
Canfield wisely practiced what he preached -- and persisted. Ultimately, he and Hansen sold the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book to a small press based in Deerfield Beach, Florida, called Health Communications. The rest, as they say, is history. There are currently 80 million copies of the Chicken Soup books in print, with subjects as varied as Chicken Soup For the Horse Lover's Soul and Chicken Soup For the Prisoner's Soul. Canfield and Hansen ranked as the top-selling authors of 1997 and are multiple New York Times bestsellers. Most important of all, the inspirational stories they have gathered in their many volumes have improved the lives of countless readers.
This year, expect to see Canfield's name gracing the covers of such titles as Chicken Soup For the Scrapbooker's Soul, Chicken Soup For the Mother and Son Soul, and Chicken Soup For the African American Woman's Soul. He and Hansen have also launched the all-new "Healthy Living" series and 8 titles in that series have already been released this year. There is also the fascinating You've GOT to Read This Book!, in which Canfield compiles personal accounts by 55 people each discussing a book that has changed his or her life. The most compelling of these may be the story of young entrepreneur Farrah Gray, who read Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success at the age of 11 and made his first million dollars at the age of 14!
With no sign of slowing down, Canfield continues to be an inspiration to millions, who fortunately refused to give up when it seemed as though he would never even get his first book published. "Mark and I are big believers in perseverance," he said. "If you have a vision and a life purpose, and you believe in it, then you do not let external events tell you what is so. You follow your internal guidance and follow your bliss, as Joseph Campbell used to say."
Writing the first Chicken Soup book was a lot more daunting than Canfield expected. After the first three years of research, he and Mark Victor Hansen had only compiled 68 stories -- 33 tales shy of their goal of 101 stories.
Along with co-writing dozens of full-length books, Canfield also publishes a free biweekly newsletter called Success Strategies.
Some fun and fascinating outtakes from our interview with Canfield:
"My inspiration for writing comes from my passion for teaching others how to live more effective lives. I started out as a history teacher in an all-black inner city high school in Chicago, graduated to a teacher trainer, then psychotherapist, then trainer of therapists, then large group transformational trainer and then a writer and keynote speaker. All along the way, my desire was to make a difference, to help people live more fulfilling lives. That is what I still do today. Most people don't know this but I was not a good writer in college. I got a C in composition. Nobody would have ever believed I would grow up to be a bestselling author."
"I play guitar, and I am learning to play the piano. I love movies and some TV shows. My favorites are Six Feet Under, Grey's Anatomy, House and Lost. I love to play Scrabble, poker and backgammon with my in-laws, nieces and nephews. We really get into it. I love to travel. I have been to 25 countries and try to add two or three new ones every year."
I just had to have a girl as my first child, because I had created her name when I was just a girl myself.
My parents named me Dahlynn, pronounced 'Da-Lin' with the accent on the second syllable. In my family, the girls are named after others in the family—male or female—never using the same name, but a combination of those names. The first part of my name comes from my grandmother DeEtta, and the second half from my uncle's midÂdle name, Lynn. The boys in our family had an easier time, as they were given common names and not expected to keep the tradition going, even if they had daughters.
Having this family tradition handed down to me was a big cross to bear. I started creating names for my future daughter in fourth grade, working on word and name combinations from past generations. Every time I created a new name, I added it to the growing stack of names hidden in my small jewelry box.
Finally I had the perfect name—Lahre, which rhymed with 'Marie.' The 'Lah' came from the 'Dah' in my name, and the 're' from the end of my mother's name, Scharre. I was only in seventh grade when I placed that name in my box.
Fortunately, I waited until I graduated from college and married before I became pregnant at the age of twenty-eight. In all that time I never thought of a name for a boy, only for a girl.
Needless to say, I was excited about the pregnancy, even with the constant nausea and everything that came with it. We decided to go the old-fashioned route—no, not a natural delivery—we decided to not find out the sex of the baby. We wanted to be surprised, and I was so sure it was a girl that there was no reason to find out.
Once I started to really show, it became obvious that I was carrying the baby to the front. 'That's a sign it's a boy,' is all I heard from friends and family, even strangers. No, it can't be a boy! I screamed in my head, while on the outside I smiled and quietly nodded when told I was having a boy.
The nine months went by slowly and they were mostly wonderful, after I got past the nausea. Each and every day I would talk to my little girl, sharing with her my dreams for her, even placing headphones on my stomach and playing all kinds of music. But again, since I was carrying the baby to the front, people tried to tell me I was having a boy. Slowly I started to believe them, and when the time came to go to the hospital, I was torn. We picked out a name for a boy—Christopher—after General H. Norman Schwarzkopf's son. My husband had heard Schwarzkopf's son mentioned in an interview; the year was 1992 and Schwarzkopf was leading our troops in Desert Storm.
The delivery was anything but ordinary. I was two weeks overdue, and after sixteen very hard hours of back labor, with my husband and my amazing seventy-year-old grandmother DeEtta (my namesake) by my side, the doctor decided to do a C-section.
Once prepped in the operating room and with a sheet placed in front of my face so I couldn't watch, the doctors began the procedure. My grandmother was extremely curious as to what the doctors were doing, asking about this and that. My husband was watching, too, and when they pulled my stomach out and set it on top of my chest, he about fainted. The nurse had him sit back down in the chair, which was placed next to my head. I looked up and saw he was white as a ghost.
Finally, the doctor said, 'Here's the baby!' The doctor placed the crying baby up over the sheet so we both could see it, and my husband said, 'Oh, look at the little guy.' A boy? We have a boy? I said to myself. But then the doctor said, 'It's not a boy . . . it's a girl!' My husband had mistaken the large umbilical cord for a 'manly attribute'!
Our amazing son, Shawn, would show up five years later, and again we didn't find out the sex until he was born. I didn't listen when I was told I was going to have a girl the second time; I knew I was having a boy because I grew lots of facial hair! But my daughter Lahre is my special joy, even as she is now facing her teenage years. And guess what? She keeps her stash of names for her future daughter in a little jewelry box.
Dahlynn McKowen
©2008. Dahlynn McKowen. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the New Mom's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher. Publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street , Deerfield Beach , FL 33442.
Introduction ix
1 We Are? You're Sure?
The Footprint Paula F. Blevins 2
A Little Pregnant? Stephanie Wolff Mirmina 5
I'm Not Telling Carol Sjostrom Miller 9
Expectant-ness Barbara Warner 12
Beautiful Mess Heather Best 16
Unplanned Blessings Catherine Madera 19
I Want My Mom! Linda O'Connell 24
Completely Us Kaye Robertson 29
A Joyous Journey Becky Povich 33
Twice Blessed Kathryn Lay 37
Passing the Baton Elva Stoelers 40
2 The Big Day
The Right Stuff Dahlynn McKowen 44
Better than Expected Cristy Trandahl 48
First Night Home Mary Knight 52
What Does Hope Mean to You? Lori Fehlinger Heather Black 54
Because He Loved Me Ginger LeBlanc 58
There's No Place Like Home Ruth Rotkowitz 63
Second Fiddle Mary Vallo 68
3 A Shoulder to Lean On
It's Not a Piece of Cake SG Birch 72
Needing More than Groceries Mimi Greenwood Knight 75
The Good Doctor Peggy Frezon 79
The Second Greatest Gift Kathleen Partak 83
What Every New Mom Really Needs Susanna Hickman Bartee 86
The Perfect Recording Jacinda Townsend 89
The Bliss of Motherhood Lava Mueller 92
A Friend in Need Is Family Indeed Susan A. Karas 97
Mom Friends: Why You Need Them Mimi Greenwood Knight 101
Angel Hugs Kevin Butler 105
4 A Mother's Love
Birth of Understanding Maggie Lamond Simone 112
Baby Shoes Lisa Duffy-Korpics 116
Wishes Lois Greene Stone 120
Mother Knows Best Karen Crafts Driscoll 123
My Daughter's Hands Shannon Lowe 125
Promises Sallie A. Rodman 127
In the Beginning June Williams 130
The Naked Truth Stephanie Welcher Thompson 133
5 Daddy Dear
If You Need Help-Ask! Tom Krause 140
Love Has No Borders Stephanie Ray Brown 142
A Constant Presence Kathleen Partak 145
My Father's Tears Robin Clifton 148
Birth of a Father Michael Floyd Thompson 150
You Made Me a Daddy Douglas M. Brown 155
Reason to Live Eva Juliuson 157
Better than a Sermon April Smith Carpenter 161
Along for the Ride Joe Rector 165
Customer Appreciation Jeanne Zornes 169
6 Lessons From Baby
Learning Curve Laura Smith 174
Taking the Time Stephanie McCarthy 176
The Hug Martine Ehrenclou 179
The Defining Moment N. Engler 183
Not Just Another Pretty Face Stephanie Welcher Thompson 186
Motherhood: How It Feels to Feel Everything Sally Friedman 189
7 Motherhood 1A
A Legacy of Love Stefanie Wass 194
In All Seriousness Gloria Wooldridge 197
The Good Enough Mother Stephanie Welcher Thompson 201
I'm a Mess Cindy Hval 207
The Only Mother on Campus Julie Bloss Kelsey 209
Other Duties as Required Lynn Dean 213
Under New Management Elizabeth Kann 216
Last But Not Least Sue Diaz 219
Tough Competitions Tanya Lentz 222
I Wanted You More Barbara Nicks 224
8 Joys of Motherhood
There Are Days Emily Weaver 228
Ode to a Quiet Bathroom Mimi Greenwood Knight 230
Advice to Julie Mimi Greenwood Knight 234
My Two New Mothers Dorothy Firman 237
My New Job Karen C. Driscoll 239
No Regrets Maggie Wolff Peterson 242
Be Careful What You Wish For Mimi Greenwood Knight 245
True Confession Trina Lambert 249
Occupation: Mom Karen Koczwara 253
Who Is Jack Canfield? 258
Who Is Mark Victor Hansen? 259
Who Is Patty Aubery? 260
Contributors 261
Permissions 267
Anonymous
Posted May 16, 2007
What a wonderful book for Mom's of any age....new moms, grand moms, expectant moms! Loved it!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 7, 2007
As if a new mom isn't already prone to tears! My mom bought this for me after my first daughter was born last week and I spent the first few days home from the hospital devouring it! What a great book! I laughed and cried and then lauged and cried some more. I really enjoyed the candid stories from the 'trenches'. I think this is a must have for every new mom.
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Posted August 19, 2011
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Posted March 7, 2012
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Overview
Chicken Soup for the New Mom's Soul is a collection of stories from the hearts of mothers, old and new, about the most amazing and profound experience in a woman's life-the birth of her first child.