Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Just What I Needed
1 Peggy Sr. Timothy Freeman 9
2 A Birthday Letter Marcia Wells 11
3 At First Sight Jeanie Jacobson 14
4 Step by Step Kevin Gerard 18
5 Every Age and Stage Donna Lorrig 21
6 The Driving Lesson Kathleen Kohler 24
7 Love Engraved Joel Schwartzberg 27
8 Dear Mothers Audrey RL Wyatt 30
9 Stuck Jilly Pretzel 32
10 My Mother, My Teacher David L. Bishop 36
11 Angel, Grandma, Friend Nicole Muchowski 39
12 Alone in the Airport Ronni Meier 42
13 My First Away Christmas Emily Bednarz 45
Lasting Lessons
14 Better Late Than Never Leigh Smith 53
15 One Day We'll Laugh About This Maureen Hart 56
16 Catch a Grateful Habit Sylvia Brich Thompson 59
17 Do As I Do Denise LaRosa 62
18 A Not-So-Faraway Reality Cassie Jones 63
19 By My Side Penny Fedorczenko 66
20 She Ironed Underwear Ed VanDeMark 69
21 Mom Knows Best Laurie Carnright Edwards 71
22 Learning to Laugh at Yourself D.K. Laidler 73
23 My Grandmothers Candy Dish Brenda Davis Harsham 76
24 The 33 Things My Mother Taught Me Kesha Phillips 79
25 Clarity in the Fog Brooke Bent 83
What a Character!
26 A Dreamy Pregnancy Jill Keller 89
27 The Reluctant Astronaut Charlie Wyatt 92
28 The Surprise Party Lil Elosfield 95
29 The Lab Coat Sandeep Sreedharan 97
30 My Mother, the Pistol Eva Carter 99
31 Ready or Not Dawn Turzio 103
32 The Jackpot Karen Gorback 107
33 Modest Mom Jill Burns 111
34 The Feather Duster Diane Stark 114
35 The Battle of the Buckets Hannah Yoder 117
36 The Separation David Hull 120
37 My Very Unpredictable Mom Kay Presto 124
Recipes for Life
38 A Suitcase Full of Love Johnny Tan 131
39 Sweet Balls of Dough Elaine D'Alessandro 135
40 Johanna's Recipes Beth Krone-Downes 139
41 Flake and Bake Arlene Rains Graber 141
42 Reconnecting Angelena Shepard 144
43 Christmas Our Way Lizette Vega 146
44 Those Gentle Hands Katherine Mabb 150
45 The Secret of the Gravy Crissy Martin 153
46 The Five-Second Rule Barbara LoMonaco 155
47 Snapping Beans Natasha Basinger 158
48 My Grandmother's Kitchen Suzan Teall Headley 161
My Role Model
49 Hurricane Betty Gary Stein 167
50 The Greatest Blessing Savannah D. Cassel 171
51 A Bowl of Raspberries Nancy Julien Kopp 173
52 Washday Worries Annmarie B. Tait 177
53 Barefoot Luanne Tovey Zuccari 180
54 In Her Footsteps Lorraine Allison 184
55 Just Like Mom TeriAnne Conrad 187
56 Treasures in Trash Candace L. Parker 189
57 Small But Mighty Lynn Sunday 191
58 The Trash Guys Pamela Gilsenan 193
59 The Question I Didn't Need to Ask Christine L. Henderson 196
The Sacrifices She Made
60 Home Is Where My Mom Lives Cindy Hudson 203
61 A Special Place in Heaven Brenda Leppington 207
62 Through a Storm Christine McCleod 210
63 The Dress Cindy Morris 212
64 The Gift of Motherhood Michelle Armbrust 216
65 A Ragged Nightgown Elaine Herrin Onley 218
66 A Salute to the Mothers of Freedom BJ Gallagher 221
67 Love that Spans the Ocean Tammy Allison 224
Special Memories
68 Knit One, Purl Two Dorann Weber 229
69 My Mother's Hands Emily H. Cappo 232
70 Our Mother's Heart Jean Jones 235
71 Dancing from the Heart John P. Buentello 238
72 Still My Mother Cynthia Siems Carlson 241
73 The Heart Remembers Traci E. Langston 244
74 Morning Donuts James Kinneen 247
75 Bedtime Stories Carolyn McCartney 249
76 A Gift from My Mother Eileen Melia Hession 251
77 Laying My Mother's Day Cards on the Table James L. Snyder 253
78 The Necklace Maril Crabtree 256
79 I Lubbyou Catherine Shavalier-Chemow 259
Thanks, Mom
80 Lessons in Insecurity Jocelyn Drawhorn 265
81 The Pink Wallet Candace L. Parker 267
82 Susie's Babies Mary Lou Driedger 270
83 Heavenly Connections Susan Grady Bristol 272
84 My Mother's Daughter Bridget Chambers 276
85 My Eight Mothers Twink DeWitt 278
86 My Mother the Travel Agent Liza Rosenberg 282
87 To Thine Own Self Be True Rebecca Rimmer 285
88 Milk Lady C. J. Godwin 288
89 My Mom and My Mother Beth Rice 290
90 Second Chance April Pollack 292
91 A Painting of You Trudy M. Davies 295
A Lasting Legacy
92 Mother's Handbag Cynthia A. Lovely 299
93 An Enduring Love John P. Buentello 302
94 Mom's Cards from Beyond Steven Friedman 305
95 Mirror Magic Nancy Julien Kopp 309
96 Go Home and See Your Mother Christine Trollinger 311
97 The Journal Sheila Helmberger 313
98 The Gift of the Bumblebees Patty Benz 316
99 A Well-Timed Message Anita Gogno 318
100 In Lieu of Flowers Xochitl E. Dixon 320
101 Thank You, Mom Mark Rickerby 323
Meet Our Contributors 329
Meet Amy Newmark 347
Thank You 349
About Chicken Soup for the Soul 350
