CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

The Chicken Soup series are now legendary. I am unashamedly one of its greatest supporters. I love the Chicken Soup books to bits and I will go on and on until it's time to leave Earth, telling everybody to read at least one book before they die.




MANY women do it now and then. Men seldom. It has something to do with
that ridiculous macho business of tough men don't cry. But if you feel you
must release some pent-up feelings, this book might lead you to it.
In Hollywood, this New York Times No. 1 bestseller is called a "sleeper
hit". Published in 1993 after two years of being cooked in the minds of
its creators, it recently found its way into Malaysian bookstores. Very
quickly, through word of mouth, it has become a small-time favourite among
regular bookshop browsers.
Chicken Soup for the Soul has a total of 101 short stories, all told
very simply, straight from the heart, by people who have had experiences
that changed their lives and those of others around them.
If you are a normal person, it is highly probable that you will not be
able to go past the first section on love without shedding a tear. But
fear not, it will be a good cry. People who subscribe to age-old religious
teachings call it a "soul cleanser".
By the time you slip into the second section on learning to love
yourself, you may well experience a warm, tingling sensation that is the
consequence of having unlocked that caring feeling in you.
In one of its shortest stories entitled `The Gift', the writer relates:
In one seat of a bus, a wispy old man sat holding a bunch of fresh
flowers. Across the aisle was a young girl whose eyes came back again and
again to the man's flowers. The time came for the old man to get off.
Impulsively he thrust the flowers into the girl's lap. "I can see you love
the flowers," he explained, "and I think my wife would like for you to
have them. I'll tell her I gave them to you." The girl accepted the
flowers, then watched the old man get off the bus and walk through the
gate of a small cemetery.
The message that comes through is not something new, but it's powerful.
Other stories focus on the various expressions of love and and ways of
fulfilment, through chronicling the experiences of the destitute, the
downtrodden and the despondent.
You read about how ordinary folk and even underachievers came to perform
deeds that led to extraordinary results, about how Abraham Lincoln rose
above numerous failures to eventually become one of America's greatest
Presidents, about successes achieved by those who conquered severe
physical disabilities and themselves.
Encouraging phrases like "courage is fear that has said its prayer" and
"obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off
your goal" abound in the book, which has spawned a sequel as well as a
Chicken Soup for the Soul Cookbook.
So, if you feel you only have time to read one book this whole year,
this is the one you should read. Your family and friends may thank you for
it.