Chicken Soup for the Soul: Divorce and Recovery: 101 Stories about Surviving and Thriving after Divorce

by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Hansen

Overview

1. Almost two million men and women get divorced each year in the U.S., and the process can take years. Most people need a few years to recover after the divorce as well. Therefore, the audience for this book is in the 5-10 million range. Many people buy a self-help book for the first time in their lives when they are getting divorced.

2. Chicken Soup for the Soul has always provided strong support for men and women living through big changes. Readers turn to Chicken Soup during the good times and the bad.

3. The Chicken Soup line is being updated with new covers, new interior layouts, excellent editing, and up-to-date stories. The line is also returning to the core values of its heyday, delivering 101 stories in every book.

4. Chicken Soup for the Soul earned the Guinness World Record for having the most books on the New York Times bestseller list at one time.

5. Last year, USA Today named Chicken Soup for the Soul #5 on its list of 25 books that left a legacy over the past quarter century.

The heartfelt stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Divorce and Recovery provide support, inspiration, and sometimes humor on all the phases of divorce. The writers share their personal stories about the initial shock of the decision, to the logistics of living through the divorce, to the inevitable self-discovery, and the new world of dating and even remarriage. It is a wonderfully uplifting book.

Readers going through a divorce will find this book a tremendous source of emotional support and a good guide as to what to expect as they go through the process.

The first Chicken Soup for the Soul book was published in 1993, and became a publishing industry sensation, ultimately selling eight million copies. Since then, more than 150 Chicken Soup titles have been published, selling more than 100 million copies.

Chicken Soup for the Soul has won dozens of awards over the past 15 years, and its founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen have become celebrity motivational speakers and authors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935096214
Publisher:	Chicken Soup for the Soul
Publication date:	10/07/2008
Series:	Chicken Soup for the Soul Series
Pages:	380
Sales rank:	122,318
Product dimensions:	8.44(w) x 5.36(h) x 1.04(d)

About the Author

While Jack Canfield himself may not necessarily be a household name, it's very likely that you have heard of his famed Chicken Soup for the Soul series and nearly as likely that you have at least one of them sitting on your very own bookshelf! Having got his start as an inspirational speaker, Canfield's own story is nothing less than inspirational.

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."

Hometown:

Santa Barbara, California

Date of Birth:

August 19, 1944

Place of Birth:

Fort Worth, Texas

Education:

B.A. in History, Harvard University, 1966; M.A.T. Program, University of Chicago, 1968; M.Ed., U. of Massachusetts, 1973

Website:

http://www.jackcanfield.com

Table of Contents

Dedication v Foreword xiii
1 Is This the End... or the Beginning?
1 A Little Clump of Dirt Mary Mason 1
2 Revelation Melinda Stiles 5
3 The Little Pink House John E. Schlimm II 7
4 The Gut Speaks Angela Chiaro 10
5 The Toolbox Mia Gardner 13
6 A Win-Win Situation Beanie Baldwin 17
7 Home Is Where Your Heart Lives J. P. Shaw 20
8 Disconnecting Vera Jacobs 22
9 The Heart Knows Best Kiera Peltz 25
10 Repossession Annemarie Wagner 28
11 An End Is Also a New Beginning Carol Randolph 32
2 Forgiving and Letting Go
12 Forgiveness Is a Choice Katherine Van Hook 39
13 Fixing Things According to Sadie Laurence Mitchell 41
14 Baking Away Bitterness Linda Fitzjarrell 44
15 Thank You for Leaving Joyce Zymeck 47
16 Thoughts on Love and Forgiveness Becky Povich 52
17 Much Too Loved HJ Eggers 55
18 Close Encounter of the Healing Kind Jenna Romano 58
19 Flower Power Elaine Ernst Schneider 61
20 Taking the Plunge Bobbie Cheshire 63
21 Wedded Bliss Maggie Kelly 67
3 It's Over... and We're Still Friends
22 Doing Divorce Nancy Madsen-Ostinato 73
23 The Second Half of Forever Cynthia Briggs 76
24 I Have a Step-Wife Christa B. Allan 79
25 Full Circle Andrea Langworthy 82
26 Graduating with My Three Husbands Zoe Alvarez 84
27 End of the Marriage, not "The End" Bettye Martin-McRae 88
28 Growing Up Arlene Aoki 92
29 Unless Death Part Us Anna Bern 95
30 When He Looked Like James Dean Theresa Elders 98
31 Christmas Lights Lynn Berroteran 101
32 Divorce is Not an End Clarissa Moon 105
4 A Broken Family but Not Broken Hearts
33 Loving Your Way Through Divorce Steve Hern 111
34 Trading Places Marcy Darin114
35 A Mother Bear in Court Pam Bostwick 117
36 The "D" Word Amber Lutz 122
37 You Can Do This Sachiko Iwanaga 124
38 A True Mother Sonja Herbert 126
39 Breathe Laurie Max 128
40 Patch Work Victoria Fedden 132
41 No Regrets Christine Smith 136
42 A Little Child Shall Lead Them Betty King 139
43 The Gift Joel Schwartzberg 142
44 Lies Your Mother Told You Patty Hansen 145
5 Special Moments and Everyday Miracles
45 What Should I Do? Virginia McCormack 151
46 Just Like a Real Mother Grant Madden 154
47 Not Alone Sharon Norris Elliott 157
48 Without Ever Knowing Betty King 160
49 Stickers for His Dad Catherine Armstrong 162
50 For a Lifetime T'Mara Goodsell 165
51 A Bear with a Badge Welby O'Brien 167
52 Photo Album Emily Kate Capeles 170
53 A Living Miracle Renee P. Evie Mack 172
54 The Last Time Shirley Neal 175
55 A Christmas Eve Miracle Michele Cushatt 178
6 Life on the Front Burner-Now, It's All About Me!
56 Flashes of Brilliance Lynn Kinnaman 185
57 Warrior Heather McGee 187
58 Climbing Diamond Head G. M. Lee 190
59 Divorced and the Envy of Them All Mary Alice Pritchard 194
60 Million Dollar Mermaid Rob Williams 197
61 Jack and Jannie Dawn Smith Heaps 202
62 A Sign of Hope Dayle Allen Shockley 207
63 Clarity Heather McGee 209
64 Journey to Peace Marie Williams 212
65 Sleeping Alone Christine Bush 217
66 The Journey Home Kathleen Gerard 220
67 That's Life. Live It. Feel It Joy Summers 224
7 New Fish in the Dating Pond
68 A Match Made in Mud Karen R. Hessen 231
69 Gone to the Dogs Rick Moore 234
70 The Perfect Match? Marie Williams 236
71 Love Was Just a Phone Call Away Debbie Gill 238
72 Six Simple Words Melinda L. Wentzel 242
73 Dating and the Single Mom Joanne Palmer 244
74 Team Fix-It Samantha Ducloux Waltz 247
75 The Dating Game Brenda Crawford 251
76 A Kid's Perspective Dorothy M. Clifton 254
77 Post-Divorce Dating Linda O'Connor 256
78 Single, With Children Elizabeth Breau 260
79 My First Love Deborah Batt 263
8 You and Me... and Kids, Too?
80 No Furniture Jeannette Cezanne 271
81 My Ex-Husband's Wedding Maggie Kelly 274
82 Father's Day Tracy Gulliver 278
83 One "Step" at a Time Patricia Holdsworth 281
84 Third Time's a Charm Cinda T. Crawford 282
85 Bringing Up Amy Jenny Austin 285
86 An Adjusted Fit Linda Hanson 288
87 Never Letting Go Amber Frazier 290
88 Isaac's New Family Megan Venner 292
9 New Insights and Ageless Wisdom
89 Lessons in Divorce Catherine Graham 297
90 Listen to the Woman Kenneth Williams 299
91 Divorce Is Like a Cake Arlene Uslander 303
92 Me and the Money in the Middle Madison James 307
93 Tick Tock B.J. Taylor 311
94 Lessons from the Lake Monica Giglio 314
95 The Little Family That Melted Away Terry McManus 319
96 An Unmarked Path Jolie Kanat 323
97 Still Loved Karissa Porter 326
98 A Little Cheat Sheet for Grief Laurie Perry 329
99 The First Thing I Did After My Divorce Was Final Was Various Authors 332
100 Buying a Ticket to Life Tena Beth Thompson 338
101 Write Your Relationship in Pencil Linda O'Connell 341 Meet the Contributors 349 Who is Jack Canfield? 365 Who is Mark Victor Hansen? 367 Who is Patty Hansen? 369 Acknowledgments 373 More Chicken Soup 376