The Magic of Mothers and Daughters

I remember the day the community editor dropped a book on my desk in the newsroom. “You might like this,” she said.

At the time, I covered crime and wrote features for a midsize daily newspaper in Colorado. I picked up the green and white paperback with red lettering on the front and thought, “Catchy title.”

So catchy that the New York Times bestseller list snagged it over and over again.

Since those long-ago days in the newsroom, the original book has hatched nearly 200 subsequent titles in 40 languages, and sold 112 million copies. Not bad for a slow starter.

I’ve tried several times to throw my name in the pot that first simmered that book, and this month the results of those efforts appeared in book stores across the nation. For me, it’s testimony to not giving up. Seeing the story about my daughter Amanda on page 135 opens my heart and rekindles my spirit—to borrow a phrase from the men who compiled those original 101 stories.

Jack and Mark believed in their dream enough to pursue it. So did I. I hope you do too.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Mothers and Daughters is now in bookstores everywhere. Check out story number 41 and let me know what you think.


Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. —Psalm 37:4