Chicken Soup for Every Mom's Soul (36 page)

Marci is cofounder and president of The Esteem Group, a company specializing in self-esteem and inspirational programs for women. She has been a featured speaker for numerous professional organizations, universities, women’s associations, health-care organizations and Fortune 500 companies. Her clients have included AT&T, American Airlines, Sears, Junior League, the Pampered Chef, Jazzercise and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Her audiences appreciate her lively humor, her dynamic delivery and her ability to open hearts and uplift spirits.

Marci combines her energetic and engaging style with a strong knowledge base. She earned her MBA from UCLA; she also studied in the United States and Europe to earn an advanced certificate as a stress-management consultant.

In 1983, Marci coauthored a highly acclaimed study of the fifty top businesswomen in America. Since that time, she has specialized in addressing women’s audiences, focusing on helping women discover the extraordinary within themselves.

Creating
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books and sharing their message of love, hope and laughter in keynote speeches has been especially fulfilling for Marci. Currently at work on a book about living with an open heart, she feels blessed to bring inspiration to millions of people throughout the world.

To schedule Marci for a
Chicken Soup for the Soul
keynote address or seminar, you can reach her at:

The Esteem Group
57 Bayview Drive
San Rafael, CA 94901
phone: 415-789-1300 • fax: 415-789-1309
Web site:
www.marcishimoff.com

Contributors

A few of the stories in this book were taken from previously published sources, such as books, magazines and newspapers. These sources are acknowledged in the permissions section. If you would like to contact any of the contributors for information about their writing or would like to invite them to speak in your community, look for their contact information included in their biographies.

The remainder of the stories were submitted by readers of our previous
Chicken Soup for the Soul
books who responded to our requests for stories.We have also included information about them.

Carolyn Armistead
, mother of two daughters, lives and writes in a rural suburb of Boston. Her writing has appeared in several magazines and the books
365 Ways to Connect with Your Kids
(2000) and
Shape Your Life
(2003). She is currently pursuing her MFA at the University of Southern Maine.

Rita Billbe
is a retired high school principal. She and her husband own a resort, Angels Retreat, on the White River in northern Arkansas. She has been published in
Chicken Soup for the Sister’s Soul
and
Journal of American Donkey and
Mule Society.
She is currently working on a devotional book,
Prayer by Principal.

Mary Kay Blakely
is the author of the critically acclaimed memoirs
Wake Me
When It’s Over: A Journey to the Edge and Back
and
American Mom: Motherhood,
Politics, and Humble Pie.
She writes regularly for national magazines and newspapers. She currently teaches magazine writing at the Missouri School of Journalism and iswriting a book on political depression “for otherwise healthy people who feel traumatized by the news.”

Arthur Bowler
, a U.S./Swiss citizen and graduate of Harvard Divinity School, is a writer and speaker in English and German. His work has appeared in several bestselling anthologies and in a bestseller in Switzerland. Look for his book
A Prayer and a Swear
and visit his Web site:
www.arthurbowler.ch
.

Jean Brody
received her B.S. degree in journalism from Washington University and graduate degree in education. This is her eighth story in a
Chicken Soup for
the Soul
publication. Scholastic publications recently bought one of her stories for their nonfiction
From the Inside Out.
Another of her stories will appear in
If
Life Is a Game, These Are the Stories,
published by Andrew McMeel. Other books by Jean Brody are
Braille Me
and two books for children on minority pride. Jean lives with her husband Gene and Miss Aggie cat on their thoroughbred horse farm in Kentucky.

LindaCarol Cherken
is a lifelong Philadelphian. Her writing has taken her from an interview with the Beatles for her school paper to weekly food and health columns for the
Philadelphia Daily News
to a syndicated advice column. Today she writes features for newspapers and magazines, including essays for several of the
Chicken Soup
books.

Anne S. Cook
lives in New Jersey with her husband and three children. She is the author of the novel
Sounds of the Sea
and a collection of holiday short stories,
Christmas Promises.
Readers can contact her at
Booksbycook.com.

Bonnie Davidson
, M.Ed., is a full-time real estate agent and college instructor, living in a coastal community in Massachusetts. Bonnie is the mother of three. Her passions include breast cancer advocacy and husband, Paul. Please e-mail her at
[email protected].

Karen Driscoll
lives with her husband and their four children in Connecticut. Her work has been published in
Woman’sWorld; Brain, Child; Chicken Soup for the
Soul; Chocolate for a Woman’s Soul; Angels on Earth; Mothering Magazine;
and the anthology,
Toddler.
She can be reached at
[email protected].

Gerrie Edwards
’ prime interest in life is clarifying the stereotyped Indian. As Eagle Clan’s “Grandmother Two Bears,” she delights children with classroom presentations and storytelling. Her work appears monthly on the Internet at
www.healinghandsoflight.com
,
and she has written a book,
The Story Teller, Native
American History and Stories.

Linda Ellerbee
is an outspoken journalist, award-winning television producer, bestselling author, one of the most sought-after speakers in America, a breast cancer survivor and a mom. Her book,
Take Big Bites: Adventures Around the World
and Across the Table,
was released in May 2005.

Debbie Farmer
is the author of the nationally syndicated column “Family Daze.” Her essays have appeared in
Family Fun Magazine, Family Circle,
the
Washington Post, Reader’s Digest,
several
Chicken Soup
anthologies and hundreds of regional parenting publications around the world. For more information, or to sign up for a free monthly “Family Daze” e-column, visit her Web site at
www.familydaze.com
.

J. T. Fenn
is a longtime entrepreneur and aspiring screenwriter who has written for several animated television series that still air on Nickelodeon. Someday he may venture to publish some of the other children’s stories that are gathering dust in his file cabinet. Feel free to e-mail J.T. at
[email protected].

Bonnie Feuer
had her own column (“Wisdom and Warmth”) in several newspapers and was published in
Better Health Magazine.
She won
Better Health
’s Writer of the Year with her story, “Silver Linings.” Employed by the board of education, she is currently writing an interactive book for children.

Rusty Fischer
is a freelance writer who lives with his beautiful wife, Martha, in Orlando, Florida. This is his third story to be published in a
Chicken Soup
book.

Dorothy Gilchrest
is married and the mother of two. She holds a B.S. in occupational education and is presently self-employed as a radiographer in occupational medicine. Her inspirational writing has produced journal articles as well as nostalgic lifetime stories and poetry offering spiritual balance between work and family.

Marian Gormley
is a freelance writer and photographer whose work has appeared in regional and national publications. She has a background in software engineering, public relations and marketing. She enjoys writing about issues related to parenting and family life, education, and health. Marian resides in northern Virginia with her husband and twin children.

Jennifer Graham
lives in the Chicago suburbs where she teaches writing and communications at both Benedictine University and Robert Morris College. She is grateful to her husband, son and, especially, her daughter for allowing her to publish such a personal story. Contact her at
[email protected].

Mimi Greenwood Knight
is a freelance writer and artist in residence. She lives in Folsom, Louisiana, with her husband, David, four children, Haley, Molly, Hewson and Jonah, and far too many dogs and cats. She enjoys gardening, photography, Bible study and the lost art of letter writing.

Cynthia M. Hamond
has been published numerous times in both the
Chicken
Soup for the Soul
series and Multnomah’s
Stories for the Heart.
Her stories have been printed in major publications and magazines. She has received two writing recognitions and her short story “Goodwill” has become a TV favorite. Contact her via e-mail at:
[email protected].

Sue Thomas Hegyvary
is a professor and dean emeritus at the University of Washington School of Nursing in Seattle. From her roots in Kentucky, she has traveled in more than fifty countries and now conducts research on global health. She enjoys bicycle touring, skiing, gardening, creative cooking and hiking at her family’s cabin in the Cascade Mountains.

Melissa Hill
is a wife and a mother of two daughters. She works as a preschool teacher and is very involved in her church. She enjoys reading, writing and spending time with her family.

Amy Hirshberg Lederman
is a syndicated columnist, public speaker, Jewish educator and attorney. Her first book,
To Life! Jewish Reflections on Everyday
Living
is available in 2005. She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Tucson, Arizona. Amy welcomes you to contact her at
[email protected].

Mary Ann Horenstein
received a B.A. degree from Smith College and a master’s and doctorate from Rutgers University. She taught English, then headed an experiential learning program in a New Jersey school before retiring. She has published two books and many articles. She can be reached at
[email protected].

Ina Hughs
is a full-time columnist for
The Knoxville News Sentinel
in Knoxville, Tennessee. She is the author of three books:
A Prayer for Children,
published by William Morrow and Simon & Schuster;
A Sense of Human,
published by Scripps Howard Company; and
Storylines,
an audio book, published by Night Owl Productions. She has won numerous non-fiction and poetry awards. She lives in Louisville, Tennessee. She can be reached at
[email protected].

In a former life,
Peggy Jaeger
was a registered nurse who always yearned to write. After the birth of her daughter, she became a full-time wife, mother and author. She’s had numerous fiction short stories and nursing articles published and is currently working on a mystery-suspense novel.

Patricia Jones
lived in New York City with her daughter. Her work has appeared in
Ms., Essence, Family Circle, Woman’s Day
and the
New York Times.

Patricia wrote three novels
Passing, Red on a Rose
and her third and final novel,
The Color of Family
due out later this year.

Cheryl Kirking
is the author of
Crayons in the Dryer: Misadventures and
Unexpected Blessings of Motherhood.
She is a women’s conference speaker who tickles the funny bones and tugs at the heartstrings of audiences nationwide. She has written five books, including
Ripples of Joy
and
Teacher, You’re an A+,
and is the mother of teenage triplets! For booking information visit
www.cherylkirking.com
.

Susan Krushenick
earned her bachelor of arts degree, with concentrations in both sociology and creative writing, from Vermont College in June 2004. Susan writes the library column for her local newspaper, the
Valley Reporter,
and also worked as a regular contributing writer for
The Philosophical Mother.
She can be reached at
[email protected].

Charlotte Lanham
is a retired teacher and columnist. She is a frequent contributor to
Chicken Soup,
but also enjoys writing poetry and children’s books. She and her husband, Ray, are cofounders of a nonprofit organization called Abbi’s Room Foundation which provides beds and bedding for children of Habitat for Humanity families. E-mail her at
[email protected].

Ruth Lehrer
calls herself the Grandma Moses of the personal essay. She was an elementary school teacher who published her first essay after her retirement— at age sixty-two. Now, fourteen years later, Ruth has written almost one hundred stories. “Personal writing is my best form of therapy,” she says. Contact her via e-mail at
[email protected].

Jaye Lewis
is an award-winning writer who lives and writes in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. Jaye is writing her first book,
Entertaining
Angels,
and one of her stories will also appear in
Chicken Soup for the Recovering
Soul.
E-mail Jaye at
[email protected]
or visit her Web site at
www.entertainingangels.org
.