It is with great pleasure that we offer this book of "condensed" Chicken Soup for the Soul. We have taken the most popular stories from the series of Chicken Soup for the Soul and condensed them into the essence of each story. Our intention is to provide you with a book that you can easily take with you - in a purse - and that can give you instant deep motivation and fresh inspiration.
Whether you buy this book for yourself or as a gift for a friend and family member, rest assured that you have your hands on a book that will warm the heart, awaken the soul and rekindle the spirit. These stories will touch you at the deepest level and remind you of what is most important about being human.
Recent research indicates that when these stories are read, emotional and spiritual responses are evoked that have positive health benefits. Neurotransmitters are released in the brain to actually accelerate healing in the body and mind. The stories will inspire you to reach out to friends and family with greater love and compassion, will comfort you in times of stress, and will delight you during times of triumph and awake the new things. They encourage you to enthusiastically embrace your dreams and more willingly tackle the obstacles and challenges you will inevitably face in their realization.
We continue to be excited about the consistent feedback we receive through the thousands of calls and letters outlining the significant impact our books have made on readers. We receive 50 to 100 letters a day from people all over the world - Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Cuba, Germany, South Africa and Israel - as well as the United States and Canada, with comments like these:
"I was sent to jail in a 23-hour lock-down unit. I was extremely in the crisis of spirit and thought about suicide. As I was tearing up sheets, Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul caught my eye and I began to read. As I read, I ran across people in the book that had it much worse than me. It inspired me to stay alive."
- Pete, prison inmate
"I lost my dear husband of 46 years recently after more than 20 years living together. The shock and loss were so terrible. My daughter in Las Vegas sent me a copy of Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul. This book has helped me to no end!"
- D. E. Naylor, England
"Though I am only 22, these books have forever left an imprint in my heart. Since I am learning and practicing the lessons taught in Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul, I feel that the stories can be of greater value to the younger readers. Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul has taught me of unconditional love, invaluable experience, death, dreams and goals, meanings and purposes of life, and many other things. I have learned to cherish, nourish what I have and never to take what I am offered for granted, one of life's most important lessons. I want to encourage anyone who has yet to read these books to jump on it right now."
- Heather, Long Island, New York
So... sit back in silence, relax and enjoy the interesting journey you are about to begin as you share in the lives and stories of some very special people.
If after reading these stories, you are moved to send us some of your personal favorites - either your own or other people - we'll gladly review them for possible inclusion in future volumes of Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen
