Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings: 101 Stories of Gratitude, Fortitude, and Silver Linings

My twin sister Tami has dealt with chronic pain and illness for the past 14 years. For those that have never had someone close to you suffer, it would be hard to know that there is a silver lining to it! This book demonstrates that through story after story. How often do we take things for granted. One of my favorite stories in this book was of a woman who suffered from Rheumatiod Arthritis. She suffered for 40 years, barely able to move. In the end, the thing she cherished most was being able to sit in a church pew! I love books like these as they keep me grounded and humble. Terri "Hunter" Ward, children's author of One Starry Night and Aunt Tami's Strawberry Farm.

I bought this for my Mom for a gift, and she loved it. She said it was a book she has not seen. She collects these and was very happy to receive. Great send out time. Received very quickly.

Many of these stories are heartfelt and enlightening examples of seeing the bright side or the silver lining in everyday situations. The stories about the woman who had the same kind of car accident as her mother did when her mom and dad were on their honeymoon...suffered similar injuries, all of their hope and love and support for each other and how they all hung in there and came out of it with such a wonderful view of the world and how they learned from their experiences was inspiring to me. I think there are so many wonderful stories in this book, that I can't really comment on them all, except to say that they are all worth 10 times the price of the book itself. Wonderful lessons for all who are lucky enough to read about them.

After seeing a story by Natalia Lusinski, and reading her stories in other Chicken Soup books, I was glad to find another one here. She does a good job of conveying a lot of meaning in a short story, like she does here in "Playing the Game." It's about growing up financially constrained, and I think most people can relate to that these days and with this economy. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up and others where you can follow writers like Natalia for inspiration.