Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today’s inspiration and advice comes from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times Won't Last But Tough People Will. This new collection of stories will wow you with stories of resilience, positive thinking, and overcoming obstacles. These revealing personal stories will help you handle whatever arises in your life, whether it’s financial challenges, health issues, relationship troubles, loss and grieving, natural disasters, or any of the other ways in which life sometimes goes off track. And then of course there’s COVID, and we have plenty of stories about the special challenges that have arisen during the pandemic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So you know that we’re always presenting you with role models for living a better life—people who exhibit the traits we all want to emulate—but what about role models who are not human? That is what we often find in our books about dogs and cats—that these pets can be amazing role models for loyalty, and creativity, and resilience, and positive thinking. So today I want to share two stories about cats who are role models. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration and today I’m sharing two stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Blessings of Christmas, stories about how much fun it is to add new people to your holiday table, especially people who have nowhere to go during the holidays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today’s inspiration and advice come from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times Won't Last But Tough People Will. This new collection of empowering stories is about resilience, positive thinking, and overcoming obstacles. It will provide you with some role models and some great advice for navigating your own way through life’s challenges. It also contains a whole chapter of stories about the various ways that people have been coping with the pandemic, and today’s stories are about virtual travel and how you can create that getting away feeling while staying home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration and today I’m sharing two more stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be You. This is a collection of stories about female empowerment, self-discovery, self-esteem, self-care, and also about women helping each other—to be the very best version of themselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re wrapping up our review of our big winter bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Making Me Time. It seems like Me Time was a hot topic during the pandemic as people realized that self-care matters—work/life balance, finding that equilibrium in your life, that time to pursue your passions or hobbies or exercise or just close your eyes and think. Our book basically presented 101 different ways that our writers found their best form of Me Time, and today I’m going to share six of those with you—six ways to incorporate “me time” into your life. And if these don’t work for you, I’m sure they’ll get you thinking about your own best path to that critical time for yourself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Chicken Soup for the Soul’s powerful new book, "I’m Speaking Now; Black Women Share Their Truth in 101 Stories of Love, Courage, and Hope,” also contains 12 raw, personal poems that will open your eyes to the reality of the Black experience in America today. Please enjoy today’s episode in which two poets share their poems with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about the surprising loyalty of cats. Lots of people think cats are aloof and only care about their humans because they feed them. But we get lots of stories about cats exhibiting the same kind of loyalty that we expect from dogs. I’m going to share two of those stories with you today, from Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Clever, Curious, Caring Cat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration and today I’m sharing two stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Blessings of Christmas. We get a lot of stories about miracles at Thanksgiving and Christmastime—an unexpected gift that changes everything, money showing up just when it’s needed, random acts of kindness that give a family back their holiday… And today we’re going to hear about a couple of miracles that involve amazing coincidences. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about dogs, and how they sometimes make great friends with animals outside in the yard—friendships their owners didn’t expect at all. We have lots of stories on this topic in our new collection of dog stories, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog. So I’m going to share a couple of cute ones with you today, starting with one by Lee Pollock. Lee tells us that his family had recently moved from a mobile home to an acreage about ten miles from Hysham, Montana. About the same time, they adopted a dog named Wally, a longhaired Dachshund. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everyone, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we have a special guest for Friend Friday, Monica Perez, who is the executive editor of Charlesbridge, a wonderful children’s publisher. And more importantly, she is the editor behind a new line of Chicken Soup for the Soul books for babies and little kids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. And today we’re talking about cats who basically act like the very best healthcare aides. Because many cats do have an uncanny ability to know what their human charges need, and even when they are about to pass away. One such cat was described in a story by Anna Heaney in our most recent cat book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Clever, Curious, Caring Cat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration and today I’m sharing two stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Blessings of Christmas. I know it’s early, but since you’re going to start seeing Christmas stuff everywhere, you might as well get into the spirit of it. And what better way than with two stories about kids NOT being selfish, but instead focusing on giving to other kids so they’ll have a merrier Christmas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration and today I’m sharing two more stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Be You. This is a collection of stories about female empowerment, self-discovery, self-esteem, and self- care, and that self-care is so important. It doesn’t take much to give yourself a little break—some self-care—and today we’re talking about going on excursions or even vacations all by yourself with no one to answer to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So have you ever talked to someone who makes their me time by getting up an hour earlier each day? It sounds counterintuitive, but people swear by it. They feel more energized and happier because they’ve carved out that special time for themselves every morning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. And today is going to be fun because I’m sharing two stories from our new humor collection called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Read, Laugh, Repeat. This is a compilation of some of the funniest stories we’ve published in our 28-year history. We’ve got stories about Domestic Disasters, Marriage, Dogs and Cats Doing Crazy Things, Embarrassing Moments, Weird Family Members, Senior Moments, and what I like to call Holiday Hiccups. Today’s stories are about marriage, or actually what happens on the way to marriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re going to talk about dogs, and how even when they’re being very bad they are actually the best dogs in the world. I think you’ll agree when you hear about these canine masters of destruction which are so cute that you’ll wish you had one of these dogs tearing up things in your own house. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about cats and how they are truly value-added family members. Our new cat book is called Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Clever, Curious, Caring Cat and we’re going to focus on the caring part. Because cats do have an intuitive sense from what their human family members need from them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re going to talk about how very human our dogs can seem at times. Our new collection of stories called Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog has that title because our dogs are like additional humans in our families. Their intuition, their individual likes and dislikes, their ability to make friends, their obvious feelings of joy, sorrow, boredom, curiosity, compassion, etc. make them unique characters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about therapy—cat therapy. Because there’s something about cats that is so therapeutic, and they can even be awfully good substitutes for human therapists! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re talking about dogs and miracles and how dogs can miraculously become our lifesavers. I’m going to share two stories from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog, stories that will make you appreciate the intuition and loyalty and courage of dogs even more than you already do. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. And today we’re talking about cats and who’s really in charge when you have a cat. I think you know the answer. We’ve got 101 new stories and poems in our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Clever, Curious, Caring Cat, and if you’re a cat lover or you’re looking for a gift for one, we’ve got you covered. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about making sure that you choose people in your life who choose you back. How many times have you kept going in a relationship—whether it’s romantic or a friend or a family member—where the other person isn’t putting in the same effort? Today’s stories will give you the motivation to stand up for what you deserve—a relationship that’s based on mutual respect and effort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today’s inspiration comes from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Making Me Time, which is all about self-care, and work life balance, and finding your own best kind of equilibrium and me time. One of the strongest themes that runs through this book is found in people realizing that they had been struggling with their schedules, juggling too many things, and they hadn’t thought to actually ask anyone for help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. And today is going to be fun because I’m introducing you to our new very funny book called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Read, Laugh, Repeat. This is a collection of some of the funniest stories we’ve published in our 28-year history. We’ve got stories about Domestic Disasters, Marriage, Dogs and Cats Doing Crazy Things, Embarrassing Moments, Weird Family Members, Senior Moments, and what I like to call Holiday Hiccups. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re going to talk about those reluctant dog owners who end up head over heels in love with their pets… and then confess to their change of heart. And that’s good news for those of you who would like to bring a dog home but are facing resistance. Because there’s something so compelling about dogs that they always break down that resistance, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about Navigating Eldercare & Dementia. There are so many aspects to eldercare, which something like 40 million Americans are involved in, and today I want to share five tips that will help you navigate the world of eldercare and dementia. These are tips gleaned from five of the stories in our book, and they are from people who have been there, done that and are sharing what they learned with you. When your family first faces the reality of a loved one with dementia, you embark on a journey you’ve never taken before, and that’s why it’s so helpful to get advice from people who have already been through it and want to help you avoid some of the mistakes and heartache they went through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. And it’s time to launch our next pair of books about dogs and cats. These books are always a big hit, because stories about our favorite family members are so compelling, and entertaining. And often full of great lessons about resilience, living in the present moment, forgiveness, and showing affection. The title of our new cat book is Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Clever, Curious, Caring Cat. We’ve got 101 stories and poems about just that—cats being curious and caring and surprisingly clever. And today I’m going to share two stories about cats with a purpose—a mission—and you’ll be amazed by what these two little pets did. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everyone, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we have a special guest for Friend Friday, Ronald Milburn, who is not only a Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor but also the human behind the TikTok sensation Robert T. Squirrel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today’s inspiration comes from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Navigating Eldercare & Dementia, which contains the emotional support and practical tips that you need as you navigate the world of eldercare, especially when Alzheimer’s or other dementias are part of it. You’ll feel less alone and more empowered in your new role after you read these stories. And it’s not all about dementia either. Family caregiving is a big deal with or without dementia. One of the biggest hurdles that some families face is how to allocate all the work that goes into helping an older family member. Some families handle it very well, and others, not so much. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. And it’s time to launch our next pair of books about dogs and cats. These books are always a big hit, because stories about our favorite family members are so compelling, and entertaining. And often full of great lessons about resilience, living in the present moment, forgiveness, and showing affection. The title of our new book is Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog. We’ve got 101 stories and poems about just that—dogs being hilarious, heroic and surprisingly human. And clever, too. So today I’m going to share two stories that show just how smart our dogs can be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today’s inspiration comes from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Making Me Time, which is all about self-care and work life balance and finding your own best kind of equilibrium and me time. I would say the biggest theme I saw in the book was the value of getting outdoors in nature, whether it meant engaging in vigorous exercise or sitting on a rocking chair on the back porch. Everyone seems to find peace and perspective in being outside, watching the other animals we share the planet with and realizing that life goes on around us no matter what we are going through. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration and today I want to talk about some of my own battles with male chauvinism. In a way, they’re kind of funny, at least I think so, because sometimes you have to have a sense of humor when you’re dealing with ingrained male ways of thinking. Now these things happened years ago, but they show where we’ve come from. And unfortunately, these attitudes are still prevalent and pervade the relationships that women have in business and their personal lives even today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today I’m wrapping up our tour of our January bestseller about miracles and divine intervention. Whether you’re religious or not, sometimes things happen that are unexplainable, or fabulous coincidences, or mysteriously occur at exactly the right moment, and we find ourselves describing them as miracles. If you keep your eyes open, you notice them and appreciate them. And you come to expect that a miracle will come along once in a while when you need one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everyone, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we have a special guest for Friend Friday, Lisa Marshall, who has become a real expert on Alzheimer’s and dementia and especially early onset Alzheimer’s. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today’s inspiration and advice comes from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Navigating Eldercare & Dementia. This new collection of stories contains the emotional support and practical tips that you need as you navigate the world of eldercare, especially when Alzheimer’s or other dementias are part of it. You’ll feel less alone and more empowered in your new role after you read these stories. And today I want to talk about something that every family caregiver needs to work on, and that is self-care. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Time for a little history… When Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul was published in 1997 it quickly became the go-to source of comfort and advice for a whole generation of teenagers, selling more than ten million copies around the world. That book has continued to support teenagers as they go through their adolescence and remains one of our most popular titles. Now we’ve revised and updated it with three dozen new stories added to the existing, classic stories from the first edition, including ones about being a teenager during the pandemic, social media and technology, and many other modern-day issues. Stories that were out of date were removed, so that teenagers will not feel like they’re reading their parents’ Chicken Soup for the Soul instead of their own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your daily dose of Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration. It’s Friend Friday, and today we have a special guest, Kristen Cusato, who has been on the podcast before, and today we’re going to talk about tips and advice for families dealing with dementia, something that affects tens of millions of family members in the US and Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So you remember middle school, right? And the cafeteria? And the groups? And changing your friends? And how everything was changing and it was sometimes exciting but also—too often—painful? It’s funny how those experiences taught us a lot about how to conduct our lives going forward. And that’s why I loved putting together the new revised and updated edition of Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul—our 21st Anniversary Edition! The new collection has just come out and it’s filled with such wisdom—the stuff we learned in middle school that we need to refer back to now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about Navigating Eldercare & Dementia. There are so many aspects to eldercare, which something like 40 million Americans are involved in, and today I want to talk about how you can make sure you hear all those family stories and honor your loved one’s memories, even as you are helping them with something very difficult like packing up their homes to move to a new living situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m sharing two stories about the importance of making “me time” for yourself, and how it can even be life-changing if you do that just once a week. What matters is having that special time to look forward to. You could view it as a life raft in your busy life, floating there and waiting for you to climb on for some downtime. I know we’re all told that we should build “me time” and self-care into every day, but sometimes you can’t pull that off. Here are two real-life examples of people who scheduled their me time for once a week and found that worked very well for them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about how you can make life after 60 the BEST part of your life. We have a bestselling book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Age Is Just a Number and it’s filled with great advice for those of us over 60. Actually, it’s great advice for anyone of any age, so you don’t have to wait until you’re 60 to use some of these tips. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today I want to talk about that little voice inside that sometimes warns you of danger. We often dismiss that foreboding feeling, thinking we’re just being silly, but after reading thousands of stories about this phenomenon I think it’s worth putting aside any embarrassment—any feeling of “Oh this is silly”—and instead, paying attention to those gut feelings. I’m going to share two examples with you today, from our latest book about miracles and divine intervention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re going to talk about how you can become more productive by building down time into every workday. Our special Friend Friday guest is my friend and newly minted Chicken Soup for the Soul author, Cosmo DeNicola. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m sharing two stories about when getting that all important me time really means we time, because making sure you have we time with your spouse or your friends can be just as important as the traditional me time that we’re always trying to put aside for ourselves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we’re talking about the miracle of finding love, and I truly mean finding love in a miraculous, I-can’t-believe-that-happened way. Sometimes it seems like people were just meant to find each other, based on the amazing coincidences that bring them together. And that’s why these stories appear in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles & Divine Intervention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everyone, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we have a special guest for Friend Friday, Mae Frances Sarratt. Mae wrote a fascinating and historically significant story about her life for our summer bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Soul: I’m Speaking Now; Black Women Share Their Truth in 101 Stories of Love, Courage and Hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So, I’ve been sharing some of the very funny stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Read, Laugh, Repeat. This book is a collection of some of the funniest stories we’ve published in our 28-year history. We’ve got stories about Domestic Disasters, Marriage, Dogs and Cats Doing Crazy Things, Embarrassing Moments, Weird Family Members, Senior Moments, Holiday Hiccups, and Kids. And I put together today’s episode with six laugh-out-loud stories that I hope will bring some sunshine into your day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today’s inspiration and advice comes from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Navigating Eldercare & Dementia. This new collection of stories contains the emotional support and practical tips that you need as you navigate the world of eldercare, especially when Alzheimer’s or other dementias are part of it. You’ll feel less alone and more empowered in your new role after you read these stories. And today I want to talk about one of the difficult choices that families make, which is whether to move their loved ones into a group home such as an assisted living apartment building or a memory care unit. We want to make sure that our listeners know this is a very viable option, and not something to feel guilty about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re looking at the many benefits of volunteering, especially later in life. If you are enjoying your retirement years, or you know someone who’s retired but needs a little extra spark in their life, these stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Age Is Just a Number will inspire anyone to look at volunteering as a means to finding joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices