Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s the nearing the anniversary of 9/11 and we need to stop and think today. One of the things that I’m noticing is the difference in our unity now versus then. Do you remember what it was like right after 9/11? How we were so united, nationwide? We were one, noticing what was the same about us, not what was different. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration. It’s Friend Friday, and today I’m pleased to introduce you to Ann Clark Van Hine. Ann lost her husband in the World Trade Center on 9/11 and with the anniversary of the attacks coming up in a few weeks, I wanted to honor the thousands of dead and tens of thousands of surviving family members by talking to Ann today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Kind (of) America. I am very excited about today’s podcast because I have two great stories for you about religious tolerance in America, which is one of the things that has historically been a cornerstone of our great nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s almost Labor Day, and it really feels like the start of a new year, right? Even if you don’t have kids in school, and your life doesn’t revolve around the school year, there’s something about Labor Day that makes it feel like a time when we can start fresh. I know that I’m filled with ideas for how I want to do things better now and I don’t want to wait until January 1st. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today I’m excited to introduce you to Randy Collins, who is pretty well known in the LA area for being on the USC lacrosse team… and being twice as old as his teammates. That’s a Division ONE team, by the way. Randy wrote about his journey from being an overweight Marine to being a USC lacrosse player and PhD candidate in his story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you—and this could change your social life. When we asked people to send us stories about how they used the power of yes to change their lives, we never imagined how many stories we would get about how people forced themselves to step outside their comfort zones and made a whole bunch of new friends as a result. It’s advice that a lot of us can use. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of new Chicken Soup for the Soul stories that will help you learn how to embrace change and avoid getting stuck in a rut. Because life is about using the power of yes to keep growing and changing and doing new things. There are some very simple ways that you can start the process of re-energizing your life. You don’t have to travel the world or jump out of an airplane or change careers. You can do something as simple as learning how to use a new app on your phone. Because falling behind on technology is one of the first steps on the slippery path to acting older and not participating as much in the world around us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today we’re going to talk about reinventing yourself, which is a big theme in our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes. I’m excited to introduce you to John Davis Walker, who had reinvented himself more than once. You’ve actually seen him many times in films and TV shows. Today we’re going to talk about his journey from the merchant marines to ship captain to Hollywood producer to successful actor, which he wrote about in our book. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re talking about trying the things that your spouse likes, those things you’re sure you’ll hate. It worked for two couples we know. And it added a wonderful new dimension to their marriages. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark. Today I’m going to talk about the transformational power of saying yes to new things, and things you’re afraid of, and things that you’re sure you’ll hate—because stepping outside your comfort zone truly is a great way to re-energize your life and make your world broader again. The word Yes is a small word but it has a big impact, and we have 101 stories about how life changing it is in our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Yes. I’m going to share some of these stories with you over the next couple of weeks. 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 I’m pleased to introduce you to Georgia Shaffer, who is one of my favorite Chicken Soup for the Soul writers and someone who really changed my life. Georgia Shaffer is an author, professional speaker, a Christian life coach, and a licensed Psychologist in Pennsylvania. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Kind (of) America. This book just came out in 2017 and we heard lovely stories from people that they’re actually crying – with happiness – because the stories in the book reassure them – that America is still the country that we think it is, despite what we’re hearing and seeing in the news about a tiny minority of people who are acting like jerks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s the beginning of a new week and the perfect time to address whatever has been bothering you. For many of us, that’s our inability to get enough sleep, whether it’s because we’re too busy, or because we toss and turn due to stress. 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 I want to introduce you to Joan Lunden. Joan Lunden has been a trusted voice in American homes for more than 30 years. For nearly two decades, Joan greeted viewers each morning on Good Morning America. She has reported from 26 countries, covered 5 presidents, 5 Olympics, and kept Americans up to date on how to care for their homes, their health, and their families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some new favorites for you from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dog Really Did That? The book came last year and made it to the bestseller list. It’s filled with stories that will make you want to jump in the car and drive to the nearest shelter and adopt a dog—which is part of our mission at Chicken Soup for the Soul, to get you to think about the shelter first when you’re looking for a pet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today, I want to talk about a disease that affects almost every family at some point—Alzheimer’s or one of the other kinds of dementia. They all basically manifest the same way, no matter what they’re called. At some point, those “senior moments” become more sinister and often people will even go to the doctors themselves to find out what’s going on. I’ve always been fascinated by what it’s like to get the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s—to know what’s coming. And when we made our hugely successful book about Living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias four years ago, we had a whole chapter in the book with stories from the patients themselves and many other stories from their family members talking about those early days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to Susan Panzica, who is really a wonderful person and you’re going to find out why today. Susan is a a former government employee in the U.S. Customs Service who now works in her husband’s chiropractic office. She is the mother of two grown children, and she is a writer. But what is most fascinating about her is that she is a modern day abolitionist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m here to talk about the transformational power of saying yes to new things. We have a book about this coming out in August, but today I’m going to share a couple of stories from two of our past books. This first story had a huge impact on me, and what I love about it is that it involves a change you can make in your life JUST BY DECIDING. It’s that simple. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I want to talk about why you should step outside your comfort zone and add some simple luxuries to your life. These are easy, inexpensive ways to treat yourself better and to make your life more fun, and exciting, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today I’m excited to introduce you to Melissa Wootan, who is one of most prolific writers, with more than 21 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of stories about an easy way that you can dramatically change your life—by using the power of gratitude. This has been a big topic for us ever since we published Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Power of Gratitude, which I coauthored with Deborah Norville. We made the book because gratitude is a topic that our contributors have always written about and because it’s one of the essentials that you need for a happy life. If you’re not actively noting the blessings in your life, not actively looking for silver linings, and not allowing yourself to be pleased by the people and things in your life, you are not going to be a happy person. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you and some great advice about how you can use the power of forgiveness to open up your future. I’m going to share a couple of very powerful stories that will make you rethink those resentments you’re holding onto. I think today’s podcast could be life changing for you, and I don’t say that lightly. I say it because I’ve seen the power of forgiveness to change everything for so many of our writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today I’m excited to introduce you to Julie Hornok, who had been published in five Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Julie and I are going to talk about two main topics today: 1) her Chicken Soup for the Soul stories, and particularly her experience with raising a child on the autism spectrum, and then 2) a quick introduction to how we can use yoga to find our inner calm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re going to talk about women who fell in love, and stayed in love, with men who helped them through tough times. I’m going to share two stories from our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love, which has so much variety! It’s been really fun sharing all these love stories with you over the past month, and this is the last time for a while, as we’re going to move on to other topics now for a few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our latest book—Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love—and we’re going to talk about an important topic—how to keep that love fresh as the years go on. 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, which means we get to talk to someone very special from the Chicken Soup for the Soul family. Today it’s Dean Karnazes, who coauthored Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners with me, and also has a story in our new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America. 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. In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought we'd revisit an episode that originally posted on the the 15th anniversary of 9/11. This episode is a focused of the goodness in people, as I remember traveling to San Francisco a couple of months later after the attacks and having my cabdriver refuse my fare when he heard I was from a suburb of New York City. 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. We're celebrating the Fourth of July this week, so I thought we'd revisit a couple of stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to Jaymin Patel, who is a well-known motivational speaker who also wrote his own Bollywood love story for us, about how he defied his parents’ expectations that he would marry a nice Indian girl from their old neighborhood, and instead married the American girl he fell in love with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of stories to get you in the holiday spirit for the Fourth of July next week. These are two patriotic, emotional stories that both make me tear up. They are a great reminder of the true spirit of America and the fact that we all love our country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I want to talk about love and hope and the fact that we are amazed by how many stories we get from people who discovered that the person who was “just a friend” was really their soul mate. I’m going to share two stories from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love, that might open your own eyes or be worth passing on to someone who just isn’t seeing what is right in front of him or her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today I’m excited to welcome back Kelly Sullivan Walden, who has made two books with us – the first was Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and Premonitions in 2015, and the second was Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dreams and the Unexplainable, which we published last year. Kelly has also written plenty of stories for us, not just in the dreams books but on other topics as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I want to share a couple of stories that may help you get your mind into getting back outdoors to get some exercise. It is summer after all, and there’s nothing like exercising outdoors – being able to move so freely versus working out in a gym or inside your home where it just feels different. I remember after I had back surgery, even though it was November, my doctor told me to start walking outdoors because it was better for my body to move freely outside than to feel somewhat constrained indoors. And I realized he was right. You do move your whole body more freely when you walk or run or do sports outdoors. You feel like you’re able to occupy more space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our new book—Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love. You know we always talk about stepping outside your comfort zone, being spontaneous, and saying yes to new things, because it broadens your life and makes you happier, and that certainly holds true for finding love as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today I’m excited to introduce you to Joi Gordon, who is the CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide. Dress for Success is a wonderful nonprofit that helps women to support themselves and their families, and that’s why we are supporting them with royalties from Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of my new favorite stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love. So Love at First Sight is one of those movie or summer reading topics that we all enjoy, but does it really happen? Well, we have so many stories about love at first sight in our new book that we made a whole chapter for them, and I’m going to share a couple of them with you today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a little Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration for you during this Father’s Day week. With Father’s Day approaching, many of us are thinking about how we can show our dads we appreciate them, and we may also be thinking about the way they show us that they love us, which can be a little understated at times. Sometimes dads show they care in a more quiet way, not by saying “I love you” out loud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday. Today I’m excited to introduce you to Tim Rouhana, a writer and director whose latest film is premiering in theaters across the country next Wednesday, June 13th, as the first in a series of Chicken Soup for the Soul special film events. Tim also happens to be the oldest of our four children, so this is a special event for the whole family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m going to share two of my favorite stories from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love. I’m amazed by how many stories we get from people who kept crossing paths with their future soul mates, over and over again, sometimes for decades, before finally meeting for real. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our brand new book—Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Miracle of Love—which is filled with so much variety—because everyone has a different kind of story about how he or she found true love. That makes this book a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to sharing some great stories with you over the next couple of months. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to Lorraine Cannistra, who has cerebral palsy and writes about that for us often. She is a wheelchair ballroom dancer and has a new book out called More the Same than Different that helps us understand how to talk to people with disabilities, something that most of us can use some advice about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today concludes my month-long review of our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman. Next week we’re going to start talking about The Miracle of Love, which will be a fun topic as we head into summer reading! But let me finish the empowered woman topic with two fabulous stories, about women who had let their fears keep them on the sidelines, not participating in life, until they overcame them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Memorial Day, so I want to share a story that really moved me, about Matthew Mawyer, an Army National Guard soldier who was serving in Kuwait when he wrote a story for a book we put out last May called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Military Families. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. I’m continuing our review of our new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman, which has created a lot of buzz and you can understand why, as it includes stories from women of all ages and all walks of life, discussing how they found their confidence, courage, and their true selves. Deborah Shouse, who is one of our regular writers, wrote a story for this book and we’re going to discuss that and then another topic where she is an expert, and that is tips for people who are caregivers for their family members who have Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration for you from Chicken Soup for the Soul. We’ve been talking about parents finding their empowerment and being role models for their children, and we’ve talked about women standing up for what’s right, no matter how scary it is. Today I’m going to share a couple of stories from GIRLS who stood up for what was right—because you can’t start too early. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul. It’s almost Memorial Day weekend. So I think we should think about getting unplugged and spending some quality time with the people we love. To help out, let us revisit a terrific book we made a couple of years ago called Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less. This book had a big influence on me, in terms of getting me to simplify my calendar, and my closets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday and we’re going to continue our tour of the empowered women in our latest book. Today we’re going to talk to Jenny Pavlovic, a Chicken Soup for the Soul contributor who I was always accustomed to thinking of as a big dog rescue person, until I read her story that we published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman and realized that she has a PhD in biomedical engineering and is a big deal engineer who started out in what was very much a male field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with two more inspirational stories for you from our new book, one that’s creating quite a buzz--Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman. I love this book, because even if you’re already feeling pretty confident and courageous and happy with how you’re running your life, you can probably use even more of that feeling. There’s nothing like 101 stories from women supporting each other, sharing their most personal revealing stories and their best advice and wisdom with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with some instant inspiration from Chicken Soup for the Soul, to help you get ready for summer, which means getting into that bathing suit… and liking it! Body image is a big problem for many of us, and I include myself, and it stinks when we let that interfere with us participating in fun activities with our families and friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and it’s Friend Friday on the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast. Today I’m going to introduce you to Elynne Chaplik Aleskow, who has had some very interesting life experiences, and always seems to be adding more to her list to write about for us. We’re going to talk to her today about how she was the first female TV station manager in Chicago, in a male world, and how she created a TV station from scratch. She wrote about this, and more, in our new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices