Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul pays tribute to motherhood—the universal calling that requires the skills of a master mediator, mentor, cook and counselor. From stories about moms-next-door to celebrity contributions by Barbara Bush, Reba McEntire, Joan Rivers and Erma Bombeck, the book relates shining examples of a mother’s love that are cherished forever in the hearts and lives of the people they touched.

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Endorsements

“Motherhood is one of the most rewarding experiences of life. Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul captures the essence of this precious experience.”

Chris Evert
tennis champion

“As ‘The Mommies’ we know that the biggest gift you can receive is to know that you’re not alone! Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul does just that by touching you at the core and bringing you tenderly back to the true meaning and reverence of motherhood.”

Marilyn Kentz and Caryl Kristensen
“The Mommies” television show hosts

“It’s a warm, touching book that will make you laugh and cry as we celebrate being women together.”

Kim Alexis
model/spokesperson

“Thank you, Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul, for the stories that express the exquisite beauty of love between mother and child. Your perspective reminds us of what is really important in life.”

Susan N. Hickenlooper
national executive director
American Mothers, Inc.

“Sitting down to read Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul is a treat! The stories are powerful, heartwarming and full of life. Every story speaks to me of the depth and power of the love between mother and child.”

Alison Schwandt
planner, Gymboree

“This tender, deep attunement between mother and child that starts before birth and continues throughout life is beautifully expressed in the stories of Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul.”

Dr. Melanie Brown
president & founder, My Baby U., Inc.

“No matter what I do in life, my most important accomplishment will be mothering my two daughters and sons. Each time I read the stories in Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul I laugh and cry and snuggle up to warm, wonderful motherly memories that fill my heart until it’s nearly bursting.”

Patricia Lorenz
author, Stuff That Matters for Single Parents

Where there is great love there are always miracles.—Willa Cather

This is a family story my father told me about his mother, my grandmother.

In 1949, my father had just returned home from the war. On every American highway you could see soldiers in uniform hitchhiking home to their families, as was the custom at that time in America.

Sadly, the thrill of this reunion with his family was soon overshadowed. My grandmother became very ill and had to be hospitalized. It was her kidneys, and the doctors told my father that she needed a blood transfusion immediately or she would not live through the night. The problem was that Grandmother’s blood types was AB-, a very rare type even today, but even harder to get then because there were no blood banks or air flights to ship blood. All the family members were typed, but not one member was a match. So the doctors gave the family no hope; my grandmother was dying.

My father left the hospital in tears to gather up all the family members, so that everyone would get a chance to tell Grandmother good-bye. As my father was driving down the highway, he passed a soldier in uniform hitch-hiking home to his family. Deep in grief, my father had no inclination at that moment to do a good deed. Yet it was almost as if something outside himself pulled him to a stop, and he waited as the stranger climbed into the car.

My father was too upset to even ask the soldier his name, but the soldier noticed my father’s tears right away and inquired about them. Through his tears, my father told this total stranger that his mother was lying in a hospital dying because the doctors had been unable to locate her blood type, AB-, and if they did not locate her blood type before nightfall, she would surely die.

It got very quiet in the car. Then this unidentified soldier extended his hand out to my father, palm up. Resting in the palm of his hand were the dog tags from around his neck. The blood type on the tags was AB-. The soldier told my father to turn the car around and get him to the hospital.

My grandmother lived until 1996, 47 years later, and to this day no one in our family knows the soldier’s name. But my father has often wondered, was he a soldier or an angel in uniform?
—Jeannie Ecke Sowell

© 1997 Jeannie Ecke Sowell. All rights reserved. Reprinted from Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul® by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the written permission of the publisher: Health Communications, Inc., 3201 SW 15th Street, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442.

 

 

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