Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of fun Christmas stories for you—about The Tree, which of course is a big focus for most of us in December. I never make a big deal out of getting a perfect tree when I’m picking one out at the garden store, because I don’t really mind if it has one bad side that I have to face into the wall. But I do gaze at it a lot at home once it’s decorated. Every year we seem to compliment ourselves on how the tree is particularly nice this year even if I bought a quite obviously flawed one. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time for Christmas. I know Christmas is still a couple of months off, but in the meantime we have Thanksgiving, and that usually means turkey, and that often means turkey disasters. So if you’ve ever had a turkey disaster of your own, or you fear that one is coming down the road for you, I have stories for 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 I’m going to share two stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. Today’s stories are about miraculous saves, those times when someone or something came to the aid of a person in a way that just can’t be explained. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Time for Christmas. So I know it’s early to be talking about Christmas, but this book is out now because that’s when the retailers want to see Christmas books hit the shelves. The good thing is that we always put lots of Thanksgiving stories in our holiday books, so they start feeling relevant right away. And today, since it’s only October, we’re going to talk about GETTING READY for Thanksgiving, and how to get your gratitude tuned up for the upcoming holiday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with a couple of fun Thanksgiving stories for you as we head toward the winter holiday season. We have a new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tales of Christmas, that has lots of Thanksgiving stories in it, plus a few about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, and then of course the vast majority about Christmas. But I was struck by how many great stories we got about Thanksgiving this year, way more than usual. Thanksgiving is traditionally a family event, but it does lend itself even more than Christmas does to inviting non-family members. And that’s what we’re talking about 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 want to talk about a couple of very cool stories from our latest book about miracles. In one story, a woman prays for her drinking problem to disappear and through a very strange circumstance she is cured. And in another, a 9/11 wish comes true from across the Atlantic Ocean. I love sharing these stories, and the other 99 in our new book, because they just go to show that miracles are happening around us all the time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. I know things have improved but it still seems like women have to be better than men to get the same credit. And our bonuses, or appreciation for our work, don’t seem equal either. We’ve made progress but there’s more to be accomplished. Today I’m going to share with you a piece I wrote for a publication on Medium called The Narrative Arc. It’s called Men Devalued My Work on Wall Street Over and Over Again and you need to listen to the very end to hear the punch line of this story. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. Miracles, divine intervention, amazing coincidences—these unexplainable, unexpected surprises really wow us when we read about them at Chicken Soup for the Soul, so we always have a great time making one of these collections. And today I’m going to share two stories about messages from heaven that I’m pretty sure will amaze you, too. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. You don’t have to be religious to be amazed by these stories. They’re just about awe-inspiring things that happened to our writers, stories that will wow you. Today we’re going to talk about miracles that happen on the way out, when someone you love is dying or has just died. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. These true stories of angels and miracles will strengthen your faith and remind you that good things do happen to good people!  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 premonitions and dreams and how sometimes people have the weirdest ability to sense that something is going to happen, whether it’s a sense of foreboding or a vision or a dream. I never believed that this stuff mattered until I spent all these years reading our stories and seeing this stuff in action. So today I’m sharing two stories with you, one about a father having a premonition that may very well have saved his daughter’s life, and the other about a woman who had a whole conversation with her boyfriend in her bedroom the night that he died, not realizing that he was actually still thousands of miles away.  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 going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called The Narrative Arc, and it’s called Grumpy Stranger? Angry Colleague? Don’t Take It Personally! It’s not about you Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m going to share a couple of very cool stories from our new book about miracles and messages from heaven and ANGELS. Everyone loves angel stories because they are so hard to explain and yet so many people experience them. Whether you believe that there really are guardian angels out there protecting us or not, you’ve probably had an unexplained experience or two yourself, a time when someone, somehow seemed to be making sure you were all 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 I’m going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Today we’re going to talk about overcoming shyness, which is something we get a lot of stories about. I think we’ve all had those shy moments in our lives, and for some people it can be overwhelming. The good news is that you can step outside your comfort zone and practice acting less shy, and then before you know it you are not that shy person anymore. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone, stories about why you should step out of your comfort zone and reach out and connect with people. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from my new favorite book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Whether it’s something little—like trying a new food—or something big—like flying to a faraway country—we feel empowered, energized and proud when we do something that challenges us. That’s why we feel it’s so important to make a policy of saying yes to new experiences, new places, and new people. 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 going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called The Narrative Arc, and it’s called Me versus the Male Directors of a Private Club and it talks about what I had to do to be able to play tennis on Saturday mornings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. We are having so much fun with our latest book about miracles--because the stories are so surprising, and they are for EVERYONE, not just people who are religious. We have the most amazing coincidences in this book and I love sharing them on the podcast, so today I’m going to do it again, starting with a story from one of our regular writers, Tara Flowers, about the miraculous things that happened to her at a funeral that she didn’t want to attend for someone she didn’t know. 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 sharing a couple of stories about really cool coincidences from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, Angels & Messages from Heaven. I’m not a religious person but I love making these books because so many of the stories we get are truly miraculous, no matter what your beliefs, and they just go to show that wonderful things can happen when we least expect them. Like the first story in the book – and by the way I always put one of my absolute favorites first in every book. This story by Christy Hoss is about a place that is already miraculous, and that’s Disneyland, but what happened to Christy’s family was particularly inspiring. 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 going to share five ways you can lead a happy life of kindness, compassion and paying it forward, with five stories from our bestselling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Kindness Matters. You know there’s a lot of conversation these days about getting back to kindness in our society. Scientific studies have shown that “doing good” is not only beneficial for the recipient of the good deed, but also for the person doing it, making that person happier and healthier. So, here are five ways you can make kindness part of how you live your life. 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 going to continue sharing stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Your 10 Keys to Happiness. This is a collection of stories that illustrate what I believe are the ten keys to happiness based on my reading of tens of thousands of personal revealing stories from our writers. I’ve already talked about the power of gratitude to change your life on this podcast, and today I want to talk about the power of forgiveness, because I believe that without learning how to use forgiveness you can’t be truly happy. 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 going to share a couple of stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Too Funny! This is a collection of hilarious stories that are bringing sunshine into our readers’ days and we’ve gotten a lot of very positive feedback from them. No one is safe in these true stories— from spouses to parents to children to colleagues to friends and even pets. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today, with a couple of doggone funny stories. 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 going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called Crow’s Feet, and it’s called “My Determined, Distraught and Demented Dad” and it’s about how self-care is not selfish, it’s actually how you survive when you are engaging in eldercare, especially for someone with dementia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark and today I’m going to share a couple of very cool stories about miraculous coincidences with you from our latest Miracles book. If you are under the impression that Chicken Soup for the Soul is a Christian publisher, that is not true. We are for everyone, of every religion or no religion. We publish a book about miracles, angels, etc. almost every year, and some of the stories are by religious people and some are not. What unites these stories is that they make you say wow when you hear them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. You know, we put out a book about miracles and other unexplainable things every year or so, and one of my favorite topics in those books is what people can learn from their dreams. We have a whole chapter about why you should listen to what your dreams are telling you in our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, Angels & Messages from Heaven. We find that people somehow access all kinds of useful knowledge in their dreams, and today I’m going to share two stories about that, one in which Kristi Adams is warned ahead of time about a potentially deadly situation, and the other in which Lisa Marlin receives some very useful advice from her late mother. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and I want to welcome you to our 1000th podcast episode. 1000! I’ve been doing this for eight years, originally with five new episodes per week, which were very short, then moving to three longer episodes per week. Then I tried two episodes per week for the last few weeks but people didn’t like that, so starting this week we’re going back to three episodes per week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about dogs these days, with stories from our new bestseller Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog. How do dogs do it, anyway? The act as our therapists, they manage to brighten even the darkest days, they’re frequently hilarious, and sometimes they’re even superheroes. And they make sure great companions, helping us to achieve our goals with their steadfast company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about dogs because I’m sharing stories from our latest bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog. This new book is about all the magic that we experience as dog family members. Those dogs brighten even the darkest days, they’re frequently hilarious, and sometimes they’re even superheroes. They can even be our therapists. It just seems to come to them naturally. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Have you ever had a miraculous save from a potential disaster? Maybe even a fatal accident? We get these stories all the time from our writers, and we included some great ones in our latest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles, Angels & Messages from Heaven. You don’t have to be a religious person to enjoy these stories. They’re just plain cool. And I’ll be sharing a lot of them with you over the next couple of months because they make for great storytelling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. We’ve been talking all summer about how you can step outside your comfort zone and make your world bigger, and also feel empowered, energized, enthusiastic, and excited. Lots of good e words. We’ve heard about from our writers who tried lots of things that scared them, including parasailing, roller coasters, mud runs, zip lining and more. And today I have a story from you about an Albert Einstein impersonator who describes in fascinating detail his first and probably only time skydiving, and another story from someone who faced her fear of sharks, etc. and ended up communing with sea turtles as she tried snorkeling for the first time. 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 going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called Crow’s Feet, and it’s called It’s Amazing How Much You Can Accomplish in 60 Seconds. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Attitude of Gratitude, stories about how if you look for the silver lining, you’ll find it. That’s the attitude I try to cultivate: Whenever something bad is happening to me I start looking for the silver lining. That’s not to say that the silver lining will necessarily offset the entire bad thing, but at least it’s a spot of good in the middle of the bad. 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 going to share a couple of stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles and the Unexplainable, stories about people who express their faith that God will provide and then experience miracles in which their prayers are answered. What I’ve learned from working on these books is that these true stories of answered prayers, angels, breathtaking coincidences, miraculous healing, and messages from heaven show us that miracles are all around us if we open our eyes to 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 I’m continuing to share stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Attitude of Gratitude. This is an important topic and one of the keys to happiness in my experience. We are constantly getting stories from people who have turned their attitudes around by actively counting their blessings and focusing on what they have instead of what they lack. 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 going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called The Narrative Arc, and it’s called “Forgiveness is Incredibly Liberating,” with the subtitle: How you can change your life in one second, just by deciding Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Have you ever wished you had more friends? Or you’ve moved and you don’t know anyone? I think we all come to that point in our lives. Friends move away, or we grow in different directions, or we start over in a new community, or we get divorced and discover that we just lost half our friends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Do you ever feel like you’re missing out because you’re starting to resist doing new things? It definitely makes you feel like your world is getting smaller, and it’s one of the themes we see all the time in the stories we receive. People feel empowered and energized when they do something different, and especially when they do something scary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and for the next couple of weeks we’re going to be talking about dogs. We have a new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog. Which is all about the magic of sharing life with a dog. After all, they keep us company, provide so much unconditional love, share in the ups and downs of our lives, and definitely make every day an adventure. And they can be remarkably human, even needing a little therapy, just like their human family members. And sometimes that therapy comes in the form of a cat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about dogs these days, because we have a fabulous new dog book. It’s called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog and it’s about all that magic that we experience as dog family members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and I have something really cool to talk about today. We have released our first coloring book! It’s based on our Chicken Soup for the Soul book called Angels & Miracles and it is a full-fledged, super-high-quality adult coloring book that ALSO contains 29 full stories from that Angels & Miracles book! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Do you ever think that maybe you should focus a little more on stepping outside your comfort zone and broadening your world? I think we all have the tendency to stop doing new things… because it’s easier. But then we’re surprised when we try doing something new, or going to a new place, or meeting a new person, and we really enjoy it. Saying “yes” is something that we can ALL do, and it only takes a second to just plain decide that you will make that your new policy. 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 going to share with you my most popular piece on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly on two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. One of my most popular stories appeared in a publication called The Narrative Arc, and it’s called “You Have Permission to Remove Toxic People from Your Life” which is something I talk about pretty often because it took me so long to figure it out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Do you ever feel like you’re missing out because you’re starting to resist doing new things? It’s really easy to fall into a rut and accidentally let your world become smaller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’ve been talking about dogs for the past couple of weeks because we have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog. It’s all about the magic of sharing life with a dog. After all, they keep us company, provide so much unconditional love, share in the ups and downs of our lives, and definitely make every day an adventure—especially when a normally very good dog does something very bad!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about dogs for a couple of weeks because we have a new, fabulous dog book out. It’s called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog and it’s about all that magic that we experience as dog family members. How do dogs do it anyway? The act as our therapists, they manage to brighten even the darkest days, they’re frequently hilarious, and sometimes they’re even superheroes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and for the next couple of weeks we’re going to be talking about dogs. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog. It’s all about the magic of sharing life with a dog. After all, they keep us company, provide so much unconditional love, share in the ups and downs of our lives, and definitely make every day an adventure. Sometimes they come into our lives in such a special way, as if it were destiny, and that dog was meant to be. And that’s what we’re going to see in today’s two stories. 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 going to share with you one of my most popular pieces on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly in two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. This story appeared in a publication called Crow’s Feet, and it’s called “How I Knew My Mother Was Having a Stroke.” It’s a useful reminder of how to react if you think you might be witnessing someone having a stroke. Because, as the subtitle of my story says, Every minute counts when the brain is erasing itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Have you ever surprised yourself by doing something because you’re on a mission and then later you just can’t believe that you pulled that off? Sometimes, we just fly right through our comfort zones because we’re so focused on what we’re trying to accomplish. It’s cool when that happens because I feel like it permanently changes you—you never go back all the way to how you were before. You now know that you can things that you didn’t think were possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Do you ever feel like you’re missing out because you’re starting to resist doing new things? I know I have to fight against that impulse all the time, that impulse to avoid new things even for simple reasons like I don’t know where to park at whatever place I’m thinking of going. It’s really easy to fall into a rut and accidentally let your world become smaller. 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 that time of year when we think about resolutions. Many of them involve giving up something, or doing something we don’t really want to do—eating less, exercising more, being more organized, decluttering. But how about a resolution to treat yourself better, to add a little joy into your daily life? There’s nothing wrong with adding 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 with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today I’m going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’ve been proposing some of those to you as well during the past month. And today we’re going to talk about what you can do if you don’t actually know what you want to do with your life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this month we’re talking about resolutions. If you’ve already abandoned the one you made at the beginning of the year, and you’re looking for a better, more achievable one, I’ve got an idea for you today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Do you ever think that maybe you should focus a little more on stepping outside your comfort zone and broadening your world? I think we all have the tendency to stop doing new things… because it’s easier. But then we’re surprised when we try doing something new, or going to a new place, or meeting a new person, and we really enjoy it. Saying “yes” is something that we can ALL do, and it only takes a second to just plain decide that you will make that your new policy. 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 going to share with you my most popular piece on Medium. If you don’t know what Medium is, it’s a place where writers can get their short pieces published, either by themselves, or in someone else’s publication. I started getting published on Medium in April, mostly on two publications which feature interesting stories and great writing. My most popular story so far appeared on a publication called Crow’s Feet, and it’s called “What You Shouldn't Say to a Cancer Patient.” I wrote it one night after having a couple of glasses of wine and it’s basically a rant about all the things that well meaning people said to me when I was diagnosed with cancer. So, if you’ve ever had cancer, I think you’ll enjoy this. And if you never know what to say when someone shares their bad news with you, perhaps this will help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Do you ever feel like you’re missing out because you’re starting to resist doing new things? I know I have to resist that all the time, even for simple reasons like I don’t know where to park at whatever place I’m thinking of going. It’s really easy to fall into a rut and accidentally let your world become smaller. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this month we’re talking about resolutions. Resolutions can be very discouraging, because they are hard to stick to, and we all want to be the best version of ourselves. We also want to make everything perfect—our homes, our entertaining, ourselves. So today I want to share two stories with you about why it doesn’t have to be perfect, stories that we published in our bestselling book of the last sixteen years, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this month we’re talking about resolutions, and of course among the traditional ones are dieting and exercising. Now that it’s the middle of January you might have already become discouraged. So I thought I would share some tips from a few of our writers who found incremental, reasonable changes they could make that would actually stick—and help them eat less and exercise more. 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 going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. And today we’re going to talk about the power of saying yes to new things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So let me ask you this: Are you stuck in a rut? Do you never try anything new? How does it make you feel? I know I talk about it all the time, but our writers send us thousands of stories every year about how energized and empowered they feel when they start saying Yes instead of No to new things. 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 getting older and having a great attitude about it. In our first story, Geneva Coleman tells us that she was 55 years old when she decided to reinvent herself. The first thing that went was her hair dye. She went silver—on purpose. And she discovered how much healthier her hair was when she stopped dyeing it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Are you competing to be the favorite grandparent? Grandparenting is so different these days—the unconditional love and mutual admiration between grandchildren and grandparents are still the same, but what’s different for many families is they are so spread out. Sometimes they live in different countries, or hundreds of miles apart, or the grandchildren need to see multiple sets of grandparents because of divorces. So grandparents have to get creative—and travel a lot, and use Skype or Facetime, or pair up with other grandparents to share events. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and this month we’re talking about resolutions, and not always the traditional ones like dieting and exercising. There are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. 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 going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. 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 going to talk about resolutions. It’s January, time to think about the ways in which we want to improve our habits, our behavior, and how we interact with the world. Everyone knows the old classics—stop smoking, eat less, exercise more, be neater... and we’re going to talk about some of those resolutions this month. But there are lots of other possible resolutions that are life-changing, or at least life-improving. So, I’m going to propose some of those to you as well this month. 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 getting older, and having a great attitude about it. In our first story, we hear about what Miriam Van Scott calls The Bon Jovi Challenge. Why? Because not long after she turned forty her husband surprised her with tickets to a Bon Jovi concert. Miriam was excited to head off to New York to hear her old favorites as she had always loved Bon Jovi. 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 talking about married couples—long-time married couples. You know, the ones who stop actually seeing each other, or who have fallen into some bad habits when it comes to how they treat each other. They’re just TOO comfortable. In their very long marriages and they’re not really trying anymore. 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 getting older and having a great attitude about it. In our first story, which is called “Deconstructing My Birthday,” Peggy Purser Freeman tells us that she didn’t really want to do anything in particular for her birthday one year. Her husband kept asking what she wanted to do but nothing appealed to her. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our bestselling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. These stories of angels and miracles will strengthen your faith that good things do happen to good people! And one of the ways that miracles occur for people is when they get a premonition or a gut feeling, and those feelings avert certain disaster. Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut feelings, as you’ll hear in today’s stories. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our bestselling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous, which contains 101 stories about angels, miracles, divine intervention, amazing coincidences, and other events that will make you say “wow” when you read about them. Today we’re going to talk about miraculous bonds—stories that made me say “wow” when I read them and chose them for this new collection. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. This book is a big hit with our readers. It’s all about miracles, divine intervention, amazing coincidences—those unexplainable, unexpected surprises that change the lives of people from all walks of life. Today, we’re going to talk about love that never dies, in the form of the mysterious appearances of birds after the loss of a loved one. 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 talking about how to spice up your life by stepping outside your comfort zone. 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 habits—good ones and bad ones. Like watching too much TV, something that Cindy O’Leary gave up. And not walking enough, which Laurie Penner corrected. It’s not too late to drop those bad habits and change to good ones. And this is one of the topics we addressed in our latest book about aging dynamically and staying young at heart. 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 talking about when less is more, in one case when a couple sell everything they own to travel the country, and in another case when a banker decides to chuck that and work as a produce manager at a grocery store where he will be much happier. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. Miracles, divine intervention, amazing coincidences—these unexplainable, unexpected surprises really wow us when we read about them at Chicken Soup for the Soul, so we always have a great time making one of these collections. And today I’m going to share two stories about messages from heaven that I’m pretty sure will amaze you, too. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. You don’t have to be religious to be amazed by these stories. They’re just about awe-inspiring things that happened to our writers, stories that will wow you. Today we’re going to talk about miracles that happen on the way out, when someone you love is dying or has just died. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. These true stories of angels and miracles will strengthen your faith and remind you that good things do happen to good people! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about cats today, and what we learn from them. Imagine finding a kitten burning to death in a smoldering garbage dump. And then imagine rescuing that little cat and watching it show the most amazing resilience as it came back from the dead. 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 enjoying the simple things, even when an entire family gets the stomach flu while they’re all together for Christmas. Disaster, right? Well that’s what you would think. 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 talking about a new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Young at Heart. This book covers a little bit of everything but the overarching theme is dynamic aging, getting older gracefully, and having lots of fun while doing it. One of the fun parts of getting older is having grandchildren or grand nephews and nieces, and today I’m going to share two stories about that, including one about a literal accidental meeting with country singer Loretta Lynn. 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, Rebecca Zung. We’re going to talk about narcissists and how you can break free from toxic relationships. 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 going to share five proven tips for living your life to the fullest, drawn from five new stories in the updated 30th anniversary edition of the original Chicken Soup for the Soul. Chicken Soup for the Soul has been changing lives for 30 years now, and what we did was take the original book from 1993 and add in 30 bonus stories from today’s thought leaders, including TV and radio personalities Joan Lunden, Deborah Norville and Pat Farnack; podcasters Zibby Owens and Tony D’Urso; and authors Rabbi Steve Leder and Sophfronia Scott. Here are five tips from the book for living your life to the fullest.  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 going to share six ways to step outside your comfort zone, with stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. This is one of my favorite pieces of advice from the world of Chicken Soup for the Soul: to try new things --even if they’re scary. I find it so empowering and energizing when I do new things—even something as simple as shopping at a different grocery store. And of course there are the big things, too, like taking a vacation in a country I’ve never been to before. I am constantly reminding myself to make a habit of saying yes to new things, because otherwise my world will accidentally get narrower and narrower. 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. We have a really fun new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Cat. It’s all about the magic of sharing life with a cat. After all, they keep us company, provide so much unconditional love, share in the ups and downs of our lives, and definitely make every day an adventure. And sometimes, no matter how they come into our lives, they just seem as if they were meant to be with us—the perfect cat and human combination. That’s what we’re going to see in today’s two stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about mothers and daughters as we approach Mother’s Day. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mothers & Daughters. It’s all about that magical bond between mothers and daughters… and grandmothers, too. And mothers-in-law! And it contains a lot of great advice and role models, too. Today I’m going to share two stories about mothers and grandmothers who faced difficult, emotional family situations and rose to the occasion, making sure that everyone was happy even though it meant changing long-held views and traditions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and for the next few weeks we’re going to be talking about cats. We have a new book called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Cat. It’s all about the magic of sharing life with a cat. After all, they keep us company, provide so much unconditional love, share in the ups and downs of our lives, and definitely make every day an adventure. And adventure is what we’re going to talk about today, with two stories about when that very good cat gets up to some mischief and causes embarrassment to its humans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about mothers and daughters as we approach Mother’s Day. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mothers & Daughters. It’s all about that magical bond between mothers and daughters… and grandmothers, too. And mothers-in-law! And it contains a lot of great advice and role models, too. Today I’m going to share two stories about moms who got very creative at Christmastime, making the holiday way better for all their family members. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and for the next few weeks we’re going to be talking about cats. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Cat. It’s all about the magic of sharing life with a cat. After all, they keep us company, provide so much unconditional love, share in the ups and downs of our lives, and definitely make every day an adventure. They can also make us believe in miracles. And that’s what we’re going to see in today’s two stories. 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 sharing a couple of stories about what the cat gets up to when we’re not looking. These stories originally appeared in our book about The Magic of Cats and are now included in our new coloring that is based on that book. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our newest book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Today we’re going to talk about overcoming shyness, which is something we get a lot of stories about. I think we’ve all had those shy moments in our lives, and for some people it can be overwhelming. The good news is that you can step outside your comfort zone and practice acting less shy, and then before you know it you are not that shy person anymore. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone, stories about why you should step out of your comfort zone and reach out and connect with people. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from my new favorite book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone. Whether it’s something little—like trying a new food—or something big—like flying to a faraway country—we feel empowered, energized and proud when we do something that challenges us. That’s why we feel it’s so important to make a policy of saying yes to new experiences, new places, and new people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re going to spend some time over the next month or so talking about mothers and daughters, right in time for Mother’s Day. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mothers & Daughters. It’s all about that magical bond between mothers and daughters… and grandmothers, too. And mothers-in-law! And all that wonderful advice that mothers pass on to their children, which children really do listen to even if their moms aren’t so sure that they are. 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 going to share five stories from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Me and My Dog—stories about the amazing bonds people share with the dogs in their lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re going to spend some time over the next month or so talking about mothers and daughters, right in time for Mother’s Day. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mothers & Daughters. It’s all about that magical bond between mothers and daughters… and grandmothers, too. And mothers-in-law! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and I have something really cool to talk about today. We have released our first coloring book about cats! It’s based on our Chicken Soup for the Soul book called The Magic of Cats and it’s a full-fledged, super-high-quality adult coloring book that ALSO contains 37 full stories from that Magic of Cats book! We looked at all the popular high-end coloring books on the market and we made ours the same as those – with high quality paper, perforated pages so you can frame them, and art that has the just amount of complexity for coloring. Then we added in those 37 stories, and we made sure that the art that you color goes along with the stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and we’re talking about mothers and daughters this month as we head towards Mother’s Day. We have a fabulous new book out called Chicken Soup for the Soul: Mothers & Daughters. It’s all about that magical bond between mothers and daughters… and grandmothers, too. 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 sharing a couple of stories about how sometimes kittens just happen. These stories originally appeared in our book about The Magic of Cats, and are now included in our new coloring that is based on that book. 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 going to share a couple of stories with you from our bestselling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. These stories of angels and miracles will strengthen your faith that good things do happen to good people! And sometimes these miracles are hard to explain away—it’s hard to find a so-called “rational” reason for why they happened. That’s the case with the stories I’m featuring 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 going to share two stories with you from Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous. You know, we have a great time making our books about miracles and angels and messages from heaven because the stories are always so mind-blowing. And today’s stories are definitely in that category, making us say “How did that happen?” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices