Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul: Stories of Triumph and Overcoming Life's Obstacles

Rating:
Summary: Restoring my faith in Chicken Soup . . .
Review: After reading the hokey "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul," I was a bit leery about reading another Chicken Soup book. I wasn't sure if the stories in Chicken Soup were ones that I could relate to my life and my experiences. But when I heard that the Chicken Soup people had published a book for the "unsinkable soul," I decided to give the books another try. As a mildly disabled person who has conquered many obstacles in my own childhood, I thought that if there was any characteristic that I related to, it would be triumph -- success -- unsinkability. Needless to say, I was very pleased with this book. There were stories that made me laugh, others that made me cry, and even more that made me think. My favorite story was called "The Flight of the Red-Tail," written by Penny Porter, an awesome author. The story narrates one family's attempt to save a bird struck by a vehicle. Although the bird had one bad wing and was on the brink of death, it was able to recover and eventually learned to fly. Also, Erma Bombeck's contributions to the book were especially poignant and inspiring. The book closes with her piece called "At Wit's End," which stresses the importance of living for today, not for tomorrow.

Overall, the book proved to be a valuable source of encouragement, enlightenment, and inspiration. Even though I never wanted to put the book down, I finished each reading with an invigorating feeling. I was blown away at the combined power of the short stories and poems that compose this book. Even if you've felt let down by the Chicken Soup series in the past, I invite you to give "unsinkable soul" a try. I dare each and every reader to devour this book from cover to cover and then say that he or she wasn't moved or touched in some way by this book. "Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul" is incredibly powerful -- and highly recommended.

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Summary: Chicken Soup for the Prisoners Soul?
Review: I bought this book for my son Ted who is in jail. I was looking for a book that would inspire him and tell him stories of other people who have overcome great hardships in life. My son said the book moved him deeply and brought tears to his eyes several times.

Ted is a drug addict, suffers from serious depression and broke several laws. He was eventually jailed for his crimes. I believe that he has much potential but he made many unwise decisions and jail is the appropriate place for him to take his punishment.When he leaves jail he will then go to in-patient treatment for his drug problem. He will need all the strength and courage he can find. I want Ted to understand that he has the opportunity to change his life, that other people have overcome greater problems than he faces and I hoped this book would help. I think it did just that.

If you know someone who is not making wise decisions, who feels life is unfair and needs the courage to take control of the their life--then this is the book for them. Buy it and give it to them. Who know, maybe you will help someone change their life.

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Summary: tough times
Review: i found that when reading a few of the stories i felt greatly moved, more books like Chicken soup should be written as i feel deeply emotional especially as something unforgettable happened to me recently that has made me look at life completely differently.

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Summary: The best Chicken Soup book yet
Review: I like the Chicken Soup books because they are a combination of short articles and stories. I don't have as much time as I'd like to read so I like something I can just read a few pages of at a time. I can't put this one down! I especially like the letter "Hussy Sunsets" by Milly Vanderpool. It is letter of congratulaltions she sent, in 1941, to her younger brother when he married, submitted by her Granddaughter, Laura. I keep thinking of what she said, "The most important thing in a marriage is not a home, children or a remedy against sin, but simply there always being an eye to catch".

Rating:
Summary: heartwarming and delicious
Review: I love short stories because I can read them before I go to sleep without losing a story line. After a helping of Chicken Soup for the Unsinkable Soul, I know I will go to sleep with good thoughts and hope and no fear of bad dreams. My favorite story is toward the end of the book, "Hussy Sunsets". My thanks go to Jack Canfield, et all for bringing joy and humor to my nightstand.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but nowhere near as good as its predecessors
Review: This book is okay, but nowhere near as good as its predecessors. It is comprised of short stories -- often rather verbose short stories -- rather than the short, meaningful passages in the earlier Chicken Soup books. The earlier books are studded with post-it stickers saving the innumerable passages I want to reread or frame, and I frequently think back to those wonderful passages. Not these -- there isn't a single post-it sticker in the entire book, and I'm donating it to the charity fair since there's nothing worth rereading. To be fair, I suppose that this might prove helpful to someone overwhelmed by insurmountable problems and in need of reading sappy boring story after sappy boring story -- but I, myself, was much more humbled and inspired by the earlier volumes.