Chicken Soup for the Soul with Amy Newmark

Latest Episodes:

The Natural Generosity of Kids at Christmastime Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul, and today we’re talking about Christmas. Now you may think it’s all gotten too commercial and it’s all about getting gifts, but that’s not what see at Chicken Soup for the Soul. We see a focus on families getting together, and people enjoying the giving way more than the receiving, and people looking out for others in their communities. And that extends all the way down to the kids, who demonstrate all the attributes you’d want to see as far as generosity and compassion are concerned. So today I’m going to share a couple of stories about the natural generosity of kids at Christmastime, from our brand-new coloring book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Magic of Christmas.

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Holiday Miracles Abound During the Season Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about miracles, the ones that seem to abound during the holiday season. We get so many stories about miracles and other unexplained but very cool things like coincidences and answered prayers, and we included a whole chapter of them in our new book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tales of Christmas. And what could be better than a miracle involving a puppy that was supposed to die on Christmas Eve but ended up thriving?

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Is It Time to Rethink That Family Christmas Dish? Does Everyone Secretly Hate It? Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about the holidays and those special, traditional dishes that families have every year. I know they’re tradition, but has anyone ever asked if anyone actually likes them? It turns out that sometimes people have been polite—for decades—and no one has ever said anything. I know that happened in my family. We had an Italian grandmother who made these awful, dry, weird cookies that we all hated. But Grandamama made them every year, and every year, after she went to bed, we would hide them in the trash compactor. The next morning she would see they were all gone, and of course she would make them again the next year because we all seemed to love them so much.

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The Most Meaningful, Creative Christmas Gifts that Make Memories Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and the race is on. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah or something else this month, you’re probably working on your gift list. So today I want to share two stories about wonderful gifts that required a lot of imagination and not a lot of money.

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Perfectly Imperfect Christmases Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re talking about how to make the perfect Christmas—by accepting imperfection and learning how to enjoy the holidays instead of stressing over every little detail. I’ve always loved that quote about how it matters more who is sitting AROUND the table than what is ON the table, and that applies to all the different aspects of the holidays.

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Get All the Facts Before You Get Angry Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. Today we’re talking about forgiveness, which I believe is essential to being happy. If you’re carrying around all those resentments and disappointments and anger it can be quite a heavy load. One of the ways to free yourself is to make sure that you understand all the facts before you get angry, and I’m going to share two stories about that from our new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Forgiveness Fix.

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Giving Up Control to Gain Your Power Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with today’s Chicken Soup for the Soul inspiration from our bestselling book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive, Live Happy. If you’re like me you like being in control, but today I’m going to share a couple of stories about how sometimes giving up control and accepting a different perspective can vastly improve your life. And by the way these stories are from real Type-A people!

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Oh Those Hard to Pick Gifts for Spouses. Tales of the “Best” Christmas Gift Ever Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul and today we’re talking about Christmas gifts and spouses and all the kinds of things that can go wrong when a spouse tries really really hard to finally pick out the best Christmas gift ever. I know I’ve had some epic fails myself when trying to find a great gift for my husband. I remember one year I went to the dentist and while I was under the influence of gas I told the dental tech that I had just figured out my whole Christmas shopping list and I made her write it down as I dictated it. And that’s why my new husband got a crystal pair of swans… because they mate for life and I thought it was a very romantic gift… and somehow even when the effect of the gas wore off I didn’t come to my senses. He was not impressed and I think we were both relieved when his housecleaner broke the swans and we had to throw them away.

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A Couple of Very Special Christmas Stories about a Community Coming Together Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

Hey, it’s Amy Newmark with your Chicken Soup for the Soul. So have you ever been in a line waiting for a store to open its doors for Black Friday? Well Phil Baisley was, and he said that Christmas came early for him that year because everyone in the line banded together while they were waiting, sharing advice, coats, and good cheer. And we have another story for today, from Allison Lynn Flemming, about how a community came together at a church to put on a huge outdoor show, where you could walk from one stage to the next, watching the actors portray scenes from the nativity. It was such a cool idea.

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Christmas Is Coming and There’s Nothing Better than Tales of the Tree. Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

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.

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