Chicken Soup for the Soul - Stories for a Better World
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Chicken Soup for the Soul ® - Stories for a Better World 101 powerful stories of hope and healing that show how compassion, communication, creativity, & courage make this a better world, in spite of the conflicts and violence in our lives and world. Stories for a Better World went into a 2nd printing one week after it hit the bookstores; now in its 5th printing! Heartwarming, inspiring stories of how •children have taken the lead in making our world a better place, •a 5th grade bully turned his life around, •a family deals with explosive conflicts,• inner peace is achieved, •teachers (pre-school through high school) sow the seeds of peace, •common ground is found, •international conflicts are resolved — and more. Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Desmond Tutu and Oscar Arias (Pres. of Costa Rica) wrote selections specifically for the book. |
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Endorsements |
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Desmond Tutu "What a splendid anthology of stories that tell so eloquently how each of us can make a difference as a peacemaker; sometimes spectacularly on the international level; but more often no less spectacularly, on an intimate personal level." -Desmond M. Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Thich Nhat Hanh This collection of stories of real people making a better world by practicing nonviolence demonstrates that it is always possible to actively cultivate understanding, love, compassion, and forgiveness, even in the face of mis-perception and conflict. These stories also confirm that practicing nonviolence is far from passive and requires courage. -Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen master, Nobel Peace Prize nominee Helen Caldicott Life on earth is sacred, and we've got to learn to live in peace with each other. We can fix everything in the world if we decide to do it! This book's powerful stories will surely inspire readers to do just that--- to right the wrongs in our world! The stories also provide so many moving examples of HOW it is truly possible to live in peace with each other, on all levels. -Helen Caldicott, M.D., Nobel Peace Prize Nominee; President, Nuclear Policy Research Institute; Author, The New Nuclear Danger and If you Love this PlanetA Plan to Heal the Earth Midge Costanza This book of dynamite stories is a “must-read”! These true stories will inspire you and encourage you to get up, get out, and act with new energy to make this a better, more peaceful world. By reading this treasure-trove, you will be powerfully convinced that each person’s words and actions truly do have the power to lift and heal the world. What a joy to have these awesome stories out in the world; I truly hope they are read and shared widely! So, read, get inspired, and go for it! -Midge Costanza, First woman to serve as Assistant to the President, appointed by President Carter, currently co-teaching Political Communication and Women's Studies at San Diego State University as a Visiting Scholar and Adjunct Professor Michael Nagler "Making peace has never been easy, and I cannot remember a time when it was more difficult -- or more needed. It calls for courage, self sacrifice and hard, hard work, the best that we can muster. Many are indeed rising to answer this call, and they need lots of inspiration and support. This wonderful collection will help them." -Michael N. Nagler, author of THE SEARCH FOR A NONVIOLENT FUTURE and founder of the Peace and Conflict Studies Program at UC, Berkeley. Louise Diamond Peace Lovers, rejoice! Here is a book that will open your heart to inspiration and action. These stories will re-awaken the living spirit of peace within you. They will thrill you, entice you, and invite you to remember that you too can make a difference, that you too are a builder of peace. Please do yourself - and the world - a favor by reading this book and passing it on to a friend or loved one. Then go out and make your own peace dreams come true! -Louise Diamond, Ph.D, Author, The Peace Book: 108 Simple Ways to Make a More Peaceful World RAFFI "These stories of our humane beingness, comfort us to the core. In simple acts of essential humanity we find where we all belong." -RAFFI Cavoukian, C.M., singer/composer, author, ecology advocate, chair of Troubadour Foundation, founder of Child Honoring. Pierre Pradervand In this age of information overload, one of the rare things people really remember are metaphors, parables, short stories, pictures and photos, because they speak to the heart more than to the intellect. This is the immense value of the Chicken Soup series, which explains its unending success over the years. Many of the enclosed stories brought tears to my eyesthey cut across all barriers, because the speak to that common strain of humanity in all of us, to the original innocence and spontaneous compassion which lies - albeit sometimes dormant - in the heart of every human being. -Pierre Pradervand, author, The Gentle Art of Blessing Mansukh Patel and Savitri MacCuish This excellent collection gets down to the real essentials where everyday peacemaking really happens. Peace is about everything that makes us human our laughter, joy, tears, celebration, our desperation to ease another’s pain and our delight at the beauty all around us. This book reminds us of something we all know in our innermost heartspeace cannot be delegated, but rather starts with you and me and the choices we make today. -Mansukh Patel and Savitri MacCuish, Co-Founders, The World Peace Flame Foundation
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Oscar Arias I am proud to have my story included among dozens of other vibrant and inspiring perspectives on the never-ending struggle for peace. This is a volume which will open your eyes and gladden your heart. -Oscar Arias, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, former President of Costa Rica Muhammad Ali Every story in Chicken Soup for a Better World is a vision of peace for our future. Here is my challenge to you as you read this bookOpen your minds, listen with your heart. You can make a difference! -Muhammad Ali Marianne Williamson "Learning how to create a peaceful soul is the most important calling of our time.....for ourselves, and for the future of our world. This book is a loving and instructive guide." - Marianne Williamson, author, The Gift of Change Peter Yarrow Years ago, when I wrote the lyric, "Weave, weave, weave me the sunshine, out of the falling rain. Weave me the hope of a new tomorrow, and fill my cup again." I never thought I'd read a book that would powerfully bring this hope and dream to life. To create joy and healing from sorrow and suffering is the stuff of the moving stories told in these healing pages. They hint that everyone can find his or her version of this great gift; one to be shared in different, perhaps, but always extremely significant ways. -Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary; founder and director of Operation Respect, a nation-wide program to overcome bullying Howard Zinn Chicken Soup for the Soul ... Stories for a Better World is unique in its wisdom, full of inspiration and insight. I hope it will be widely read. -Howard Zinn, historian, playwright, author most recently, with Anthony Arnove, of Voices of a People's History of the United States Laurie Beth Jones This book is a lovingly compiled and painstakingly profound work detailing the possibilities of the human spirit. It shows us in story after story how we CAN make this world a better place-and not merely wish it so. -Laurie Beth Jones, author of Jesus,CEO, The Path, and The Four Elements of Success Virginia E. Law, J.D. This collection is treasure chest!! Inside readers will find beautiful gems of celebration, appreciation, creativity, strength and joy. his book is a “must have” for anyone interested in nonviolence, peace, conflict management, character education, social emotional learning, service learning or bullying prevention. Not only are the stories powerful, compelling teaching tools, they also provide support and encouragement for all travelers on the path towards peace. -Virginia E. Law, J.D., President, PeacePaths, LLC. "Creating the Way to Greater Understanding." Marshall Rosenberg "These stories show so powerfully that, when we listen with empathy, and speak and act with compassion, we truly can transform even the most volatile and challenging conflict into a situation where mutual understanding and respect triumph in the end! Our world will, without a doubt, be a better place when the multitude of readers of this book begin to put into practice the joy and wisdom of connecting with others in the ways they find in these wonderful stories. -Marshall Rosenberg, Ph.D., author of Nonviolent Communication and head of the Center for Nonviolent Communication www.cnvc.com Steve Olweean At a time when we are inundated with what is wrong, failing, and to be feared in our world, I can think of no more courageous act in advancing a global culture of peace and compassion then to acknowledge, together, all the good that is erupting around us. This remarkable book goes a long way in advancing that dialogue, and the practical hope it brings. Be part of the emerging global consciousness. Read it with your family and friends. Read it to your children! -Steve Olweean, Founding Director, Common Bond Institute; President, International Humanistic Psychology Association; Co-founder of the Annual International Conference on Conflict Resolution |