Frances McGuckin is author of the bestseller, Business for Beginners, and Taking Your Business to the Next Level. After a life-altering car accident in 2005 and serious brain injury, she recently resumed writing, focusing on life experiences. She loves horses, fitness, helping others and just being alive. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Erin McLeod is an adventurer at heart and loves to write, take photographs, knit, and volunteer when she is not working as a speech-language pathologist in Northern Ontario. A prior journalist and copy editor, she has published several poems in Canadian journals.
Linda Mehus-Barber has just retired from a successful teaching career of forty-two years. She is excited about this season in life as she will now have time to do more of the other things she loves — hiking, swimming, cycling, writing, reading, and walking her dogs with her husband.
Patricia Miller writes about the best emotion — love! She’s a wife and mom of two, living in Bradford, ON. Patricia enjoys cottage life, pizza, and snowboarding. She studied creative writing at Durham College after earning her BA from University of Western Ontario. She plans to write children’s books. Learn more at AuthorPatriciaMiller.com.
Cathy Mogus is a freelance writer, inspirational speaker, and author of Dare to Dance Again: Steps from the Psalms When Life Trips You Up. She has been published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Guideposts and many other publications. She resides in Richmond, BC. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Marya Morin is a freelance writer. Her stories have appeared in publications such as Woman’s World and Hallmark. Marya also penned a weekly humorous column for an online newsletter, and writes custom poetry on request. She lives in the country with her husband. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Mary Lee Moynan is a Christian, passionate wife and compassionate mother and grandmother. Her inspirational book, Get Off Your Knees, is available through Amazon.com. She believes there’s a time to pray. Then there’s a time to get off your knees and change your life. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Nicole L.V. Mullis is the author of the novel A Teacher Named Faith. Her work has appeared in newspapers, magazines and anthologies, including the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Her plays have been produced in New York, California and Michigan. She lives in Michigan but called Kitchener, ON home for two years.
Melanie Naundorf is a stay-at-home mom who lives in a busy household with her best friend Doug (who also happens to be the same cute guy she married more than twenty years ago), their four great kids (Jamie, Luke, Anna and Matt), a crazy but fun dog named Baxter, Kada the curious cat, and Buddy, their blue budgie bird.
N. Newell worked for BC Tel/Telus for thirty-four years and won several service awards for his work. He is now retired and lives on Vancouver Island.
Gerri Nicholas lives in Sherwood Park, AB with her husband Don. They have three married children and six grandchildren. Gerri has contributed to seven books, and has had inspirational writing and children’s material in a variety of publications. Her special interests include reading, travel and watching hockey — Canada’s game!
Shawn O’Brien grew up in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and is now residing in Alberta. He has a major passion for aviation and is living his dream.
C.S. O’Cinneide had her first short story “Family Role Play” published in Blended: Writers on the Stepfamily Experience in 2015. She lives in Ontario with her husband and two youngest daughters. Only her husband will still go camping with her.
G. Norman Patterson was married to the love of his life, Eleanor Mae, for over fifty years. After the war, Norm became a CA and was proud of his thirty-three years with Simpson’s Toronto credit department. He loved to golf, travel with Eleanor, and spend time with his daughters Janet and Ruth and grandsons Woody and Nick Rochlin.
Jacqueline Pearce is a children’s book author and poet with degrees in English literature and environmental studies and a love for nature, history and travel. She currently lives on the west coast of Canada.
DG (Darlene) Peterson, born and raised in Vancouver, was a certified court reporter in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. After fifteen years and 1,500 trials, DG left to pursue a writing career. Published in many areas, crime fiction is her focus. Other interests are animal welfare, gardening and cycling.
Élise Phillippo is currently residing in Fort McMurray with her husband, Brandon. They have four fur children: Dodger the rabbit, Chloe the cat and Nova and Tig the dogs. They are very excited about their new family addition, a bouncing baby boy, named Kellan Xavier born on Feb. 23rd at 3:33 p.m.
Anne Phillips is a retired senior administrator with the Presbyterian Church in Canada. This is her first attempt at writing. Getting to know their Syrian family has been an amazing experience and they are proud to call them friends. Anne and her husband enjoy international travel and plan to do more.
Wendy Poole has always been a storyteller through telling or writing. She considers her greatest compliment to be when her grandchildren ask her to “tell another story.” She is thrilled to have a third story published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.
Megan Pothier received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology along with a certificate in Human Resources in 2014. She lives in Fredericton, NB. She and her soon-to-be husband Shane are getting married on Canada Day. Megan enjoys writing, travelling and spending time with friends, family and her dog, Winnie. She continues to write on a daily basis.
Darryl Pottie currently lives in Enfield, NS with his wife Trish. They were married in 1990 and have two daughters together: Breanna and Madisyn. They are all avid Team Canada and Sidney Crosby fans. Darryl dreams one day of playing in the NHL!
Anne Renaud lives in Westmount, QC. She writes picture books for very young readers, as well as Canadian historical nonfiction books for nine- to twelve-year-olds. She also regularly contributes to kids’ magazines, such as Highlights, Spider, Cricket, and Fun for Kidz.
Kim Reynolds is teasingly called “Canada’s spirit animal” by her two children because of her passion for all things Canadian. Her essays have appeared in newspapers, online and in two previous Chicken Soup for the Soul books. She lives and writes in the nation’s capital. Visit her blog at kimreynolds.ca.
Lisa Reynolds is a teacher holding degrees from York University. Lisa enjoys writing short stories and poetry. She belongs to an online critique group and regularly attends workshops to improve her craft.
Chris Robertson is a bestselling author and award-winning professional speaker. Chris has previously been voted Best Keynote Speaker by his peers in the professional speaking industry. He is also the founder of the Canadian Speaking Hall of Fame. Contact Chris for your next meeting or event at chrisrobertson.ca.
Brad Rudner has degrees in philosophy and education. He was a wilderness guide for twelve years, a teacher, a clinical trainer on medical devices and currently runs a wellness business. He is working on his first nonfiction book and has published numerous articles in several publications. Learn more at bradrudner.com.
Isolde Ryan was born in Germany but Canada has been home since 1984. Isolde is a loving wife, mom to three, oma to two and working on her first novel. She is a member of a local writing group and creates landscape oil paintings, while operating her Doberman breeding business of thirty-plus years. Creativity is her way of life.
Walter Sawchuk came to Canada in 1956 with his Dutch wife and two daughters, and taught them to always be grateful for life in Canada. Although he spoke several languages, his English was not sufficient so family and friends met with him to help him write this story. He enjoyed hearing it read before his death in 2009.
John J. Seagrave was born in downtown Toronto but spent his adult life in the Canadian North as a fur trader. Later in life he settled in Yellowknife NWT where he married and adopted two daughters of Inuit heritage. He was a writer, husband and proud father until his untimely death at the age of forty-six. His stories live on.
Janet Seever and her family
have lived in Alberta since 1993, where she writes for a mission organization. She also enjoys doing freelance work. She and her husband have two adult children, one of whom is married, and a grandchild.
Stella Shepard is an Indigenous/Acadian writer living on Prince Edward Island with her family. Her first novel, Ashes of My Dreams, was published in 2016 by the Acorn Press, Charlottetown. E-mail her at
[email protected].
John Silver is a retired school administrator. He is married with two daughters. One daughter is an accomplished skier and the other daughter is a white water canoeist. John is an avid skier who has spent long periods of time skiing the mountains of British Columbia. Canoeing for many years was a highlight of his family’s summers.
Elizabeth Smayda has four stories published in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She works in the field of social services and has co-authored a study involving eating disorders that was published in 2005. Elizabeth loves to use her writing and art to make a positive difference. She is grateful for her lovely family.
Lorette Smith told her story to writer/inspirational storyteller, Darlene Lawson, who considers it an honor to write/share Lorette’s story in this celebration of Canada. Living in Southeastern New Brunswick they share their love of the great outdoors. At eighty-two Lorette continues to skate, ski, snowshoe, and bicycle in the summer.
Laura Snell and her dog Gus Gusterson live in the resort town of Wasaga Beach, Ontario, where she operates a web development firm GBSelect.com. Her son Ryan lives in Melbourne, Australia. This is her seventh contribution to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. E-mail her at
[email protected].
Lisa Timpf is a freelance writer who lives in Simcoe, ON. Her writing has appeared in a variety of venues, including NewMyths, Third Flatiron, Third Wednesday, and Scifaikuest. She has self-published a collection of creative nonfiction and poetry entitled A Trail That Twines: Reflections on Life and Nature.
Cheryl Uhrig was copywriter and creative director for many years at Toronto ad agencies and the CBC. She also taught at Seneca@York. Cheryl now works as an artist, illustrator, and cartoonist. Her art is in local galleries, published children’s books and magazines. Cheryl lives in Newmarket ON, with her family.
Carla White is a transformational speaker and international bestselling author. She is on a mission to create healthy, inspired, resilient and engaged workplaces. Carla is living an adventurous life with her family in Northern Canada.
Glenice Wilson enjoys nature, walking, skiing, canoeing, humour, travel, writing, art and music, along with the people and surprises they all offer. She grew up on a farm on the Manitoba prairie but ventured off to live in Edmonton and Jasper. She now lives again in prairie country, but in Alberta.
S. Nadja Zajdman is an essayist and short story writer. She published the short story collection Bent Branches in 2013. Nadja has just completed a memoir of her mother, the prominent Holocaust educator and activist Renata Skotnicka-Zajdman, who passed away in 2013.
Meet Amy Newmark
Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published 140 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada, more than doubling the number of Chicken Soup for the Soul titles in print today. She is also the author of Simply Happy, a crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom that is filled with easy-to-implement, practical tips for having a better life.
Amy is credited with revitalizing the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which has been a publishing industry phenomenon since the first book came out in 1993. By compiling inspirational and aspirational true stories curated from ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences, Amy has kept the twenty-four-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant.
Amy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University where she majored in Portuguese and minored in French. She then embarked on a three-decade career as a Wall Street analyst, a hedge fund manager, and a corporate executive in the technology field. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Her return to literary pursuits was inevitable, as her honours thesis in college involved travelling throughout Brazil’s impoverished northeast region, collecting stories from regular people. She is delighted to have come full circle in her writing career — from collecting stories “from the people” in Brazil as a twenty-year-old to, three decades later, collecting stories “from the people” for Chicken Soup for the Soul.
When Amy and her husband Bill, the CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul, are not working, they are visiting their four grown children.
Follow Amy on Twitter @amynewmark. Listen to her free daily podcast, The Chicken Soup for the Soul Podcast, at www.chickensoup.podbean.com, or find it on iTunes, the Podcasts app on iPhone, or on your favourite podcast app on other devices.
Meet Janet Matthews
Janet Matthews is a best-selling author, freelance editor and inspirational speaker. As co-author of the Canadian bestseller, Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul, since 2002 she has been inspiring audiences across Canada with her heartfelt journey of creating this unique Canadian book. With her stories, anecdotes, and passionate delivery, Janet lights up a room. After spending the first twenty years of her professional life in Toronto’s fast paced fashion-photography and advertising industry, in 1997 she became involved with producing Chicken Soup for the Parent’s Soul. When Jack Canfield invited her to co-author Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul, she jumped at the chance. When it was released in 2002 it shot to the top of bestseller lists all across Canada.
Since 2003 Janet has utilized her editorial expertise to help other authors bring their books of personal or spiritual growth to publication. Working with American co-author Daniel Keenan she completed a book-sized version of The Navy’s Baby, an amazing story first appearing in Chicken Soup for the Parent’s Soul and then in 2015, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Adoption. She now has stories in eleven Chicken Soup for the Soul books and, with the release of Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada The Wonders of Winter (2013), Chicken Soup for the Soul: Christmas in Canada (2014) and now Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada, Janet remains honoured and proud to be part of the Chicken Soup for the Soul family.
An eclectic individual with diverse interests and talents, Janet is a certified Love Yourself Heal Your Life workshop leader with training based on the philosophy of Louise Hay. She is a certified canoeing instructor, couturier seamstress, passionate roller skater and joyfully plays her violin in a community orchestra.
Now living in Aurora, Ontario, Janet has been a guest on countless television and radio talk shows across Canada, and gives a very dynamic interview. She is generally available for guest speaking spots and interviews, and you may contact her through janetmatthews.ca or canadiansoul.com.
Thank You
We are grateful to all our story contributors and fans, who shared thousands of stories about what Canada means to them. Janet was thrilled to have so many great choices, although it was a tough road narrowing the list down to only the 101 stories that are included in this collection. In addition to our writers, we have many talented people to thank. In Canada, Janet thanks Tracy Bailey for her ongoing website support and timely updates, and Glen Davis for his always reliable technical support.
Stateside, at Chicken Soup for the Soul, we thank Associate Publisher D’ette Corona for being our right-hand woman in creating the final manuscript and working with all our wonderful writers. Barbara LoMonaco and Kristiana Pastir, along with outside proofreader Elaine Kimbler, jumped in at the end to proof, proof, proof. And yes, there will always be typos anyway, so feel free to let us know about them at
[email protected] and we will correct them in future printings.
The whole publishing team at Chicken Soup for the Soul deserves a hand, including Senior Director of Marketing Maureen Peltier, Senior Director of Production Victor Cataldo, and graphic designer Daniel Zaccari, who turned our manuscript into this b
eautiful book.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada
101 Stories of Love and Gratitude
Amy Newmark & Janet Matthews
Published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC www.chickensoup.com
Copyright ©2017 by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
CSS, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its Logo and Marks are trademarks of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC.
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the many publishers and individuals who granted Chicken Soup for the Soul permission to reprint the cited material.
Front cover photo of barn courtesy of iStockphoto.com/capturedessence (©capturedessence), photo of Canadian flag courtesy of iStockphoto.com/MiroNovak (©MiroNovak)
Back cover photo courtesy of iStockphoto.com/jimfeng (©jimfeng)
Interior photos in collage: Polar bear courtesy of iStockphoto.com/JackF (©JackF), canoe courtesy of iStockphoto.com/Veni (©Veni), Toronto courtesy of iStockphoto.com/JavenLin (©JavenLin)
Interior photo of Amy Newmark courtesy of Susan Morrow at SwickPix
Interior photo of Janet Matthews courtesy of Brock Weir
Cover and Interior by Daniel Zaccari
Distributed to the booktrade by Simon & Schuster. SAN: 200-2442
Publisher’s Cataloging-In-Publication Data
(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)
Names: Newmark, Amy, compiler. | Matthews, Janet, 1951- compiler.
Title: Chicken soup for the soul : the spirit of Canada : 101 stories of love and gratitude / [compiled by] Amy Newmark [and] Janet Matthews.