To book Kimberly for a speaking engagement or for further information on any of her projects, please contact:
I.A.M. for Teens, Inc.
P.O. Box 936 Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
phone: 310-573-3655 fax: 310-573-3657
e-mail for stories:
[email protected] e-mail for letters:
[email protected] Web site: www.teenagechickensoup.com
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CONTRIBUTORS
Several of the stories in this book were taken from books or magazines we have read. These sources are acknowledged in the Permissions section. Many of the stories and poems were contributed by authors and professional speakers who specialize in working with teens. If you would like to contact them for information on their books, tapes and seminars, you can reach them at the address and phone numbers provided below.
Most of the stories were contributed by readers like yourself, who had read our previous Chicken Soup for the Soul books and who responded to our request for stories. Over half of these stories were written by teens. We have also included information about them as well.
Becka Allen is a fifteen-year-old sophomore. She has always enjoyed writing and this is her first published story. She can be reached at
[email protected].
Adi Amar is a graduate of Verde Valley School in Sedona, Arizona and currently an Outdoor Education student at Garrett College in Maryland. Born in Israel, Adi (whose name means ''jewel" in Hebrew) is passionate about rock climbing, hiking, sailing, journaling, and yoga. She has received considerable acclaim for her innovative photography. Her mother, Lana Grimm, coproduced and costarred in the award-winning video The Spirit of Yoga in Sedona, just three months before the near-fatal crash. Her mother's miraculous recovery inspired Adi to develop a new appreciation for life, and she plans to build her future career on a combination of her outdoor skills, photographic talents and genuine love for nature.
Marsha Arons is a writer and lecturer in Skokie, Illinois. She is thrilled to be associated with the Chicken Soup series, and her stories appear in Woman's Soul, Mother's Soul and A 5th Portion. She also contributes to national magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest and Redbook. She has authored a book for young adults and is currently at work on a collection of short stories dealing with mother-daughter relationships. You can contact her via e-mail for speaking or other assignments at
[email protected].
Greg Barker is currently the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He enjoys communicating the grace of God to people of all ages, especially to his confirmation class of seventh and eighth grade students. Greg and his wife, Teresa, are enjoying their first baby,
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Christopher. Greg can be reached at 1273 Fort St., Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8V 3L4 or e-mail:
[email protected].
Eugene E. Beasley enjoys reading, traveling, biking, walking and communicating with people and nature. After thirty-nine years of teaching communication arts, he is now presently writing, teaching drivers education, religious pursuits and gardening. There is much Eugene has learned through experience that he wishes to share. Thus, he writes and examines. At the moment, he is preparing a memoir for his children and grandchildren to explore after he goes on to the "greater" adventure.
Stacy Bennett is a resident of Los Angeles. "Not Your Typical Prom Night" was one of her first creative writing efforts, and she continues to write on a private basis. You can contact her by email at:
[email protected].
Shashi Bhat is fourteen years old and a student from Ontario, Canada. She enjoys writing, reading and both playing and listening to music. Shashi has had her stories and essays published in various newsletters.
Bryony Blackwood is a Kenyan-born British citizen living in Virginia. He spent two years in a boarding school overseas before returning to the states for college. Change and adjustment have become recurring themes in his life. The most important lessons those changes have taught him are that you are free to choose your own path in life and to shape that life to fit your dreams. Life really is what you make of it.
blue jean magazine is an alternative to the fashion and beauty magazines targeting young women. blue jean is advertising-free, so you will find no supermodels, beauty tips or fashion spreads on our pages. Our diverse coalition of teen editors and correspondents is dedicated to publishing what young women are thinking, saying and doing. blue jean profiles girls and women who are changing the world. For more information call toll-free 888-BLUJEAN or check out the Web site at http://ww.bluejeanmag.com.
Alicia M. Boxler is an honor roll student. She is involved with her school marching band, church, youth group and Youth Alive. Alicia enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, friends, shopping, talking on the phone and going to concerts.
Jessie Braun is currently a sophomore at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She feels privileged and honored to have been given the opportunity to work on both the first and second volumes of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.
Melissa Broeckelman is a student in Rexford, Kansas. She participates in track, cross-country, forensics, band, choir, scholar's bowl and school plays. Melissa is a member of NHS and is editor of the school anthology. She can be reached at HCI, Box 30, Selden, KS 67757.
Jennings Michael Burch is an internationally recognized author and speaker. His autobiography, They Cage the Animals at Night, chronicles his childhood
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experiences living in orphanages and foster homes. He speaks to children and adults about family, values, kindness and honor. He strives to eliminate the ridicule of children by other children and succeeds. He can be reached at 2 Elm St., Chappaqua, NY 10514 or call by calling 914-238-3031.
Cambra J. Cameron is a sophomore at Lubbock Christian University where she is involved in Kappa Phi Kappa and Acappella Chorus. She is grateful to God, her family and her friends for their continuing to help and encourage her. And to "David" who will always hold a special place in her heart. Her e-mail address in
[email protected].
Martha Campbell is a graduate of Washington University School of Fine Arts, and a former writer-designer for Hallmark Cards. Since she became a freelancer in 1973, she has had over two thousand cartoons published and has illustrated ninteen books. You can write her at P.O. Box 2538, Harrison, AR 72602 or call 870-741-5323.
Dave Carpenter has been a full-time cartoonist and humorous illustrator since 1981. His cartoons have appeared in Barron's, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Woman's World, First, the Saturday Evening Post and numerous other publications. Dave can be reached at P.O. Box 520, Emmetsburg, IA 50536 or by calling 712-852-3725.
Don Caskey writes a column for the Gwinnett Daily Post in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and develops training and performance support systems for Synesis Corporation in Roswell, Georgia. For more of Don's stories and columns, visit www.nbdigital.com. Letters are welcome at 2180 Pleasant Hill Road As-271, Duluth, GA 30096 or
[email protected].
Terri Cecil has always been driven by challenges and that is how she looked at the car accident in 1983 that left her unable to walk. Since that injury, Terri has graduated from the University of Louisville, maintained full-time employment, served as a community volunteer, competed on the 1996 Paralympic Fencing Team and earned the national title of Ms. Wheelchair America for 1998. She enjoys traveling and speaking on the joy of diversity, the triumph of the human spirit and the need to eradicate what Terri considers to be the strongest handicap of allprejudice of any kind. Terri can be reached at 596 Plymouth St., Apt. 1, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702 or by calling 717-820-3272 or by e-mail:
[email protected]. She can also be reached at Pride Health Care, Inc., at 800-800-8586.
Diana Chapman has been a journalist for fourteen years, having worked at the San Diego Union, The Los Angeles Copley Newspapers and the Los Angeles Times. She specializes in human interest stories and is currently working on a book involving health issues, since she was diagnose
d with multiple sclerosis in 1992. She has been married for nine years and has one son, Herbert "Ryan" Hart. She can be reached at P.O. Box 414, San Pedro, CA 90733 or call 310-548-1192.
Dan Clark is the international ambassador of the "Art of Being Alive." He has spoken to over 2 million people worldwide. Dan is an actor, songwriter,
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recording artist, video producer and award-winning athlete. He is the well-known author of seven books, including Getting HighHow to Really Do It, One Minute Messages, The Art of Being Alive and Puppies for Sale and Other Inspirational Tales. He can be reached at P.O. Box 8689, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 or by calling 801-485-5755.
Melissa Collette is most happy when she is spending time with her friends, listening to music, writing poetry and acting. She hopes to one day become an actress and work her way up to directing and producing. She lives by the saying, "Everything happens for a reason."
Cheryl L. Costello-Forshey is a poet who offers her original poetry to the public through her business, Photographic Verse. She is currently finishing up her first book of poetry. Cheryl can be reached at 36240 S. 16th Rd., Barnesville, OH 43713-9504 or call 740-757-9217. Please send a SASE for information on Photographic Verse.
Elisa Donovan first garnered the attention of filmgoers when she co-starred as the tippity, completely misguided slave-to-fashion, Amber, opposite Alicia Silverstone in the feature film Clueless. She also stars in the television series "Clueless" that airs on UPN. Next, Elisa will emerge in the Paramount feature A Night at the Roxbury, slated for release in October. Elisa was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and raised on Northport, Long Island. Elisa began acting at the age of seven and became engrossed with New York theater. Some of her theater credits include The Baby, Mad Love, Mad Forest, Dark Hours, Chamber Music and Treading the Boards. Other credits in television and film include Blossom, Encino Woman, Beverly Hills, 90210 and Powder Burns. Elisa currently resides in Los Angeles.
Jason Dorsey is one of America's leading young speakers. Each year he reaches over 100,000 people of all ages, backgrounds and aspirations. His first book, Graduate to Your Perfect Job, and integrated curriculum are used across America. You may reach him by phone at 512-442-5170 or at www.jasondorsey.com.
Kristina Dulcey goes to a Catholic high school and enjoys playing softball. She dreams of becoming a plastic surgeon so that she can help people whose external appearances do not conform with what society deems as acceptable. She would like to specialize in reconstructive surgery rather than cosmetic as she feels cosmetic is "superficial." "After all," she says, "it's what is on the inside that counts."
Alison Mary Forbes is a sixteen-year-old high-school junior. She plans to pursue a long-awaited theater degree in college. Much thanks to the wonderful Barry Weber for submitting her poem when she was too chicken to do it herself! Alison can be reached at P.O. Box 26353, Wauwatosa, WI 53226.
Carol Gallivan lives in East Hartford, Connecticut, with her husband, Kevin, and their two teenage daughters, Kelly and Tracy. The greatest joys in her life
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are her relationships with God; her family; her niece and nephew, Renee and Eric; her dear friends; and the teenagers in her neighborhood.
Jessica Gardner is an eighteen-year-old from Warwick, Rhode Island, who is currently a musical theatre performance major at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. She would like to thank her family, especially her papa for the motivation, Mrs. Jean Robinson and Ms. Betty Challgren for the early encouragement, her friends and sisters for the support, and her two very best friends, Holly Langton and Shawn Carvalho, for giving her a shoulder to cry on, strength to make it through and the courage "to go out and do it." Nana, we miss you. You can reach Jessica at 401-461-3971 or e-mail her at
[email protected].
Kelly Garnett is currently a sophomore, majoring in Elementary Education at Oakland University in Michigan. She would like to thank her family and friends that have always been an inspirationand true "chicken soup" for her soul.
Lia Gay is eighteen and is leaving in the fall to start college at the University of Kansas, where she will major in journalism. Lia is a talented writer, whose stories in the first volume of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul were favorites with readers. Lia is certain to succeed at any writing project she undertakes and she is certain to succeed equally well at living life to the fullest. She would like any correspondence to be sent to her care of Kimberly Kirberger, by regular mail to: P.O. Box 936, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 or by e-mail to:
[email protected].
April Joy Gazmen is an eighteen-year-old Filipina-American attending University of Houston-Downtown. Although she participates as a volunteer and in school activities, writing and reading are her passion. She is inspired by the following people who are always in her heart: Mama, Cza, Hawke, Chino, friends and teachers. To be published in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II is a dream come true. She can be reached at
[email protected].
Katie Gill had Hodgkin's disease when she was sixteen. She is now twenty-four and pursuing a graduate degree in education. Presently she is working on a book for teens with cancer and trying to establish support networks for adult survivors of teenage cancer. Katie can be reached at 4520 Ashbury Park Dr., North Olmsted, OH 44070.
Randy Glasbergen is the creator of the cartoon The Better Half, which is syndicated to 150 newspapers by King Features Syndicate. More than twenty thousand of Randy's cartoons have been published in magazines, books and greeting cards around the world. Look for Randy's daily cartoons online @ www.norwich.net/~randyg/toon.html.
Luken Grace is currently serving a two-year mission in Venezuela until August of 1999. He is a 1996 graduate of Sinagua High School in Flagstaff, Arizona. As the third child of six children, he has always enjoyed writing
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stories and drawing. After he graduates from college, he plans on becoming an English teacher.
Cindy Hamond is a freelance writer. This is her second story for Chicken Soup. She enjoys her school visits, especially when the children react to that "A-ha" moment in a story. She and her husband, Bruce, have five children and one grandchild. Cindy volunteers at St. Henry's as a teacher and lector and visits the homebound. She can be reached at 1021 West River St., Monticello, MN 55362 or call 612-295-5049 or fax 612-295-3117.
Jennifer Love Hewitt is best known for her starring role as Sarah Reeves on FOX's Golden Globe-winning drama series, Party of Five. Love has starred in such big-screen hits as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Can't Hardly Wait. Her upcoming projects include I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, The Suburbans (with Ben Stiller), and an ABC movie-of-the-week in which she will play her idol, Audrey Hepburn.
Margaret (Meg) Hill writes articles, short stories and young-adult books. Recent titles are Coping with Family Expectations (Rosen, 1990) and So What Do I Do About Me? (Teacher Ideas Press, Libraries Unlimited, Englewood, Colorado, 1993). Kirk is the pen name she uses when writing from the viewpoint of a teenage boy.
Ashley Hiser is a seventeen-year old senior in high school in Morristown, New Jersey. She is involved in many activities through her school such as president of the French Club, member of the French Honor Socdiety, secretary of the Junior Statesmen of America, coeditor in chief of her school newspaper and manager of her cross-country team. Ashley has achieved perfect attendance throughout her three years of high school and has also been on the honor roll. She volunteers through her church's youth ministry and she makes a trip to Appalachia every summer. Ashley also works part-time at GapKids twelve to fifteen hours per week.
Wil Horneff has made a name for himself on stage, screen and television. After beginning his career on Broadway, Wil starred in the feature films Born to Be Wild, The Sandlot and the upcoming Harvest. On television, he gave an award-winning performance as Jody Baxter in the CBS remake of The Yearling and costarred in Stephen King's The Shining. Wil is currently a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania.
Katie E. Houston is a so
phomore in Santa Barbara, California. She loves acting, singing, dancing and has been taking piano lessons for eight years. She enjoys writing, especially realistic fiction and poetry. Katie runs track (hurdles) and she would someday like to perform on Broadway or be an English/drama teacher.
Robin Hyatt was eighteen years old when she went to Camp Virginia Jaycee for the first time. She learned a lot from that experience and was also given a