Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul : Stories of Love and Inspiration for the Single, Divorced and Widowed

Singles are coming into their own: Each year more and more people are single either by choice or by circumstance. This book celebrates the joys and challenges of living life single, and like its Chicken Soup predecessors, will be a source of inspiration, laughter and wisdom. With chapters on Love, Single Parenting, Dating, Family and Friends, Finding Your Mate, Overcoming Obstacles and Single and Happy, readers will relate to each of these stories no matter what their situation or stage of life. Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul will show readers that they're never alone as long as they believe in themselves. Whenever they find themselves in need of some reinforcement, this book will be a source of strength and comfort.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling coauthors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, are professional speakers who have dedicated their lives to enhancing the personal and professional development of others. Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff are the coauthors of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul as well as A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul.

Reply to Box 2228Was it loneliness, the call of adventure or just plain insanity that made me answer that newspaper ad? I paced back and forth through my house, telling myself it was a really stupid thing to do. But like a jeweler crafting a priceless, one-of-a-kind brooch, I composed my reply to the tantalizing ad. I actually answered a lonely hearts ad. Am I really that desperate for a man? I'd always believed that only born losers advertised for a companion or answered the ads of those who did. Surely you had to be dying of loneliness, ugly or really dumb! That's what I am, I thought, really dumb! What would my children think? Would they understand that the bold, black letters just leaped out at my unsuspecting eye? "Christian Rancher. 6Æ tall, 180 pounds, 50+. Hardworking, clean-cut, healthy, good physical condition. Enjoys fishing camping, cross-country skiing, animals, dining out. Wants to meet sensible and sincere lady, 40-50, attractive, neat, loving, honest, for meaningful relationship. Box 222B.ö Mama mia! What loving, sensible, honest and lonely woman could resist? Well, maybe not sensible. "Fifty-plus what?" my letter began. "I'm a healthy, hardworking woman who loves to cook, sew, travel, pray, and walk in a desert sunset or barefoot on the beach." I didn't say I could meet all the requirements in his ad, but I didn't give him any reason to think that I couldn't. But could I? I was already past fifty, questionably attractive, not always neat and very uncertain about pursuing a meaningful relationship. What I really wanted was a friend. Had I been dishonest not to tell him so? Holding the letter heavenward, I asked God, "If you want me to meet this man, will you bring him to me?" Then I set the stamped envelope on the desk for the following day's mail. During the next few weeks, I found my hands getting sweaty every time the phone rang. Could it be him? What if he didn't like me? What if he showed disappointment as soon as he set eyes on me? Could I handle that? Contriving excuses to be away from the telephone became a game I played with myself. At the car wash one afternoon, towel-drying the finish and shining the windows, I found myself fantasizing about every man who came in to wash his car. Look at him; I bet he's 50+. He's almost bald, has floppy jowls and a big stomach. Oh, dear, he's wearing a cowboy shirt and boots. IÆll just die if that's my Christian rancher! I didn't see even one man there who I hoped might be Box 222B. Damp and discouraged, I went home to shower, questioning my motives, suppressing my loneliness. Dressing before the mirror, I turned from side to side, surveying the ravages of fifty-plus years on this Earth. I studied my face, hollow and gaunt, perched atop muscular shoulders and arms. Large, sturdy hands that never knew what to do with themselves. Twenty extra pounds, a thick waist, stalwart thighs above husky calves and large, scrawny feet. I remembered the boy in the f

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Excerpted from Chicken Soup for the Single's Soul: Stories of Love and Inspiration for the Single, Divorced and Widowed by Jack L. Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer R. Hawthorne, Marci Shimoff, Jack Canfield, Jennifer Read Hawthorne
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