The Soul Support Book

As seen on the TODAY show! A dazzling debut from an artist with a great sense of humor, The Soul Support Book is a wise and reassuring meditation on getting unstuck in your creative projects, your relationships, and your life. Full of encouragement and reminders that everyone could use a little help now and then, Deb Koffman’s cartoons pair colorful and whimsical illustrations with joyful and inspiring text. Funny and poignant, this delightful book will brighten your outlook and help you approach life’s challenges with a healthy dose of laughter.

Deb Koffman's witty, brightly colored cartoons offer wise insights and entertaining perspectives on universal themes, including: getting unstuck, living mindfully, unleashing creativity, and seeking joy.

A young dancer's last hope--a bone marrow transplant--has failed. A homeless man, in the final stages of AIDS, refuses to speak. A newly retired woman has just received a terminal diagnosis and is wailing in despair. What can we learn about death, dying, and the human spirit as we journey with a hospital chaplain into sickrooms like these? Soul Support tells true stories of people coming to terms--or not--with their final days. It offers intimate, behind-the-scenes accounts of the many ways patients, their families and friends, and hospital staff all deal with death and dying. It speaks to readers reflecting on their own mortality or the life-threatening illness of a loved one, and tells of the sometimes-astonishing events that can occur when people are in their last hours of life. The book tells not only their stories, but also the chaplain's. It relates how she listened and learned and stumbled and grew. Soul Support speaks to believers and nonbelievers alike, providing information, inspiration, and hope.

Think of Deb Koffman as a guru with a great sense of humor. She's deep, she's funny, she's inspiring. Deb gets her point across fast through bold, colorful cartoons, each accompanied by just a single line of text. Every spread is a mini-meditation, visually exploring common words of wisdom such as, There's always another way, Follow your intuition, and Seek new perspectives. Deb's fresh insights into these concepts are sure to make you smile and say, Oh, yes, I've been there. Deb wasn't trained as an artist or a writer, but you'd never know it by looking at her cartoons. She favors big blocks of color, comical cartoon faces, and pairs of happy feet in magical red shoes. The combination of whimsical drawings with insightful copy lines is simply brilliant. These cartoons are the kind of thing you'll want to tape to your refrigerator, use as a screen saver on your computer, even carry around in your pocket for those moments when your soul could use a lift. Deb's cartoons are drawn from her own life experience, but the truths they convey--be more joyful, be more loving, live a creative life, don't be afraid to take a chance--apply to everyone. Such universality makes The Soul Support Book a perfect gift for grads, newlyweds, new moms (and new dads), job changers, or anyone else in the midst of a life-altering transition. Everyone in the office thinks The Soul Support Book should be a fixture in every doctor's waiting room--it's a guaranteed stress reliever. Some early readers have described The Soul Support Book as a contemporary survival guide. That strikes us as right on the money: Deb's observations are wise and witty, encouraging and reassuring, and so darn true you'll wonderwhy you didn't think of them yourself.

A young dancer's last hope--a bone marrow transplant--has failed. A homeless man, in the final stages of AIDS, refuses to speak. A newly retired woman has just received a terminal diagnosis and is wailing in despair. What can we learn about death, dying, and the human spirit as we journey with a hospital chaplain into sickrooms like these? Soul Support tells true stories of people coming to terms--or not--with their final days. It offers intimate, behind-the-scenes accounts of the many ways patients, their families and friends, and hospital staff all deal with death and dying. It speaks to readers reflecting on their own mortality or the life-threatening illness of a loved one, and tells of the sometimes-astonishing events that can occur when people are in their last hours of life. The book tells not only their stories, but also the chaplain's. It relates how she listened and learned and stumbled and grew. Soul Support speaks to believers and nonbelievers alike, providing information, inspiration, and hope.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Cancer Book delivers 101 powerful stories of courage, hope, support, and love to help cancer patients and their families. A bonus memoir by a cancer patient bound in, with intimate and helpful words of advice. A support group you can hold in your hand, this loving and inspirational collection of intimate stories, by cancer patients and their loved ones, medical professionals, clergy and friends, is a must-read for anyone affected by cancer. Writers share all their experiences – from the initial diagnosis, to breaking the news to loved ones, to discussing the effect on home, school and work, from securing a medical team to living through an ever changing self-image, from the embarrassment of losing hair to discovering a new spirituality. A bonus book, a no-holds-barred memoir by cancer patient Elizabeth Bayer, is bound into this volume, after the full-length Chicken Soup for the Soul book.

Find inspiration for change and personal growth in each story as people in this dynamic community share their experiences of transformation, of lives reclaimed, of relationships renewed and futures full of promise.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Just for Teenagers supports and inspires teenagers as they grow up, reminding them they are not alone, as they read stories from teens just like themselves about the problems and issues they face every day. Teenage years are tough, but this book will help teens as they journey through the ups and downs of adolescence. The stories in this book serve as a guide on topics from the daily pressures of life and school to love, friendships, parents, and much more. This collection will encourage, inspire, and amuse teens, showing that, as tough as things can get, they are not alone!