The Best Life Stories: 150 Real-life Tales of Resilience, Joy, and Hope-all 150 Words or Less!
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About this ebook
- one father’s desolation and the renewal he found in his family’s faith and love.
- one woman’s ability to let go of her abusive past after rescuing an abused dog.
- a mother’s pride in a life-changing decision made by her autistic daughter.
- a breast cancer patient’s realization that her identity goes way beyond her diagnosis.
- a free-spirited woman’s choice to live on her own terms.
- a young girl’s proud recognition of her grandfather’s simple but profound legacy.
Plainspoken and honest, The best Life Stories will help you discover the meaning of life, the simple joy in the every day.
Editors of Reader's Digest
A trusted friend in a complicated world, Reader’s Digest is all about being real. Considered America's most trusted brand, Reader’s Digest simplifies and enriches lives by discovering and sharing fascinating stories, interesting ideas and exceptional experiences in addition to advice on health, home, family, food and finance. Looking for something to tickle your funny bone as well? Reader’s Digest has just what the doctor ordered. Our content is delivered in multi-platforms including print, digital, books, and home entertainment products.
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The Best Life Stories - Editors of Reader's Digest
A READER’S DIGEST BOOK
Copyright ©
2013
The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
Reader’s Digest is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
The best life stories : 150 real-life tales of resilience, joy, and hope : all 150 words or less! / editors of Reader's digest.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60652-564-7 (alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60652-570-8 (epub)
1. Life--Anecdotes. 2. Conduct of life--Anecdotes. I. Reader's Digest Association.
BD431.B443 2013
818'.60308--dc23
2012027441
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Editors' Note
Introduction
Let Him Go, Olivia by Alejandro Arbide
Lazy Summers by Diane Archibald
War Bride Runs for Congress by Flo Traywick
Sometimes Life’s a Rodeo by Davalynn Spencer
Picture Perfect Moment by Vickey Malone Kennedy
Loving Middle School by Guida Detamore
Homeward Bound by Jim Ruland (Grand-Prize Winner)
First-Time Mom at Age Sixty by Nan McNamara
Ninety-Day Wonder by Daniel Campion
The Quality of Circles by Bruce May
Do Angels Exist? by Steve Gaal
Morning by Betty Goldstein
Christmas in a Vending Machine by James Jennings
With Each Breath by Leah Chandra
An Old Soul by Amy Schaller
Two Sets of Parents by Kimberly Harris
Life’s Mysterious Buttons by Tamira Hartman
Chase the Day by Audrey Hagar (Winner)
My Funny Life by Barbara Nollman
The Easy Path by Lauren Marino
You Just Never Know by Judy Paton
Night Blooming by Alicia Gifford
Sometimes It IS the Destination by Hethyre Baez
Your Officer by Jenny Christoforakis
My Father’s Daughter by Amy Goss
Nick’s Military Milkshake by Loretta Chadwick
An Even Swap by C. A. Hamilton
The Sweet Life by Lindsay Hunter
A Meaningless Diagnosis by Brian Mayer (Winner)
My Life, Your Life? by Jennifer Stimpson
Crybaby by Joe Rhatigan
Memento by Marni Kleinfield-Hayes
Linda’s Shoes by Leslie Jones
The Reunion by Brian Morris
Angry Mother by Karen Dahl (Winner)
The New Year’s Eve Lamppost by Ann Cardinal
Pork Chops and Pop-Tarts by Jannie Holland
These Parts of Me by Joe Dornich
Lost by Jennifer Dykema
I Have a Sister by Angela McGowan
Making End’s Meat by Kit Vickery
Can You Point Me to My Hometown? by Greg Grantham
The Death Race by William Kearney
Meeting My Father by Livia Pantuliano
My Wealthy Life by Jim Moore
The Choice to Love Unconditionally by Anissa Duwaik
Dakota by Robyn Pasto
Magical Moments by Carole Vakanas
Life’s Trials and Trails by Linda Gerding
Sorry, Mom. . . by Meghan Thompson (Winner)
Letters by Gabriela Revilla
A Lesson Learned by Ann Paden
War Angel by Deanna Cisneros
I Didn’t Know We Were Poor by Deborah Rowe
Thirteen Things I’ll Tell My Daughter (Someday) by Aimee Harris
A Foster Mom’s Life by Keri Riley
Jumped Feet First Into Bucket List by Karen Baum
The Power of Perspective by Brandy Harris
A Moment That Lasts a Lifetime by William Aiello
White Confetti by Sarah Mendivel
Still Laugh, with Grapefruit by Kevin McCarthy
Letters from Camp by Ashley Bias
My First Love by Charlotte Counts
A New Nurse by Michelle Dedeo
I’ve Got Dirt: Memoirs of Your Housekeeper by Chely Roach (Winner)
Ugh, the Job by Arthur Thomas
Just Another Day by Jayne Shearer
A Daredevil Nun by Lula Mae Gostley
Balloons in the Morning by Gary Gaertner
Baby by Lynda Ritter
Dear Candace by Andrea McAllister
Hand-in-Hand by Misty Cline
The Father/Son Hug Chain by Lara Dillman
The Ballad of Maren Kast by Tamara Christians
Holy Water by Keith Hoerner
Miracle on Eleventh Street by Dorothy Rickert
Running Away by Katherine Kingsley
EB
ing a Mommy by Courtney Roth (Readers' Choice Winner)
Twenty March Seven by Ashley Cohen
Arctic Explorers by Michael Roberto
Heather Montana by Heather Montana
Christmas Card Humiliation by Deborah Teeter
Good Morning by Kaitlin Jandereski
My Tattooed Arms by Brian Falk
Love Letters by Chelsee Pengal
I’m Like You by Valerie Zane
Can You Love One Child More Than Another? by Katherine Doe Johnson
Some Moms Shop, We Rock by Deanne Brown
Snake Bite by Erik Zeidler (Winner)
Dressing Down by Iman Mazioum
The Older Sister Era by Sabina Vajraca
Faking It by Kristin Goethals
Second Chances by Josh Kilen
Silence by Michele Weisman
Snap Judgment by Dennis Jarden
Don’t Ever Think You Didn’t Do Enough by Laura Guillot
Worst Enemy by Greg Rohloff
A Good Life by Julie de Lagarde
The Twenty-Fourth of July by Linda Sumsion
Invisible by Mary DeKok Blowers
Lost Life, Gave Life by Casie Kelly
Evolving Farmer by Julia Boyce (Winner)
The Secret Life of Dog Catchers by Shirley Zindler
Later by Katy Sulfridge
Not Until It’s Time by Shereen Hart Greene
My Mother’s Book by Carla Bravo
We Love the Smell of Jet Fuel in the Morning by Isaac Cubillos
Mother Nature’s Stage by Kathryn Preston
Sunday Car Ride by Anne Cavanaugh-Sawan
Following Directions by JoAnn Cohen
My First Marathon…26.2 in 4:25 by Krista Selph
My Littlest Friend by Sydney Turnbull
Legacy by Katharine Hanschu (Winner)
Out of the Blue by Julie Turner
A Child’s American Dream by Betts Flores
Blue Laundry by Teri Jones
I Choose to Continue Living by Leslie Kimiko Ward
Serenity and Hope by Dawn Wilkerson
The Last Piece of the Puzzle by Amy Gravino
A Few Words about My Wife by James McDonaugh
From Broken Home to Mended Fence by Jeannie O’Sullivan
The Sunny Side of Food Phobias by David Kuhn
Sons and War by Dawn Endrijaitis
All These Things Plus One by Nicole Malato (Winner)
My Wedding Day by Darleene Hancock
September 10 by Janie Zabala Mayer
This Rings True. . . by Grant Hester
Cancer, Faith, and a Pastrami Sandwich by Larissa Allen
The Man with the Tattoos by Chance Steeves
I Hated My Parents by Fran Samuelson
Nothing Is Ever Free by Robin Lee
It All Counts by Donna Jarvis
Surf Soldiers by Caroline McCandless
Story Time by Heather Farnath
Primatology by J. J. Keith (Winner)
Highway Sixty-Four by Ailene Everts
The Beauty Blade by Elisabeth McKetta
A Bonding Moment by Rebecca Jamison
My Butterfly by Patricia Anderson
A Real Love Story—Fairy Tales Do Happen by Elliot Levanthal
Making Friends with My Kitchen by Dana Hinders
Katrina and Magnolias by Cathy Suarez
Microwave Toast by Barbara Gode Wiles
Stitches in Time by Maureen Haggerty
For Adrian, 150 Blessings Disguised as Words
Documenting My Life by Joshua Hawker
You Come and You Go by Cathy Cook
The Summer Nights of My Youth by Becky Mantooth
The Man with Cancer by Liz Deardorff
This Thing. . . by Jodi Peppard-Latocki
Credits
Editors’ Note
On our Facebook page in
2011
, we asked you to tell us your life story in
150
words or less, and your response was overwhelming. Not only in numbers (though an incredible
6,652
of you wrote in), but in the plain grace of your stories and