I had planned to read one chapter each evening but found I couldn’t put this book down. Instead, I stayed up two evenings in a row to finish reading this crash course in Soul advice and wisdom, written by a woman who has worn many hats: full-time mom of four, editor-in-chief, hedge fund manager, self-help author, and Chicken Soup for the Soul lady.

Amy Newmark has skillfully compiled lessons and heartwarming stories from over 20,000 books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Glancing at the Table of Contents, I couldn’t help smiling at the intriguing and entertaining array of 26 chapter titles, among them “A Smile is a Boomerang,” “Life is a Happy Mess,” “My Mother is an Alien,” “Use the Guest Soap,” “A Life of Yes, Yes, Yes.” I could easily relate to Amy Newmark’s practical and doable advice.

My favorite snippets…

• Your smile will change the way people react to you.
• It’s hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in your head.
• If you regain only two percent of the minutes in your day by being mindful and not wasting them, you actually get back half an hour each day.
• A dream that is not interpreted is like a letter that is not read.
• Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.
• “Don’t take it personally” is the single best piece of advice I give other mothers as they navigate their children’s teen years.
• Worry is a misuse of imagination.

Simply Happy is an an excellent pick-me-upper that will inspire and motivate readers to improve the quality of their lives.

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