The infinity of what life is
Tulip Chowdhury is cheered by a work of warm love
5 February 2010, 18:00 PM
Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul
Health Communications, Inc
A mother's love can move mountains. The wonderful tales in Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul hold this truth for every reader. They are all about how a mother's love can create miracles. The tales are life experiences told with wit and compassion that touch the soul. The stories have the power to bring tears and smiles to readers. The characters are so vivid that they seem to live and breathe with the reader long after a story is read. The writers with their skills make us feel distinct yearnings for the characters. The stories offer the readers a rare combination of intimacy and transcendence. The book holds 101 stories, each a treasure mountain, waiting to be read and discovered. The stories open with beautiful sayings that throw light on their themes. They open the hearts and rekindle the spirit in mothers.
The book is divided into different parts, each with different headings. Among these are "On Becoming a Mother", "A Mother's Courage", "Special Moments" and "Mother's Guiding Hand". There is also a part that is dedicated to grandmothers with the heading, "A Grandmother's Love". Each and every part comes with stories that have compelling characters. The stories touch one's core and bring one tenderly back to the true meaning of motherhood.
In the story, "An Indescribable Gift", Anne Morrow Lindberg writes about becoming a mother, "She slips into this world, and into my arms, placed there by heaven. She is straight from God, an indescribable gift. Through joyful tears I whisper in her ear, 'We are glad you are here. We have waited so long to see you.' She opens her eyes, and I am transformeda timeless moment filled with the infinity of what life is. In her eyes I see total recognition, unconditional love and complete trust. I am a mother. In that instant I feel, and in my heart I know, everything I need to know to guide her."
Motherhood comes to a woman with blessings that are beyond words. In the sheltered simplicity of the first days after a baby is born, one sees again the magical closed circle, the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other.
Motherhood often comes with a heavy price. Some women have to wait several years before they conceive. And there are mothers who lose babies before they even get a chance to come into the world. There are also women out there who have cried and begged for a chance to become mothers and yet fate did not bless them with motherhood.
There are sad tales of mothers losing their children. Barbara Bush writes about Robin, her daughter whom she lost when she was three. Robin had leukaemia and died very soon after her diagnosis. Barbara made up her mind that she would let her daughter go very peacefully. She did not allow anyone to shed tears in front of Robin. She writes of her little daughter, "Robin was wonderful. She never asked why this was happening to her. She lived each day as it came, sweet and loving and unquestioning and unselfish."
Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul holds stories about special moments for mothers. It holds tales of mothers pulling out their hair over the teenage craze of their children. There is deep insight and great humour existing between growing children and parents. Joan Rivers writes about her teenage daughter, "A daughter's teenage years can be a mother's attempts to make contact with UFO: Unintelligible Female Opponent."
The greatest feat of motherhood is the unconditional love that exists between a mother and a child. This book is a testament to this truth. The stories are powerful, heartwarming and full of life. Every story speaks of the depth of power and love between a mother and a child. Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul is a work coming out in a series of variations as well. There are Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul and many others. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of every title in the Chicken Soup series is donated to charity. So when you buy one of the books, you are not only guaranteed some quality reading time but you also help enrich the lives of others.
Tulip Chowdhury writes fiction and poetry and is a teacher.
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