Chocolate for a Woman's Courage: 77 Stories That Honor Your Strength and Wisdom

by Kay Allenbaugh

Be Brave! Celebrate and Eat Chocolate!
Every woman knows that courage isn't just something you find in a crisis, it's something you tap into every day of your life. In this triumphant salute to mothers, daughters, sisters, friends, and colleagues, these 77 true-life stories celebrate women at their best -- willing to take risks, stand up for family and friends, find the love they need, claim their true spirit, laugh at their own foibles, and celebrate someone else's success.
Once again, Kay Allenbaugh has called upon women of all ages and backgrounds to share their own experiences as well as the strength and wisdom that have helped them through everyday challenges and difficult times. Here are tales about surviving loss, showing compassion, getting fired (and getting even), facing illness, laughing at yourself when the chips are down, and stopping long enough to enjoy sweet success! This volume in the beloved Chocolate series celebrates a softer element of courage -- kind yet strong, loving yet steadfast -- exploring the many subtle ways courage manifests itself in day-to-day life. This book is sure to feed your hunger for courage!

Genres: Short Stories

320 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2002

Reviews

[Douglas Lord · Rating 2 out of 5]

With this work, publishers milk the desire for feel-good books. Acting more as a compiler than a writer, Kay Allenbaugh serves up more bland, warm-and-fuzzy anecdotes a la the successful "Chocolate" series (Chocolate for A Teen's Heart: Unforgettable Stories for Young Women About Love, Hope, and Happiness; Chocolate For a Mother's Heart). Women ranging from housewives to business professionals contributed 77 brief and sentimental stories that illustrate pluckiness in the face of adversity. "The Tattooed Stranger" for example, explores prejudice and how to overcome it. Read it in conjunction with more focused titles like T.D. Jakes' frankly Christian Woman, Thou Art Loosed!: Healing the Wounds of the Past. As with entries in the popular "Small Miracles 2005 Calendar: Extraordinary Coincendences of Heart and Spirit, Warmth, and Devotion," "Taste Berries for Teens: Inspirational Short Stories and Encouragement on Life, Love, Friendship and Tough Issues," and "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, these books contain so much recycled material that libraries would be better off purchasing them only on demand. There are also serviceable single volumes like Barry and Joyce Vissell's Meant to Be: Miraculous Stories to Inspire a Lifetime of Love or Anna Quindlen's A Short Guide to a Happy Life.

Find reviews of books for men at Books for Dudes, Books for Dudes, the online reader's advisory column for men from Library Journal. Copyright Library Journal.

[Sue J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories.