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Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff: Stories of Tough Times and Lessons Learned
Teen contributors share their thoughts and feelings on difficult issues, ranging from poor self-image to thoughts of suicide, from family discord to coping with loss, and from peer pressure to school violence.
343 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
134 people are currently reading
2333 people want to read
About the author
Jack Canfield
1,286 books1,751 followersJack Canfield is an American motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series, which currently has over 124 titles and 100 million copies in print in over 47 languages. According to USA Today, Canfield and his writing partner, Mark Victor Hansen, were the top-selling authors in the United States in 1997.
Canfield received a BA in Chinese History from Harvard University and a Masters from University of Massachusetts. He has worked as a teacher, a workshop facilitator, and a psychotherapist.
Canfield is the founder of "Self Esteem Seminars" in Santa Barbara, and "The Foundation for Self Esteem" in Culver City, California. The stated mission of Self Esteem Seminars is to train entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and employees to achieve their personal and professional goals. The focus of The Foundation for Self Esteem is to train social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals.
In 1990,he shared with author Mark Victor Hansen his idea for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. After three years, the two had compiled sixty-eight stories.
Canfield has appeared on numerous television shows, including Good Morning America, 20/20, Eye to Eye, CNN's Talk Back Live, PBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Montel Williams Show, Larry King Live and the BBC.
Canfield's most recent book, The Success Principles (2005), shares 64 principles that he claims can make people more successful. In 2006, he appeared in the DVD, "The Secret," and shared his insights on the Law of Attraction and tips for achieving success in personal and professional life.
Jack Canfield was born on August 19, 1944, in Fort Worth, TX. He is the son of Elmer and Ellen (a homemaker; maiden name, Taylor). He attended high school at Linsly Military Institute, Wheeling, WV, 1962. He went to college at Harvard University, B.A., 1966; University of Massachusetts at Amherst, M.Ed., 1973. Canfield married Judith Ohlbaum in 1971 (divorced, November 1976); he married Georgia Lee Noble on September 9, 1978 (divorced, December 1999); he married Inga Marie Mahoney on July 4, 2001; children: (first marriage) Oran, David, Kyle, Dania; (second marriage) Christopher Noble. He is a Democrat and a Christian, and his hobbies include tennis, travel, skiing, running, billiards, reading, and guitar.
Canfield received a BA in Chinese History from Harvard University and a Masters from University of Massachusetts. He has worked as a teacher, a workshop facilitator, and a psychotherapist.
Canfield is the founder of "Self Esteem Seminars" in Santa Barbara, and "The Foundation for Self Esteem" in Culver City, California. The stated mission of Self Esteem Seminars is to train entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and employees to achieve their personal and professional goals. The focus of The Foundation for Self Esteem is to train social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals.
In 1990,he shared with author Mark Victor Hansen his idea for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. After three years, the two had compiled sixty-eight stories.
Canfield has appeared on numerous television shows, including Good Morning America, 20/20, Eye to Eye, CNN's Talk Back Live, PBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Montel Williams Show, Larry King Live and the BBC.
Canfield's most recent book, The Success Principles (2005), shares 64 principles that he claims can make people more successful. In 2006, he appeared in the DVD, "The Secret," and shared his insights on the Law of Attraction and tips for achieving success in personal and professional life.
Jack Canfield was born on August 19, 1944, in Fort Worth, TX. He is the son of Elmer and Ellen (a homemaker; maiden name, Taylor). He attended high school at Linsly Military Institute, Wheeling, WV, 1962. He went to college at Harvard University, B.A., 1966; University of Massachusetts at Amherst, M.Ed., 1973. Canfield married Judith Ohlbaum in 1971 (divorced, November 1976); he married Georgia Lee Noble on September 9, 1978 (divorced, December 1999); he married Inga Marie Mahoney on July 4, 2001; children: (first marriage) Oran, David, Kyle, Dania; (second marriage) Christopher Noble. He is a Democrat and a Christian, and his hobbies include tennis, travel, skiing, running, billiards, reading, and guitar.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews
December 5, 2008
While I was reading Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff, I read some phenomenal stories, but there was only one in particular that was my favorite, its called I Never Knew. The emotion that this story brought me was very depressing. Its about a girl and her best friend Cindy, and Cindy had everything going for her, she was really popular and all the guys wanted her, and she was incredibly beautiful, but one day she couldn't handle the abuse that her father was doing to her, so she decided to end her life by shooting her self with her fathers gun. My favorite character is Cindy's friend, because she was always there for her best friend when she needed someone, and my not so favorite would be Cindy because she started pushing her friend away to do other stuff, like being with guys, but when she was at her last moments she could only think about her best friend and how she was really the only family and friend that she ever knew and cared about. Also the portion of this story that captivated my attention would be when they told Cindy's friend that she killed her self, and how she was so shocked and she couldn't believe it, because she thought she so was perfect, and nothing like that could ever happen to her. I think the author wrote this book to show that the pressures of life can be devastating for teens, and that teenagers are not alone in the world with all the challenges you face. My favorite line would be the beginning quote of the story, " The difference between holding on to a hurt or releasing it with forgiveness is like the difference between laying your head down at night on a pillow filled with thorns or a pillow filled with rose petals". What made me keep reading this book was all the stories and hurts that other teenagers go through, I mean I'm to busy worrying about schoolwork and responsibilities , but I never even thought about suicides and eating disorders. If this book was made into a movie I would probably be Cindy's friend, because I could never end my own life like Cindy did. I would recommend this book to any teenager who has been through alot of tragedy's in there life, with tough times and lessons learned.
February 7, 2015
This is by far the best books among five Chicken Soup for the Soul I've ever read. For whom doesn't know this book, I want to let you know that it is a collections of short stories on tough stuff that teenagers and some other ages meet in their every day's life, such as death of a person we know, drug, alcohol, self-acceptance, family matters, suicide, tragedy, etc. Most of the stories are more touching and inspirational than those in the previous books. Besides, I love reading stories on tough stuff which is why I love this book. If you don't know which Chicken Soup for the Soul books that you should pick up first, I'd recommend you this one.
April 25, 2018
Honestly, I knew what I was starting when I picked up this book and it still overwhelmed me in the best way possible. So many things in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul on Tough Stuff sounded familiar, hit a chord and made me feel.
I’m even going as far as admitting that over 30 of the stories and poems had me tearing up or full-out crying and that’s saying something. You’d think that a story of barely four pages can’t get under your skin like that but, trust me, they can. Easily.
This book consists of different themes that are tackled one by one, some of them being drugs and alcohol, abuse, family matters and death. I can’t say there was even one chapter where nothing felt familiar or hit me hard because there always was at least one. Some poems will stick with me for a long time. Some stories will probably be reread a couple of times in the future too.
I loved how this novel consists of stories told by the people who actually lived them. You can feel the honesty they’ve written it down with, the feelings they poured into their words. With all the different stories, you just know that they’re all feel unique too and I loved that.
The fact that several – very confronting – stories and poems have editor’s notes that mention what organizations to contact should you be coping with any of the hard topics – like abuse, drugs and suicidal thoughts – made it all even better.The bad
In saying that, though, there was one thing that I did have a problem with and that’s the simple fact that you don’t always know what’s going to be said in a story, what it’s going to be about. For someone who stays clear of certain triggers, this might be a problem because you don’t always figure it out until it’s too late. Sure, the themes give you some clue of the subject, but it’s not always very clear. Or there are actually two themes going on and the second one sneaks up on you.
It didn’t bother me exactly, but I know that there are people who would definitely not cope with certain of these stories and they wouldn’t be warned up front.
Still a 5 / 5 though!
Kathy
I’m even going as far as admitting that over 30 of the stories and poems had me tearing up or full-out crying and that’s saying something. You’d think that a story of barely four pages can’t get under your skin like that but, trust me, they can. Easily.
This book consists of different themes that are tackled one by one, some of them being drugs and alcohol, abuse, family matters and death. I can’t say there was even one chapter where nothing felt familiar or hit me hard because there always was at least one. Some poems will stick with me for a long time. Some stories will probably be reread a couple of times in the future too.
I loved how this novel consists of stories told by the people who actually lived them. You can feel the honesty they’ve written it down with, the feelings they poured into their words. With all the different stories, you just know that they’re all feel unique too and I loved that.
The fact that several – very confronting – stories and poems have editor’s notes that mention what organizations to contact should you be coping with any of the hard topics – like abuse, drugs and suicidal thoughts – made it all even better.The bad
In saying that, though, there was one thing that I did have a problem with and that’s the simple fact that you don’t always know what’s going to be said in a story, what it’s going to be about. For someone who stays clear of certain triggers, this might be a problem because you don’t always figure it out until it’s too late. Sure, the themes give you some clue of the subject, but it’s not always very clear. Or there are actually two themes going on and the second one sneaks up on you.
It didn’t bother me exactly, but I know that there are people who would definitely not cope with certain of these stories and they wouldn’t be warned up front.
Still a 5 / 5 though!
Kathy
February 21, 2023
I feel heavy with all of these individual stories, but I also feel like I've learned a lot of life lessons.
March 12, 2025
If you know teens in your every day life, definitely recommend this book as a gift to them to try to think a little deeper sometimes.
Read
May 5, 2012I can honestly say this book was one of my favorites ! I hardly recommend this book to all the teenagers out there. This book isn't just like any other regular one out there, this book has a lot of different types of stories, different themes that talk about issues during teenage life. Whether you are having issues right now or not, it is still very important for you to get to know these types of stories this book has. It is filled with teenage problems such as; suicide , family problems , death , friendship, disorders it has almost everything a teenage would go through in real life. In this book teenagers like you talk about their stories and their experience and their solution, that are good and bad. You could relate to the problems you are having in this book and realize what is it that you are doing wrong and how to fix it. This book is awesome, you can actually learn new things and learn from people's mistakes. Take advantage of reading this book , you wouldn't want to stop reading it because its how interesting the stories are, and its all worth it because you'll get to know your mistakes and related it to your situation.
April 5, 2009
Some stories made me cry and realize it could happen to me!!! If any of my friends read this review and story, all I have to say is please learn from these other teens past mistakes and lessons. They can help you in life as they have done for me. Especially now that we are teenagers, we think we know everyhting. Truth is, we don't! Just take my advice, learn from the past mistakes people are trying to help us avoid. I will always have a copy of this book in my house, that's for sure.
June 13, 2011
I remember being so young, hiding behind a lightpost at a soccer game (which I loved to watch), and I couldn't tear myself away from reading these stories. I reread them about 10 times each.
Its an essential piece of art to have in your collection if you have a child, sibling, or even for yourself.
Its an essential piece of art to have in your collection if you have a child, sibling, or even for yourself.
February 1, 2012
I love this book! i cried and laughed all the way through. If you feel alone in the world, this book is for you. I personally think they should have made the suicide section longer because it is such an intense issue today, or maybe that's why they didn't. I just loved this book! I have memorized almost all of the poems in here!
November 9, 2011
I really like this book:) It amazes me what people go through in the world and I realize that I am not alone and some situations. its a great book to read to help you through your life, i recomend it highly its amazing , i like the whole range of chiken soup books but especially this one.
Read
March 17, 2024I used to love reading the stories and poems. I always felt it was nice to have something written down that I could relate to. I loved the chicken soup books.
January 21, 2023
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul is a Teen nonfiction novel written by Jack Canfield. The main theme of this book is short stories about tough times they might go through in their lives. The book in my opinion, was incredible. These short stories in this book give an idea of what teenagers can go through, because, lets be honest, growing up is very hard, escpecially for teenagers. In addition, it also provides certain recourses for problems mentioned in the book, and it has chapters that have categorized these different situations.
Some things that had stood out to me, are the chapters they included. I enjoyed how each chapter's situation varies from Self-acceptance, to drugs and alcohol, to even death and dying. Although people who read this know that these things are serious, they know that these things are common and teens who read this know what they can expect if they read it. that is why I recommend this book for teens and young adults. on top of that, they include resources of organizations that can help with things like these situations like abuse for example.
There are certain things I do have a few issues with though. The first is that some of these stories don't give enough background information. I would say some of these stories need to elaborate a bit more. Also I think that some of these sources may not be reliable as they once were. Other than that thought, I still have no other issues and I think that this book is amazing.
Chicken Soup For The Teenage Soul is a Teen nonfiction novel written by Jack Canfield. The main theme of this book is short stories about tough times they might go through in their lives. The book in my opinion, was incredible. These short stories in this book give an idea of what teenagers can go through, because, lets be honest, growing up is very hard, escpecially for teenagers. In addition, it also provides certain recourses for problems mentioned in the book, and it has chapters that have categorized these different situations.
Some things that had stood out to me, are the chapters they included. I enjoyed how each chapter's situation varies from Self-acceptance, to drugs and alcohol, to even death and dying. Although people who read this know that these things are serious, they know that these things are common and teens who read this know what they can expect if they read it. that is why I recommend this book for teens and young adults. on top of that, they include resources of organizations that can help with things like these situations like abuse for example.
There are certain things I do have a few issues with though. The first is that some of these stories don't give enough background information. I would say some of these stories need to elaborate a bit more. Also I think that some of these sources may not be reliable as they once were. Other than that thought, I still have no other issues and I think that this book is amazing.
August 25, 2020
When i was reading this book i came across the poem"Help me" the little girl was being abused by her father and her mother was nowhere in sight she tried to tell the doctors not to let her go with him because he was abusing her i told the poem to a few friends and asked them if they had somthing like this happen to them or someone they know/knew and i won't tell you their replies but i gave them the phone number it has in the book this book should be #1 in state this book has so many good stories and it helps people get through stuff. thanks for listening to my response have a wonderful day/night/week/weekend to everyone reading this the reader,Alexis.
February 2, 2025
This was the first book that actually made me cry!
One of my friends was reading this book and there was some kinda fuction types that was going on in my class and I asked my friend if I could read it and he agreed.... I was reading it and I didn't even realise that tears were flowing down my cheeks..He came up to me and I wiped them off...I asked him if it was his and he said that he had borrowed it from our school library....He told me he wouldn't mind if I wanted to go with him and issue it right after. THIS WAS A SMALL MEMORY THAT THIS BOOK HOLDS
I will surely introduce my children to the world of books through this one...
A heart wrenching yet so informative book.....
I hope this helps.......
One of my friends was reading this book and there was some kinda fuction types that was going on in my class and I asked my friend if I could read it and he agreed.... I was reading it and I didn't even realise that tears were flowing down my cheeks..He came up to me and I wiped them off...I asked him if it was his and he said that he had borrowed it from our school library....He told me he wouldn't mind if I wanted to go with him and issue it right after. THIS WAS A SMALL MEMORY THAT THIS BOOK HOLDS
I will surely introduce my children to the world of books through this one...
A heart wrenching yet so informative book.....
I hope this helps.......
June 14, 2018
This book told many relatable stories about tough times during the teenage years. I found I was able to relate to a few of them and I found comfort that I'm not the only one who experiences some of those problems and that it is more common than I think.
It probably speak out to some people and resonate with them especially if they have had similar experiences to some of the people who wrote story in this book. THis definitely makes me (and probably some others too) enjoy the book more.
I recommend this to teenagers and their families to read.
It probably speak out to some people and resonate with them especially if they have had similar experiences to some of the people who wrote story in this book. THis definitely makes me (and probably some others too) enjoy the book more.
I recommend this to teenagers and their families to read.
March 22, 2024
Through this book I felt like I learned a lot of important lessons. This books talks about how teens have dealt with self-destructive behavior, family upheavals, medical problems, losing friends, and other obstacles and challenges. The book helps you learn and improve your relationships. It's a very useful tool for teens and I think it helped me a lot.
I recommend this book as a gift to your kid or grandkid. It gives them something to read if they are struggling.
I recommend this book as a gift to your kid or grandkid. It gives them something to read if they are struggling.
February 4, 2020
One thing that struck me as weird was how many times there was an editors note saying that the story wasn’t all true and parts were fiction. I liked reading all of the tough stuff stories. It was definitely an easy read, as I could just read one story at a time if necessary.
April 20, 2020
I love this book. My friends and I read it multiple times in high school, underlining our favorite passages, and comparing our own stories. They made me feel better in the tough times. I know I still have it tucked away somewhere.
August 24, 2017
One of my favorites by far ♥ I always reread it
February 13, 2018
Even as an adult, reading this before I add it to my classroom library, many of the stories resonated with me. I highly recommend.
April 30, 2019
Taught me so much about the human spirit and how strong we truly are.
September 6, 2019
It is Good
March 3, 2021
Just needed something to read while I eat (a bad habit of mine). Nostalgic for me, as I used to read my older cousins' copies when I was younger.
March 12, 2021
just perfect
March 30, 2021
Amazing book, I loved all the unique stories, they touched my heart deeply. Some made me cry and others smile and for that I am grateful I read this book.
June 26, 2021
They weren't kidding when they said this was on tough stuff
August 17, 2023
Some of it was just too sad
September 27, 2023
it was very saddening
September 23, 2024
Perfect mix of poetries and short stories. Covers a wide range of mental illnesses and problems
March 18, 2025
This book is truly one of the saddest, most gut wrenching, honest books you can find. Its shows the real anger and pain that happens in the world and I think that is so important
Displaying 1 - 30 of 143 reviews