PORT TOWNSEND — This Christmas, Carole Marshall of Port Townsend is one of the chosen few.
Her story, “Eggnog with Pickles,” was selected for the 2015 Chicken Soup for the Soul: Merry Christmas! collection, released this fall to a ravenous reading public.
Knowing she was among the multitude of writers hoping for inclusion in a million-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology, Marshall submitted the holiday story anyway.
It’s a tale about a cat, her father, Christmas and wishful thinking.
But Marshall’s Chicken Soup entry has nothing to do with odd food pairings. It has a lot to do with hoping to heal a loss that her father had suffered.
Marshall and her kids decide to rescue Pickles the cat from the local shelter — and present Dad with this feline companion one sunny Christmas morning.
Marshall’s story doesn’t turn out as you might predict. And contrary to what some expect about Chicken Soup for the Soul, the story is schmaltz-free.
The book, with its “101 joyous holiday stories” and foreword by Santa Claus, is part of the Chicken Soup series, translated into 43 languages and published in about 100 countries, according to chickensoup.com. Copies sold worldwide: 500 million and counting.
In an interview from her office in Cos Cob, Conn., Chicken Soup editor Amy Newmark said Marshall’s piece was picked from the deluge for the Christmas book because it’s a little different.
In it, the present she gave — the cat — is returned, and “people don’t always talk about that,” Newmark said.
“You give a gift that was well-meaning,” so if the recipient hands it back, well, this can mean a difficult conversation.
In Marshall’s story, the conversation helps father and daughter understand one another better.
“Eggnog with Pickles” depicts a relationship many of us can recognize, Newmark added.
“It’s a really good window into the situation a lot of us have: worrying about our elderly parents.”
Turns out Marshall’s father, who is recently widowed, has something to teach his daughter and her family.
‘Joy of Family’
Marshall’s work is in the book’s “Joy of Family” section. Other categories include “A Different Kind of Christmas,” “Traditions Worth Sharing,” “Holiday Shenanigans” and “Around the Table.”
“We read every single story,” added Newmark, and that’s quite a job, with as many as 6,000 submissions sent in for just one Chicken Soup series edition.
To introduce each piece, Newmark has chosen a quotation; these inspirational comments add to the book’s spiritual flavors.
In front of “A Progressively Good Time,” a story about a progressive Christmas dinner by Ava Pennington, we find the words of Cesar Chavez.
“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him,” the United Farm Workers founder wrote.
“People who give you their food give you their heart.”
The quotation for “Eggnog with Pickles” comes from Douglas Adams, the late author and humorist best known for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so,” he writes.
For her story, Marshall received $200 and 10 copies of the Chicken Soup book.
“I simply logged on to their website submissions page” at chickensoup.com, said the writer, who penned “Port Townsend Neighbor” columns and “Peninsula Woman” features for the Peninsula Daily News some 15 years ago.
She’s also the author of articles for American Profile, and had two of those reprinted in the 2007 book, Hometown Heroes. One was “The Bird Lady,” about the late Eleanor Stopps of Port Townsend, who was instrumental in turning Protection Island into a wildlife refuge.
Today, Marshall is a prolific writer on her own website, spiritexplored.com.
There readers can find out about her books: her novel Dearest, an inspirational book titled Reading to Jane and Maximum Fitness, Minimum Risk: A Simple How-To Wellness Guide for Folks with Heart Disease, Diabetes or COPD.
On spiritexplored.com, Marshall has a page called “The Tea Room,” where she offers her inspirational poetry and photography.
“Over the years, I’ve learned about aging well from some very joyful ninety-plus people,” she writes.
“I’d like all of us who are discovering streaks of gray, creaky bones . . . and a completely inaccurate bathroom scale, to find some fun along the way.
“So I happily welcome you to the Spirit Explored Tea Room and to my Aging in Good Spirits poetry series. If we are fortunate enough to get old, let’s go for some feel-good moments and a daily giggle.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
