Chocolate for a Woman's Dreams

Is anything sweeter or more precious than a treasured dream? In Chocolate for a Woman's Dreams, 77 all-new, real-life tales celebrate the power of dreams to shape our lives at any age, whether we are exploring new possibilities, achieving long-sought goals, or making long-held wishes come true. Here are stories of women who overcome adversity to start anew, and women who gracefully take on the inevitable changes that each stage of life brings. Whether the goal is enhancing their personal lives with friends and families, improving their professional lives by pursuing new challenges, or learning to see the joy in all things, the women here show that anything is possible when we listen to our hearts and follow our dreams. With its irresistible subject and its abundance of cheer, humor, and encouragement, Chocolate for a Woman's Dreams is sure to be on the top of your wish list.

77 all-new, real-life tales celebrate the power of dreams to shape our lives at any age, whether we are exploring new possibilities, achieving long-sought goals, or making long-held wishes come true.

Publishers Weekly

This new addition to Allenbaugh's popular series (Chocolate for a Woman's Soul, Chocolate for a Mother's Heart, etc.) continues in the same vein, focusing on issues deemed universally female and involving marriage, family, relationships, self-image and so on. The sweetness of chocolate fills these pages, with their ability to satisfy the very human need for comfort, reassurance, inspiration, solace, encouragement and cheer. Allenbaugh has collected first-person accounts from women, then includes their brief biographies at the end of the book. Many are writers and have contributed to previous volumes in the Chocolate series. In short, easy-to-read entries, they tell tales of wonderful husbands and not-so-wonderful ones, keeping happy family memories alive, overcoming fears, teaching and learning from children, saving hurt animals as well as being comforted and cheered by them, losing loved ones and finding soul mates. Although the common theme of dreams and wishes is at times shaky, some memorable nuggets shine through, as when contributor Gloria Attar muses, "you measure a dream by what you are forced to give up in order to attain it," or when, after a wild snowmobile ride, Susan Farr-Fahncke proclaims, "Forcing myself to experience something scary that I really wanted to do gave me a sense of power." Allenbaugh's collection reflects that insatiable urge to write and read these deceptively simple stories. (Dec. 4) Forecast: Though hardly original, this book will surely please shoppers searching for a last-minute stocking stuffer. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kay Allenbaugh, creator of the Chocolate series, is a writer and speaker who is known as "The Caretaker of Stories for Women of the World." She lives in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Contributors to the Chocolate series include bestselling authors, motivational speakers, newspaper columnists, radio hosts, spiritual leaders, psychotherapists, businesswomen, and teenagers from all over the world.