The Chicken Soup for the Soul book series is featuring a Cochrane author in its latest installment, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Parenthood.
“Do Angels Wear Glasses?” tells the touching tale of author Lynn Dove’s youngest daughter Carmen, who is now 17 and in her graduating year at Bearspaw Christian School. The piece shows Carmen performing as an angel when a comment from a peer stops her in her tracks.
“This short story was based on an off-hand comment that broke my daughter’s heart,” said Dove. “I wanted to reassure her that, regardless of what she looks like, she is loved in God’s eyes.”
Dove submitted the selection after a social media post alerted her that Chicken Soup for the Soul was on the search for parenting-themed stories. A fan of the series, she said she’s humbled and excited to be included in the latest volume.
“The (Chicken Soup for the Soul) books are the kind of books you pick up when you’re waiting at the doctor’s office,” she said. “They are great storybooks. Every story I’ve ever read in the series has been uplifting.”
Dove is no stranger to writing, she said she’s been putting pen to paper since she could hold up a pen. Despite this, it wasn’t until about 12 years ago that she started writing in earnest.
“It started out as a short story, but when I finished up the writing session, I realized I had written nearly 100 pages,” she laughed. “I guess I was writing a book.”
Written for youth and young adults, Dove’s Wounded Trilogy — composed of Shoot the Wounded, Heal the Wounded and Love the Wounded — explores a lot of the themes Dove was seeing in her day-to-day life as a teacher, like bullying and violence.
“I know what kids are going through — I’m a teacher,” she said. “Writing was a way to express my grief over the bullying that was going in the schools. I wanted to give kids hope.”
The second installment of the Wounded series, was awarded a bronze medal in the 2011 Readers Favourite Book Awards in the Young Adult-Coming of Age category. In addition, Dove’s blog, Journey Thoughts, won a Canadian Christian Writing Award that same year.
Between blogging, teaching and spending time with her family and her two young grandchildren, Dove said she’s been keeping busy with her writing. Currently, she’s working away on a submission for a parenting magazine. Her topic: work ethic in teenagers.
To learn more about Dove and her books, visit lynndove.wordpress.com.
