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WORK TITLE: Simply Happy
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PERSONAL
Married; husband’s name Bill (CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul); children: four.
EDUCATION:Harvard University, graduated magna cum laude.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, columnist, editor-in-chief, publisher, and chartered financial analyst. Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, Cos Cob, CT, publisher, editor-in-chief, and writer, 2008-; writes a national syndicated newspaper column. Previously worked for three decades as a Wall Street analyst, a hedge fund manager, and a corporate executive in the technology field. Appears on radio and television.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Amy Newmark majored in Portuguese and minored in French in college. She worked as a Wall Street financial analyst, hedge fund manager, and corporate executive in the technology field before turning to writing, editing, and publishing the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series in 2008 when Newmark and her husband took over the franchise. The move was a natural fit for Newmark because her senior honors thesis in college was about popular, spoken-word poetry in Brazil. For her thesis, Newmark traveled throughout Brazil, collecting stories from regular people in the country’s impoverished northeast region.
After taking over the helm of the series, Newmark doubled the number of titles in print by 2017. The series compiles inspirational and aspirational true stories submitted from ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences. In an interview with Publishers Weekly Online contributor Julie Naughton, Newmark commented on switching careers, noting: “After nearly 30 years, I was ready for a change, and so was my husband, and becoming self-help publishers sounded fulfilling to us. And it has been. I’ve always written—press releases, annual reports, security analyst notes.”
In her book titled Chicken Soup for the Soul: Simply Happy: A Crash Course in Chicken Soup for the Soul Advice and Wisdom, Newmark provides advice on how to attain happiness. The advice is drawn from her own life as well as more than 20,000 stories that have appeared in the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series. “Newmark uses prior Chicken Soup for the Soul submissions as the main resource, adding what she learned or how she applied some of those lessons,” wrote Memories Project Web site contributor Joy Johnston. In the process, Newmark provides numerous practical tips, such as the use of thankfulness to change relationships and how to be better at time management. She also provides advice on how to reduce stress, eliminate toxic people from one’s life, and use the power of “no.”
Writing in the book’s introduction, Newmark recounts her own journey from Wall Street to becoming co-owner with her husband of the “Chicken Soup” franchise. She also noted that the book presents brief chapters drawn from various stories that have appeared in the series, which she blended together. In her interview with Memories Project Web site contributor Johnston, Newmark commented on what she believes most people should come away with after reading the book, noting that they should realize “they are much more powerful and resilient than they might think.” A Publishers Weekly contributor’s review of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Simply Happy noted: “Sensible and empowering, Newmark’s work aims to teach others how to live a satisfying life.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, Augist 29, 2016, review of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Simply Happy: A Crash Course in Chicken Soup for the Soul Advice and Wisdom, p. 85.
ONLINE
Chicken Soup for the Soul Web site, http://www.chickensoup.com/ (June 5, 2017), author profile.
Memories Project, https://memoriesproject.com/ (September 24, 2016), Joy Johnston, review of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Simply Happy.
Publishers Weekly Online, http://www.publishersweekly.com/ (September 9, 2016), Julie Naughton, “How To Be Simply Happy: PW Talks with Amy Newmark.”
Rebecca Krusee Marriage and Family, https://rebeccakrusee.com/ (November 28, 2016), Rebecca Krusee, review of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Simply Happy.
How To Be Simply Happy: PW Talks with Amy Newmark
By Julie Naughton | Sep 09, 2016
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In Simply Happy, Newmark draws life lessons from a career path that’s taken her from Wall Street to publishing and editing the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul self-help series.
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What made you leave Wall Street?
After nearly 30 years, I was ready for a change, and so was my husband, and becoming self-help publishers sounded fulfilling to us. And it has been. I’ve always written—press releases, annual reports, security analyst notes.
What do you look for in Chicken Soup stories?
We get an average of 5,000 submissions for each book, and we can only use about 100. The stories have to be entertaining and engrossing—I want to be moved in some way, whether that’s laughing or crying. I get to choose the cream of the crop, and I want stories showing how an experience helped someone move forward. I want someone to pick up a Chicken Soup book and find 100 new friends within the pages.
Most of your projects are collaborations; this is the first book you’ve written solo. What has this taught you?
I have far more empathy now for my authors. My son is a professional writer, and he made me do what I always make others do: cut stories drastically, rewrite entire chapters, delete some of the stories. For me, though, the hardest thing was finding my voice. I was originally going to do this book last year, but couldn’t find my voice. Then, in February, I started doing podcasts, and I realized that the book should sound the same: a casual, first-person voice, as if I were just speaking to one person.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Not to take things personally. Wall Street was very rough, and learning to not take things personally in stressful situations helped so much. When you realize that it’s not all about you, you can laugh at it. I was on a chairlift on a skiing trip when I shared that advice with a woman who was having difficulties with her teenage daughter—she immediately said, “This changes everything.” She realized that her daughter was a typical teenager who was frustrated and acting out, and that it really wasn’t her fault.
What do you most hope that people will take from this book?
The realization that they are much more powerful and resilient than they might think. That’s really what the Chicken Soup franchise has been built on: ordinary people who find incredible strength in challenging situations.
What’s next for Chicken Soup for the Soul?
Lots more books! We have two Christmas books coming, a kind of anti–New Year’s resolution book about loving your body no matter what its size, and, in February, a book on random acts of kindness.
Amy Newmark, Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Author
Amy Newmark is the bestselling author, editor-in-chief, and publisher of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. Since 2008, she has published 133 new books, most of them national bestsellers in the U.S. and Canada, more than doubling the number of Chicken Soup for the Soul titles in print today. She is also the author of Simply Happy, a crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom that is filled with easy-to-implement, practical tips for having a better life.
Amy is credited with revitalizing the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand, which has been a publishing industry phenomenon since the first book came out in 1993. By compiling inspirational and aspirational true stories curated from ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences, Amy has kept the twenty-three-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant.
Amy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University where she majored in Portuguese and minored in French. She then embarked on a three-decade career as a Wall Street analyst, a hedge fund manager, and a corporate executive in the technology field. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Her return to literary pursuits was inevitable, as her honors thesis in college involved traveling throughout Brazil’s impoverished northeast region, collecting stories from regular people. She is delighted to have come full circle in her writing career—from collecting stories “from the people” in Brazil as a twenty-year-old to, three decades later, collecting stories “from the people” for Chicken Soup for the Soul.
When Amy and her husband Bill, the CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul, are not working, they are visiting their four grown children.
Follow Amy on Twitter @amynewmark. Listen to her free daily podcast, The Chicken Soup for the Soul Podcast, at chickensoup.podbean.com, or find it on iTunes, the Podcasts app on iPhone, or on your favorite podcast app on other devices.
Simply Happy: A Crash Course in Chicken Soup for the Soul Advice and Wisdom
Publishers Weekly. 263.35 (Aug. 29, 2016): p85.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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Simply Happy: A Crash Course in Chicken Soup for the Soul Advice and Wisdom
Amy Newmark. Chicken Soup for the Soul, $14.95 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-61159-949-7
This compilation of lessons from a Wall Street investment banker turned self-help author and publisher will enrich the lives of its readers. Nine years ago, Newmark (Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Joy of Less) and her husband, Bill, acquired the ubiquitous Chicken Soup for the Soul franchise. With this book, she aims to help readers enact similarly dramatic life changes. Newmark weaves her stories and those of others into a series of lessons on going easier on yourself, loving your body, pretending to be confident so you eventually come to be so, expecting the best of people, being bold and trusting your instincts, practicing gratitude, enjoying the little things, and living with passion. Newmark adds that "happiness is not a mysterious, elusive lottery ticket" but "a jackpot within everyone's grasp once we remove the obstacles we put in our own paths." Those obstacles also include "frenemies," whom the author advises readers to ditch. Sensible and empowering, Newmark's work aims to teach others how to live a satisfying life. (Oct.)
Chicken Soup for the Soul Simply Happy Book Review
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When I was approached by Amy Newark’s publicist about reviewing Chicken Soup for the Soul Simply Happy, I was thrilled as I love their books. The authors’ stories are encouraging and couldn’t wait to read the compilation of Amy’s experience as their Editor in Chief.
One simple tool I took away from reading her book is to smile more. It seems easy enough, but from where I grew up in East San Jose, it wasn’t a common to smile at people you walk by. In fact, most people would think you’re up to something. If you are not used to smiling a lot, try it…and let me know if you notice a change in yourself or others.
I highly recommend reading Simply Happy.
Blessings, Rebecca
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About the Author
Amy Newmark was a writer, speaker, Wall Street analyst and business executive in the worlds of finance and telecommunications for thirty years. Today she is publisher, editor-in-chief and coauthor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. By curating and editing inspirational true stories from ordinary people who have had extraordinary experiences, Amy has kept the twenty-two-year-old Chicken Soup for the Soul brand fresh and relevant, and still part of the social zeitgeist.
Amy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University where she majored in Portuguese and minored in French. She wrote her thesis about popular, spoken-word poetry in Brazil, which involved traveling throughout Brazil and meeting with poets and writers to collect their stories. She is delighted to have come full circle in her writing career — from collecting poetry “from the people” in Brazil as a twenty-year-old to, three decades later, collecting stories and poems “from the people” for Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Amy has a national syndicated newspaper column and is a frequent radio and TV guest, passing along the real-life lessons and useful tips she has picked up from reading and editing thousands of Chicken Soup for the Soul stories.
She and her husband are the proud parents of four grown children and in her limited spare time, Amy enjoys visiting them, hiking, and reading books that she did not have to edit.
Follow her on Twitter @amynewmark and @chickensoupsoul.
About the Book
Amy distills advice and wisdom from her life and more than 20,000 Chicken Soup for hte Soul stories into this crash course on how to be happy. You’ll be entertained, energized and enlightened as you read about:
using gratitude to change your relationships
easy time management tips
using the power of no to make time for what matters
making a habit of stepping outside your comfort zone
changing your life forever through forgiveness
six easy steps to reduce stress and keep it away
why you need to eliminate toxic people from your life
why you should strive for excellence but not perfection
and many more life-changing tips you can implement instantly
You already have all the tools you need to lead a happy life. They’re inside you, just waiting to be used.
Disclosure: No compensation was received for this book review. Just passing along a good read.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 · 8:00 AM ↓ Jump to Comments
Book review: Simply Happy
Joy Johnston
I had the privilege of receiving an advance copy of simply-happy-cover
Simply Happy, a different kind of Chicken Soup for the Soul book. This time, publisher Amy Newmark has written an entire book herself, based upon the wisdom she has gained from reading all of the inspirational submissions over the years.
As you may remember, I was honored to have my first-ever Chicken Soup for the Soul submission, French Toast, accepted and published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementias, which benefitted the Alzheimer’s Association.
I was as surprised as anyone to pick up a Chicken Soup for the Soul publishing credit. I am pessimistic by nature, though I prefer to refer to myself as a “realist.” My job as a journalist involves me seeing the worst and best of humanity day in and day out, and I admit the bad news seems to have more of an impact than the positive.
But that is exactly what Newmark is trying to address in this collection, which offers simple, realistic tips on generating greater happiness and satisfaction in your life. Newmark uses prior Chicken Soup for the Soul submissions as the main resource, adding what she learned or how she applied some of those lessons. Newmark was a successful Wall Street analyst before she took the Chicken Soup for the Soul helm, so she doesn’t gush rainbows and kittens, but addresses struggles that many people can relate to and how changing your perspective or outlook can help. There are no wonder cures or guarantees of happiness here, but I found myself relating to quite a few of the essays.
One that definitely hit home was the “Imposter Syndrome,” where people (especially women) feel like they are inadequate, even when everyone around them thinks they are amazing. I definitely suffer from this and am sure this is common among caregivers!
I also enjoyed the essay about removing toxic people from your life and embracing the art of saying, “No.” As caregivers, we often feel it is our duty to do everything, but that eventually leads to burnout. We have to learn when to say no and ask for help.