Dear Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul,
I am a seventeen-year-old senior at the Accelerated Learning Center in Phoenix, Arizona. I just received Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III, and I am so thankful that these books exist. I had previously read the first two, and each one has helped me so much.
My father has been very ill for over three years now, and his illness has taken its toll on my family’s emotional well-being. His troubles began when he had his first heart attack and was hospitalized for nearly a month. My emotions were running wild at that time, but I managed to get my hands on the first Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. It feels like I read it over a thousand times because it was my resource for coping with all the stress and pressure I felt dealing with my father’s illness.
After my dad returned home from the hospital his health didn’t really improve; instead, he seemed to get sicker. He could no longer do the things he was used to doing. Doctors ran additional tests on him and began kidney dialysis, which made him extremely weak and tired. It was around this time that I had saved up enough money to buy the Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Journal. I was feeling a bit rebellious then, which is evident by what I wrote in the Journal. I moved out of the house thinking that would reduce the stress on my mom and dad. The effect was quite the opposite. I realized they needed me more than any other time in their lives so I returned home after a short period away. It was hard, but I knew what had to be done. I was just having such a difficult time seeing my father go through so much agony that it broke my heart.
As time went on he continued to encounter more complications and even fell, hitting his head. He was okay, but my mother and I worried even more, which made my father become more upset than he already was. He wasn’t angry at us for being so worried, instead he was frustrated that he was creating so much tension in our lives and he was so sorry for that.
Just recently he had another heart attack. He was released from the hospital shortly after that. It sort of felt like the doctors were throwing in the towel and saying there wasn’t anything more they could do. He was in and out of the hospital a few more times for tests.
One day when I was on my way home from the market I turned the corner on my street and saw an ambulance and a fire truck outside of my house. It was like all the anger and frustration I had pent up inside of me exploded and I went ballistic. I could no longer hold it in anymore. A part of me blames myself for my father’s condition because there is nothing I can do to help him to regain his health. Doctors have said that he cannot work or do anything that may be hard on him. They aren’t even sure how much longer he will live. So, we are now forced to sell our house because my mother’s income is not enough to support the family. When my father comes home from the hospital I feel guilty because I am not always happy to see him return. It’s not that I don’t want to see him—I do. It’s just seeing him suffer so much that tears me up inside. I try to keep myself occupied as much as possible away from my home so I don’t have to see him in pain and my mother in tears. My father holds a tremendous amount of guilt because he feels like his condition is always upsetting my mother. He seems to lose his temper more than he ever did, and that is understandable. But he yells at me now, which he never used to do. I have always been daddy’s little girl. However, we all continue to get through this and keep as much of a positive attitude as we can.
Having just gotten Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III, I feel a little bit of relief. It has helped me keep my mind off of certain things and to reduce my stress level. Just knowing that other teenagers my age are going through or have gone through a similar situation and have come out of it okay is encouraging.
I admire what you guys are doing for teenagers. You have realized that we, too, need support systems. I have learned not to blame myself for what is happening, but to try and find the good in these types of situations. I am learning to cherish the happy moments I have. I know that being stubborn is not going to do me any good. I try to talk to my father more and let him know that I love him, even if I have to say it twenty times each minute. It is important that he knows.
I hope you are already working on the fourth book, because I will be the first one in line to get it.
Sincerely,
Samantha Yeomans