It is something Glenice Wilson has never forgotten.
About 10 years ago, a good friend of hers Leroy Brown asked her if she wanted to perform on stage as part of his band at a music jamboree in Vega.
At the time Brown, a well-known fiddler and mainstay on the jamboree circuit had only taught Wilson how to play two relatively simple pieces of music. Brown passed away in 2010.
“Usually I am quite nervous about these type of things, and going up on stage and joining the band would have been out of the question, but Papa Leroy [as Wilson called him] said ‘Think about it and come only if you want to,” she said. “That’s all he had to say and I did it.”
Wilson said over the years, she has thought a lot about those simple words whenever she took on something new and knew it would make the perfect story for the latest edition of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series titled: The Best Advice I Have Ever Heard.
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a publishing company, which was founded in 1993 by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Each of the books follows a similar formula of collecting various short stories (usually 101) on various themes, on a specific theme. The stories are of an uplifting nature and the publisher hopes they will inspire the reader in some way.
“These are words that have influenced my life and I try to reflect on them as often as I can because I think often we do things in life out of habit and this makes me sit back a bit and be aware. Life is short, do I really want to do this,” she said. “And if the answer is yes, you go into it with a different attitude and enthusiasm and it just makes your whole life better and more enriched.”
Wilson added she feels honoured to be included in the anthology, saying she likes to read the biographies of the other authors.
“Just seeing the variety of people that write for them [Chicken Soup for the Soul], what their backgrounds are, it is just so exciting and wonderful to be included with them, and have a chance to correspond with them. It has been a great experience and very humbling,” she said.
This marks the third time has been included in the publication, Chicken Soup: The Spirit of Canada, in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles and More.
Wilson added she hopes more local writers are inspired by her success and submit their own short stories.
For more information about her stories, copies of her books, or for suggestions in how they can start writing stories for the anthologies contact Wilson at [email protected].
