A local woman’s story about her experience designing a Halloween
costume for her daughter has been published in the current
”
Chicken Soup for the Working Woman’s Soul.
”
A local woman’s story about her experience designing a Halloween costume for her daughter has been published in the current “Chicken Soup for the Working Woman’s Soul.”
Colleen Eastman’s seven-page story, “The Damn Cape,” tells the humorous trials of making a costume in 2001 for her daughter, Madison, now 13.
Eastman said she chose the title “because I swore throughout the whole process. Sailors would be proud.”
The “Chicken Soup” book was released nationwide this month.
Eastman has been writing for years and has had articles published in newspapers and magazines. But she has never had anything published in book form, she said.
Eastman submitted the story in late October 2001. After a “long process” that included the story being read by 150 editors, who narrowed 500 submissions to the final 100, Eastman was informed she made the final cut in December, and the book in April.
She said her family was thrilled about the publication.
“For Madison, it was about her, so she was pretty excited. And Mike (her husband) was thrilled,” Eastman said.
The book is a compilation of stories from women throughout the country who manage hectic schedules. The stories are promoted by the publishing company as humorous and inspirational and about women who overcome obstacles. Eastman’s story, both in real life and in the book, fits the mold.
She commutes to a full-time paralegal job in San Jose everyday while raising two children. At the time she wrote the story, Silicon Valley was still booming, and Eastman had been commuting four to five hours a day.
She was doing that while Madison had been receiving treatment for leukemia, which demanded numerous trips to Stanford.
With everything going on in her life, Eastman said making a cape became a challenging undertaking, and a humorous tale.
“I squeezed in time to do this one thing that I’ve always wanted to do as a mom,” she said.
There are currently 69 “Chicken Soup” books.
