Laughter Is the Best Medicine for These Times

COS COB, Conn. – Do you ever want to do a news cleanse? Just turn off all those screens and hunker down with a good book that will entertain you? Here comes Chicken Soup for the Soul’s latest humor collection. If you thought they only published self-help books, think again. This is the latest of 10 very popular collections of humorous stories from the iconic publisher, which released its first book, an instant bestseller, in 1993.

 The 101 feel-good stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul: I Can’t Stop Laughing (April 28, 2026, 978-1-611594614, $16.99) are all true, told by the people who lived through these embarrassing, hilarious, and truly human experiences. Editor-in-chief and publisher Amy Newmark says, “I must have sounded like I wasn’t even working as I cackled away in my office while I was selecting and then editing these stories. Even on the third pass through them I was laughing.” She continues, “If laughter is the best medicine, then this book is your prescription. Turn off the news and spend a few days not following current events. Instead, return to the basics—humanity’s ability to laugh at itself. All I can promise is that these pages contain the antidote to whatever is troubling you. They will definitely put you in a good mood.”

 No one is safe from the storytellers in this new collection—from their spouses, to parents, to children, to other relatives, to friends and colleagues, to pets. And of course, the funniest of all are the stories the writers tell about their own mishaps. You’ll read about domestic disasters, the most embarrassing moments people have ever had, social gaffes, misunderstandings based on language, the things kids say at just the wrong time… a huge variety of stories and situations that will make you laugh out loud. It’s good (mostly) clean fun, and it will bring back your own memories of your favorite stories, those that became legendary among family and friends.

 Anne Bardsley, for example, tells the story of the day her husband bought her the flowers she’d asked for as a birthday gift. Except that she’d asked for six hanging baskets for their porch and instead he bought her a gigantic cemetery cross made with artificial flowers, so she could carry it around their yard and never have to water it. He was so proud, and all she could do was thank him and try not to laugh. Speaking of proud spouses, Susan Jakubowski tells a story on herself. While her husband was away, she completed a long overdue project, painting their white garage door a lovely brown color. But when she went out, she forgot she had done it, and when she came home later, she thought that big dark space in front of her was the open garage door. It wasn’t, and she ended up smashing her car and knocking down the garage door!

Mistaken identity leads to lots of funny stories, too. Colleen Lent relates how she and her husband held up traffic in their rural town while they rescued a black turtle that refused to move off the roadway as it headed toward a marsh on the other side. Everyone patiently waited and then waved at them appreciatively after they cleared the road. Colleen confesses there’s something her neighbors didn’t know. That “turtle” that they carefully rescued turned out to be a black baseball cap. Nevertheless, a week later someone installed a “Turtle Crossing” sign at the side of the road!

 ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Chicken Soup for the Soul publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. With well over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada, more than 300 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, the phrase “chicken soup for the soul” is known worldwide and is regularly referenced in pop culture. Today, 33 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and hope through its books, this iconic storyteller continues to publish a new title a month. It has also evolved beyond the bookstore, with a podcast, education programs, dog and cat food, licensed products, and the Chicken Soup for the Soul streaming service.

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For a review copy of this book or an interview with Amy Newmark or one of the contributors: