Many of us have been inspired through the years after hearing positive stories about the enduring human spirit and overcoming adversity.

Perhaps one of the more well-known tools in the self-help field is the Chicken Soup for the Soul series – books and other materials chocked full of personal growth stories and inspirations.

Fountain Hills resident Jewell Johnson loves to write and she loves to inspire others as well.

So it’s no surprise that one of Jewell’s tales once again is featured in the popular Chicken Soup series.

The latest book, which came out in mid-August, is called Chicken Soup for the Soul: From Lemons to Lemonade.

The specific number eludes Jewell, but this marks the third or fourth time one of her stories has been published as part of the “Chicken Soup” package.

Jewell lives here with husband LeRoy, and they have six children and nine grandchildren.

Her latest published story is called “The Bonus Child,” focusing on the birth of their youngest child, Ann Marie.

The lemon?

Well, Jewell was 43 when she became pregnant, and their youngest child at the time, Bryan, was 17 years old and enjoying high school.

Bryan didn’t take the initial news too well, and Jewell had her own worries.

“When I did the math, I came up with frightening figures,” Jewell wrote in her story.

“I would be forty-eight when this child started kindergarten. That’s nearly a half-century old.

“When she graduated from high school, I’d be sixty-one. And on our child’s college graduation day, I’d be nearing seventy – if I lived that long. What if Lee or I died before she graduated or was married?”

The lemonade?

The pregnancy went great, Ann had a wonderful childhood, others didn’t even notice the age of LeRoy and Jewell (and they’re still alive!), brother Bryan has always accepted and loved his little sister and the story starts and ends with recollections of the “bonus child” leaving home and getting married.

“On that June day when her dad walked her down the church aisle, I felt a twinge of sadness,” Jewell writes.

“Now our mother-daughter relationship would change. With a twinkle in his eye, Lee again reassured me, ‘We’ve had her for twenty-eight years, a gift we didn’t deserve. Just the Lord being generous, I guess.’

“I agreed. God was so good to give us our bonus child.”

From Lemons to Lemonade is billed as a celebration of 101 people who have overcome hardships and found the blessings in their lives.

Deemed the “most inspirational people you’ll ever meet” by Chicken Soup for the Soul co-author and publisher Amy Newmark, she says each story’s author is truly a role model and example of the human spirit’s resilience.

“After you read these stories, you’ll feel empowered to use positive thinking to navigate your own difficult situations, reorient your lives, and improve your personal relationships,” Newmark says.

Since 1993, more than 100 million books in the series have been sold in the United States and Canada alone, with titles sold in more than 100 additional countries and translated into more than 40 languages.

“They definitely know what they want when looking for stories,” Jewell said.

“They publish their upcoming themes, and your stories can’t be over 1,200 words.

“It is a popular format.”

Jewell is co-founder of the Christian Writers’ Group in Fountain Hills and continues to be published in various formats with her writings – books, devotions, poetry and more.

“With Chicken Soup, the ideas just kind of pop into my head,” she says.

“As a writer, you have to know your markets.”

She has written The Top 100 Women of the Christian Faith and her 365 Daily Devotions for Women was re-packaged into a journal by the publisher.

Jewell still enjoys attending the local writing group, which has been around for more than three decades, and helping others with their creative and marketing skills.

“It’s still going strong,” she says. “We have a wonderful group. I’d call it more of a support group. We’re looking to help each other and improve. Not everyone is wanting to get things published.”

And if anyone needs a recipe for a great lemonade, Jewell Johnson appears to be just the person to dish out a suggestion or two.