Six inspiring stories, one complete story taken from three of the Tales2Inspire books. These true stories, each a winner in the Tales2Inspire annual competition, are often compared to the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, with one feature that sets them apart: the stories contain original photos which substantially enhance their power.Each of the books in the Tales2Inspire series is named for a different gem symbolically tied to the theme of that collection. Below, following each of the titles included in this sampler, you can find the gem collection in which that story appears, the symbolic meaning of that gem and a brief synopsis of that story. THE VOICE by Stan Cupery M.D. is the first story from Tales2Inspire The Emerald Collection included in this sampler: Time is running out for this newborn infant, rescued from an abandoned tenement building in the dead of winter . . . until one doctor hears a voice which inspires him to try an unheard approach after a quiet moment of prayer. PROFILE IN COURAGE by Tina Chippas is the second story from Tales2Inspire The Emerald Collection included in this sampler. In this story, two stranger: a Greek woman and a Jewish man, meet at a German cemetary while vacationing. During a casual conversation, she learns that her Heroic Greek grandfather saved the lives of this traveler's family during a WWII Nazi invasion. Both of these stories included in Part I of this sampler seemed a perfect fit to be included in Tales2Inspire The Emerald Collection as the Emerald is the gemstone symbolizing the promotion of self-knowledge. THE VOICE seemed a perfect story to include in a book filled with 'Beyond Coincidence' stories. Nest come two stories from Tales2Inspire The Topaz Collection, stories of personal awakenings. AND THE MUSIC PLAYS ON by Charles Musgrave, Ph.D. is the story of a talented musician, who lies in a deep coma, with his family being advised to start planning his memorial service . . . until his trumpet literally brings him back to life. The second story taken from Tales1Inspire The Topaz Collection included in this sampler is GOD MADE A MISTAKE by Jessie Marie. Although adopted by a most loving fmaily when only six months of age, she was forefver filled with dobts abot what her life would have been like if she had remained in Guatemala. It wasn't until as a teenager she agreed to volunteer for a home rebuilding project in Central America that she came to realize the true meaning of life and happiness. Finally we come to Part II of this sampler book where the first stoy from Tales2Inspire The Sapphire Collection, MY SPECIAL BOY, OBI by Ashley Howland is printed. This story is filled with Ashley's wonderful recollections of her beloved dog, Obi, as a training dog she included in her lessons while teaching science classes to emmotionally challenged kids. Obi became Ashley's teacher's chief motivational tool as she worked with her most challenging students, and surely proved his worth as part of her school behavior management program. The second story from Tales2Inspire The Sapphire Collection included in this sampler is titled ALL THAT GLITTERS . . . by Marice Nadjari. It is the story of Maurice's role in solving the case known as The Heist of the Century, where many of the world's most highly valued gem stones were stolen from the museum of Natural History. But it is also a memory piece dating back to an important lesson he learns from his father. These last two stories fit well into the Tales2Inspire Sapphire Collection, stories of Timeless Memories, and as such are included in this sampler as represetative of this particular Tales2Inspire book. I hope you enjoy them all as much as I hae enjoyed reading and reviewing them.