So at a friend's urging, the 61-year-old Golf Manor woman wrote it down and faxed and e-mailed it to the editors working on Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, part of the Chicken Soup series that has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide.

Nikki D. Shearer-Tilford poses with her copy of Chicken Soup for the African American Soul. (Enquirer photo/Brandi Stafford)

That was at 11:50 p.m. on New Year's Eve, 10 minutes before the deadline. A few months later, she was stunned to receive an e-mail saying her story had been chosen for the book.

Her selection was even more meaningful, Shearer-Tilford says, because her story would be in the first Chicken Soup book aimed at African-Americans, 11 years and 80 titles after the series began.

"It was a sense of pride that I probably can't put into words," she says. "It just brought it to a new level of significance."

Shearer-Tilford's story is about a 93-year-old woman she calls Mrs. T, the mother of a good friend of Shearer-Tilford's who died at 36. They hadn't seen each other in years, and Shearer-Tilford writes that Mrs. T was overjoyed to see her again at a funeral about two years ago in Columbus, Shearer-Tilford's hometown.

The two kept in touch through letters and talked on the phone around the holidays. Mrs. T told Shearer-Tilford that she soon would be attending a celebration of the anniversary of her church at a posh hotel, and Shearer-Tilford writes that she felt a "prompting in the spirit" to order her a corsage for the event.

Two days later, Mrs. T left Shearer-Tilford an emotional message on her answering machine. Shearer-Tilford returned the call, and writes that Mrs. T couldn't stop telling her how much the gesture meant to her - and that it was the first time in her life that she had received a corsage.

"In that moment," Shearer-Tilford writes, "I'm not sure which of us felt more blessed."

Editor Eve Hogan says the submissions went through five different levels of reading and rating on a scale of one to 10 before they could be added to Chicken Soup. The entire process took more than two years. Shearer-Tilford's story was one of 90 that made the cut out of more than 3,000 submitted.

"What I loved about that story was the power of a simple gesture," Hogan says. "I felt personally it was a really great reminder to all of us to take the time to make a simple gesture to make a difference in somebody's life."

She says this edition was one of the most requested Chicken Soup titles of the last several years. Publishers say they have shipped more than 102,000 copies since its Sept. 25 release; more are expected to be ordered for holiday giving.

The book includes stories from poet Maya Angelou, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Nelson Mandela. Shearer-Tilford says she feels "honored, blessed and humbled" to be in their company. But she also says none of her friends or family has been as amazed as she is that she's been published nationally for the first time at age 61.

"One by one, several people said to me, 'It's about time,' " she says. "A lot of times people see in us what we simply don't see in ourselves."

Shearer-Tilford writes not only for herself, but also for others through her business, the Sacred Mind. She also has held two sessions for women called "Heal Your Soul," in which she helps women overcome pain through singing, dancing or another creative outlet.

Shearer-Tilford has experience with that subject. Nearly three years ago, she found herself in the hospital, battling life-threatening disorders for which doctors were unable to determine a cause. She says she left the hospital "with an awareness that only comes when you 'walk through the valley of the shadow of death.' "

Now, she believes, God was calling her to tell the story of Mrs. T (whose real name is Mabel Tidmore). And she hopes her story touches others the way the other stories in the book touched her.

"It is more than a book," she says. "It is truly an extraordinary experience."

Submit your stories

The Chicken Soup for the Soul series is searching for stories and poems on any topic to include in future editions. Stories may be up to 1,200 words and must uplift or inspire. Officials say the entries "must make the reader laugh, cry or get goose bumps."

Send your submissions to:

Chicken Soup for the Soul

P.O. Box 30880

Santa Barbara, CA 93130

Published contributors are paid $100 and maintain the rights to their work. While they don't get royalties from book sales, they can buy copies at wholesale and sell them at full price to make a profit.

Web sites: www.chickensoup.com or www.africanamericansoul.com.

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E-mail lbishop@enquirer.com