Writing has always been in the periphery of Jenny George's life.

Growing up as that weird kid who loves essay tests, she remembered with a laugh, she dabbled with her high school newspaper and "toyed around" with a journalism major before switching to political science at Arizona State.

Even in her business career, the Athol resident said penning her experiences has remained a creative release.

"I love that it helps keep memories alive. That's the biggest reason I love writing," she said. "Putting the past down on paper - past family gatherings, past situations."

Now anyone can read about George's past.

After a lifetime of scribbling, the 37-year-old saw her words published last month in a collection of nostalgic tributes to motherhood in "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Mom."

'It's amazing. I never thought I would get published," said George, whose day job is corporate manager at Ednetics in Post Falls. "It's such a dream come true and a personal victory for me."

She had always been a fan of the book series of endearing short stories, she said, and especially loved to flip through those that pertained to her personal life, like the "Horse Lover's Soul" book.

"I love the values that they (Chicken Soup books) embrace," she said. "I guess people might consider it a little old-fashioned, but given some of the challenges our world is facing, going back and embracing some of those values people might consider old-fashioned could be quite comforting."

A few years ago it occurred to her that she could help provide that comfort.

Flipping to the bios in one of the books, she realized none of the contributors were professional authors, but everyday folks like her.

"I thought, 'I can do this,'" she said.

She started submitting stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing about different aspects of her life - her brother's marathon running, her love for horseback riding.

The two-and-a-half page story finally tapped for publication was "Dusting Off Memories," about her youth in rural Alabama, where her mother often forced George and her brother to help make bread from scratch.

The story describes the raw physical labor, the drudgery of grinding wheat and dusting flour off every surface.

"I discovered I'm not much in the kitchen. I married a man who loves to cook," George said with a laugh. "But it definitely gave me an appreciation of family time. The world we live in now, parents and kids don't get a lot of time together. They're always separated by different schedules."

The story also touches on how her mother's lessons have rubbed off on George, who now includes her two children in tending to the family vegetable garden and cooking in the kitchen.

"It's about making the most of the family time we have," she said. "I wrote it (the story) hoping other people are inspired to do the same."

The paycheck for Chicken Soup stories is $200, she said.

For George, it's a major benchmark in her life.

Namely, it's a tribute to her mother, who George admits she only came to appreciate after some teenage rebellion.

"She (my mother) got my first spare copy of the book," George said. "She's not the most emotional type, but I think it moved her."

The publication has also provided evidence that George's name on a book cover can be more than a dream.

She has another story that will be published in the "Chicken Soup for the Runner's Soul," slated to be out in July, and she hopes to eventually publish two of her own books.

Her previous stabs at getting one on bookshelves netted a few rejection letters, she admitted.

"I took time to gather my thoughts and my confidence and thought, 'Maybe I'll try short stories, and then rework the book,'" she said. "Not give up, but just maybe take it in a new direction. I've gone through a lot of rejection over the years, and I'm going to push on through."

More than anything, she's glad to show her mother that those countless hours of grinding and dusting and baking weren't in vain.

"Being a mom now, everything my mom was doing when I was a kid makes so much sense to me," George said. "It's something you have to be a mom to appreciate."