The tenacity of the human spirit is never more apparent than in challenging times like these. And when the going gets tough, we often look to others whose tenacious spirits have enabled them to weather similar storms and whose living examples inspire us to persevere and to find a ray of hope behind even the darkest clouds. That's why we want to hear how you cope with, get through, and rise above your own challenges.

To that end, we are thrilled to announce the Silver Lining contest, brought to you by REDBOOK magazine and Adams Media! In a 1,000 to 2,000-word personal essay, tell us how you've found the silver lining—what or who gave you inspiration, strength, hope, and comfort—during a personal challenge. If your story is selected as the grand-prize winner, it will inspire millions of others—and you'll win $1,000! Your story will also be excerpted in a future issue of REDBOOK and published in full on CupofComfort.com. Prizes will also be given to the authors of the three runner-up stories; these will be announced in REDBOOK and on CupOfComfort.com.

You must enter by May 15, 2009, and submissions will be accepted only through the online submission form. Make sure to select "Silver Lining Story Contest" on the pull-down menu of the form's "Select Cup of Comfort Book/Contest" field. To submit a story, you must be a CupOfComfort.com member (Register Now) and logged into the site (Login Now).

Please note that the Silver Lining submissions are for the contest only and not for publication consideration in a Cup of Comfort book. Please also note that I will not be involved in vetting stories or selecting winners for the Silver Lining contest. Instead, all entries will be reviewed by Meredith O'Hayre, the Cup of Comfort project editor at Adams Media, and REDBOOK editors will review the top 100 submissions and select the winning stories.

To learn more about the Silver Lining contest and for complete contest rules, click here.

from: Colleen Sell