It is uplifting and reassuring to regularly read stories of enlightenment and success on the spiritual path, but what about the "failures"?

I suspect that for every uplifting success story, there are tens, possibly hundreds, of failure stories. Stories of gamblers trying to give up their habit who slide back and gamble again, of violent fathers (or mothers) yet again striking their partner or their child, or a parent yet again blowing his top at his confused child who (because he is a child) has made yet another mistake, failed to "show respect" (i.e. flatter the parent), or in other ways disappointed the parent. What of these stories?

Yes, you are correct, there are many "failures" but are these really failures? In truth, they are not. Every pain, every sufferance, especially if effect closely follows cause giving immediate feedback, is a learning experience, another reinforcement of the sadness resulting from some negative action or negative attitude; and consciously or unconsciously, the related lesson is being learnt. We need not write these hundreds of stories, the media and the exploitive movie industry does this quite sufficiently! For we seekers of enlightenment, improved service, and divine peace, it is far better for us to balance those issues with the spiritual success stories, the stories that inspire us to be our best at loving and serving.

Also, remember this, anyone who is the recipient of the anger, the violence, the exploitation, is the visible personality of the soul who invited and drew that learning experience to target him. The personality has the choice of reacting with fear or other negative reaction, or digesting the experience unattached and spiritually. Every cloud has a silver lining.