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Women Who Run With the Wolves
Within every woman, there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. For though the gifts of wildish nature belong to us at birth, society's attempt to "civilize" us into rigid roles has muffled the deep, life-giving messages of our own souls.
In "Women Who Run With the Wolves," Dr Estes unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairytales and stories, many from her own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman, and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine. Dr Estes has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.
In "Women Who Run With the Wolves," Dr Estes unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairytales and stories, many from her own family, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman, and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine. Dr Estes has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.
537 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
About the author
Clarissa Pinkola Estés
65 books2,896 followersAn American poet, psychoanalyst and post-trauma specialist who was raised in now nearly vanished oral and ethnic traditions. She is a first-generation American who grew up in a rural village, population 600, near the Great Lakes. Of Mexican mestiza and majority Magyar and minority Swabian tribal heritages, she comes from immigrant and refugee families who could not read or write, or who did so haltingly. Much of her writing is influenced by her family people who were farmers, shepherds, hopsmeisters, wheelwrights, weavers, orchardists, tailors, cabinet makers, lacemakers, knitters, and horsemen and horsewomen from the Old Countries.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 5,866 reviews
July 1, 2008
When I worked at Ballantine Books in the early to mid-1990s, this was by far the most successful book the house had ever published (it probably still is). I couldn't get over it -- this piece of shit was a runaway best-seller? Overblown, overwritten, self-important, pseudo-intellectual -- what the hell was to like? And to top it off, the author acted like a complete asshole, with personality traits that matched her book to a T. Her visits to the office were ludicrous; she used to prance around, puffed up like a little marshmallow, waiting for everyone to fall at her feet.
Shockingly, Clarissa (upon whom some of us bestowed a nickname that was, um, less than flattering, and which you can probably figure out) never wrote another book that got the slightest amount of attention (unless you count The Gift of Story, a little nothing of a book that she tossed out in a couple of weeks just in time for the Christmas rush. [Yep, nothing cynical about Dr. Estes.] I won't even tell you the advance they gave her for it because it will make you lose your will to live.) Can't imagine why.
I mean, let's face it: you know a book is a must to avoid when you have Alice Walker saying stuff like, "Women Who Run With the Wolves isn't just another book. It is a gift of profound insight, wisdom, and love. An oracle from one who knows." Yeek.
Shockingly, Clarissa (upon whom some of us bestowed a nickname that was, um, less than flattering, and which you can probably figure out) never wrote another book that got the slightest amount of attention (unless you count The Gift of Story, a little nothing of a book that she tossed out in a couple of weeks just in time for the Christmas rush. [Yep, nothing cynical about Dr. Estes.] I won't even tell you the advance they gave her for it because it will make you lose your will to live.) Can't imagine why.
I mean, let's face it: you know a book is a must to avoid when you have Alice Walker saying stuff like, "Women Who Run With the Wolves isn't just another book. It is a gift of profound insight, wisdom, and love. An oracle from one who knows." Yeek.
January 28, 2008
This book saved my life. I was seriously struggling with an enormous amount of class-related stress, centered around a completely unsuspected attack on my creative potential. After a few months of being shredded mentally and creatively by the people I'd expected to lean on for support and physically by the demands of moving to a new country, I was at a horrible place, alternating between periods of blind rage and near suicidal depression, and for the first time in my life I was watching my ability to create dim and all but vanish. I had two weeks to pull together a film shoot with a script that I needed to edit and then direct, I knew no one, I had no idea what I was doing and felt like I was running into a brick wall with everyone but one of my tutors, a woman who I've subsequently given a copy of WWRWW (she loves it).
This book brought me through that time. My level of self-awareness as both a woman and a product of my culture has reached a new peak, and through Estés' writing I have made one of the most difficult and empowering decisions of my life. This is a book for anyone who has ever asked why, and then shushed themselves. This book is a loud, shameless 'prayer for the wild at heart still kept in cages' (thank you Tennessee Williams), and as it boldly refutes the constraints imposed upon a wild nature by propriety, society, and that nature itself it cannot help but resemble a tall glass of water in the middle of the desert. Buy this book. Read it. If it offends with cliché, force yourself to ignore it and take in the message anyway.
This book brought me through that time. My level of self-awareness as both a woman and a product of my culture has reached a new peak, and through Estés' writing I have made one of the most difficult and empowering decisions of my life. This is a book for anyone who has ever asked why, and then shushed themselves. This book is a loud, shameless 'prayer for the wild at heart still kept in cages' (thank you Tennessee Williams), and as it boldly refutes the constraints imposed upon a wild nature by propriety, society, and that nature itself it cannot help but resemble a tall glass of water in the middle of the desert. Buy this book. Read it. If it offends with cliché, force yourself to ignore it and take in the message anyway.
December 1, 2014
Yeah yeah, the book may be seen as a cry of independence for all women out there who need to get in touch with their "wild" side.
However, my reservations:
- The author tried to say that women should be who they are, but continually portrayed one single type of women: women who had artistic urges, thick thighs and who had always felt like they were born from the wrong parents.
So, if you are a skinny archivist who had a decent childhood and no artistic talents, there's something terribly wrong with your psyche.
- The author makes assertions and that is all. No evidence whatsoever is given to any of the sentences in any of the 500 pages this book has to offer. It's all "All women are like this. She may think she is not, but it's only because it's hidden in her subconscious or she needs psychoanalysis".
- I really mean it, the assertions-with-no-evidence just permeates the whole book. Even the analyses of the stories, "the skull means her instinct" kind of thing. Why? Why can't the skull mean her fears, her past, or just simply a literal skull? I can give different plausible interpretations to all of her stories and dreams.
- Highly repetitive. You could read the book just by reading the first sentence of each paragraph, because they all had circular logic/unnecessary illustration: "women are like wolves. wolves are wild and women are wild so women are like wolves".
- I question all comparisons with animals. Can I compare myself to a scorpion and say that I should kill myself when facing an attack from which I can't escape? Of course women share some characteristics with animals, but not all.
Disappointing.
(This book is highly recommended in pagan circles, because it tries to elevate the status of women. And in goddess-centered religions, that should be nice, right? But..
I can read a book about religion and just accept its assertions, because that's the nature of religion. But I can't read a book about psychoanalysis and just accept it. And I think that instead of elevating the status of anything, it lowers it. A poorly written book accepted and revered by a whole community makes you question the judgement of that community. So I think it's the responsibility of the members of that community who think this way to stand for what they believe in.)
However, my reservations:
- The author tried to say that women should be who they are, but continually portrayed one single type of women: women who had artistic urges, thick thighs and who had always felt like they were born from the wrong parents.
So, if you are a skinny archivist who had a decent childhood and no artistic talents, there's something terribly wrong with your psyche.
- The author makes assertions and that is all. No evidence whatsoever is given to any of the sentences in any of the 500 pages this book has to offer. It's all "All women are like this. She may think she is not, but it's only because it's hidden in her subconscious or she needs psychoanalysis".
- I really mean it, the assertions-with-no-evidence just permeates the whole book. Even the analyses of the stories, "the skull means her instinct" kind of thing. Why? Why can't the skull mean her fears, her past, or just simply a literal skull? I can give different plausible interpretations to all of her stories and dreams.
- Highly repetitive. You could read the book just by reading the first sentence of each paragraph, because they all had circular logic/unnecessary illustration: "women are like wolves. wolves are wild and women are wild so women are like wolves".
- I question all comparisons with animals. Can I compare myself to a scorpion and say that I should kill myself when facing an attack from which I can't escape? Of course women share some characteristics with animals, but not all.
Disappointing.
(This book is highly recommended in pagan circles, because it tries to elevate the status of women. And in goddess-centered religions, that should be nice, right? But..
I can read a book about religion and just accept its assertions, because that's the nature of religion. But I can't read a book about psychoanalysis and just accept it. And I think that instead of elevating the status of anything, it lowers it. A poorly written book accepted and revered by a whole community makes you question the judgement of that community. So I think it's the responsibility of the members of that community who think this way to stand for what they believe in.)
August 6, 2009
Here's the deal on this book.
1) It is all too easy to make fun or roll one's eyes or be actually pretty nasty about it, because it's obviously got a ridiculously embarassing title. I personally got the book as a cheerful joke from my dad one Christmas, and I thought to myself, "gag me!"
2) But: Once I read it, I realized how smart this book is. (Eg, I learned the ever-useful term piloerection here.) What this book is is a master-key to the pictorial language that our right brain "speaks," (via dreams, myths, stories & films), particularly when we are in trouble. If you are a writer, an artist, a scholar of poetry, fiction, or ancient oral traditions that don't make "sense," or even just someone who has gone through or is going through a hard time, you can use this book; you can "work" this book. It's a guidebook to the picture language and the narrative logic of our right brain and even if you think the author is a little full of herself, which I personally do, it doesn't matter. The subject is fascinating.
3) So: By all means, ignore the parts that turn you off or feel cheesy. But give your critical eye rolling side a break, remember what it was like to be a kid who adored Andrew Lang and C.S. Lewis, and dare to realize that this book has a highly pragmatic, powerful core that can change the quality of your life.
For more along these lines, try also the books of Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade or Erich Neumann.
1) It is all too easy to make fun or roll one's eyes or be actually pretty nasty about it, because it's obviously got a ridiculously embarassing title. I personally got the book as a cheerful joke from my dad one Christmas, and I thought to myself, "gag me!"
2) But: Once I read it, I realized how smart this book is. (Eg, I learned the ever-useful term piloerection here.) What this book is is a master-key to the pictorial language that our right brain "speaks," (via dreams, myths, stories & films), particularly when we are in trouble. If you are a writer, an artist, a scholar of poetry, fiction, or ancient oral traditions that don't make "sense," or even just someone who has gone through or is going through a hard time, you can use this book; you can "work" this book. It's a guidebook to the picture language and the narrative logic of our right brain and even if you think the author is a little full of herself, which I personally do, it doesn't matter. The subject is fascinating.
3) So: By all means, ignore the parts that turn you off or feel cheesy. But give your critical eye rolling side a break, remember what it was like to be a kid who adored Andrew Lang and C.S. Lewis, and dare to realize that this book has a highly pragmatic, powerful core that can change the quality of your life.
For more along these lines, try also the books of Joseph Campbell, Mircea Eliade or Erich Neumann.
December 27, 2010
Every feminist/spiritual/literature/writing related teacher I've ever had has told me I should read this book, so I finally did. Frankly, it was annoying. The ideas are wonderful, but the writing is obnoxious. I didn't know what the phrase "purple prose" really meant until I read this book. She also refers to the "Rio abajo rio" frequently, and EVERY SINGLE TIME, she writes: "The rio abajo rio, the river below the rive ..." It's just not necessary. After reading 200 pages of this I wondered how much shorter the book would've been if she'd cut out even half the unnecessary adjectives and repeated translations. I'm sorry. Maybe this makes me a shitty feminist, but this book is really annoying. I gave it 3 stars because I still think some of the ideas in it are really good, and maybe one day I'll try reading it again when I've developed greater patience.
May 2, 2020
لو قيل لي اختاري كتابًا واحدًا لتقرأه ابنتك في حياتها كلها، سيكون هذا. رغم أنه لا يأتي بجديد، ليس تمامًا، لكنه يذكرنا بما نحن عليه، بما نسيناهُ عن أنفسنا.
الكاتبة مختصة في علم النّفس وهي سليلة مدرسة كارل يونغ للتحليل النفسي، تستخدم القصص لل��لاج؛ حكايات منتخبة من الأساطير، قصص الجنيات، والحكايا الشعبية التي تجمعها في تجوالها.
إنها تستخدم كل حكاية (بعد إزالة شوائب التحريف التي طرأت عليها بفعل صعود ديانات وثقافات جديدة، ذكورية ومهيمنة).. المهم أنها تستخدمها كمسرح للنفس الأنثوية وتبدأ في فحص عناصرها. عبر هذه العملية، عبر فحص المشتركات بين اللا وعي الخاص واللا وعي الجمعي، تبدأ في الإنصات إلى صوت الحكمة القديمة، صوت المرأة الوحشية، صوت الحدس الذي أُخرس بفعل المدنية المفرطة، تشوهات الثقافة العامة، والانفصال عن الطبيعة.
إن أعظم ما حققه لي هذا الكتاب هو إعادة علاقتي بحدسي، وقد يبدو الأمر ثانويًا للبعض، لكنني أعرف الآن بأنني كنت لأتجنب حماقات كثيرة في حياتي لو أنني لم أفرط بهذه الملكة، الإنصات إلى الحدس يعني أن أضع حياتي في حالة نمو مستمرة، وأن أخرج للغابة مرارًا، وأن أعرف، دائمًا، ما هي خطوتي القادمة.
الكاتبة مختصة في علم النّفس وهي سليلة مدرسة كارل يونغ للتحليل النفسي، تستخدم القصص لل��لاج؛ حكايات منتخبة من الأساطير، قصص الجنيات، والحكايا الشعبية التي تجمعها في تجوالها.
إنها تستخدم كل حكاية (بعد إزالة شوائب التحريف التي طرأت عليها بفعل صعود ديانات وثقافات جديدة، ذكورية ومهيمنة).. المهم أنها تستخدمها كمسرح للنفس الأنثوية وتبدأ في فحص عناصرها. عبر هذه العملية، عبر فحص المشتركات بين اللا وعي الخاص واللا وعي الجمعي، تبدأ في الإنصات إلى صوت الحكمة القديمة، صوت المرأة الوحشية، صوت الحدس الذي أُخرس بفعل المدنية المفرطة، تشوهات الثقافة العامة، والانفصال عن الطبيعة.
إن أعظم ما حققه لي هذا الكتاب هو إعادة علاقتي بحدسي، وقد يبدو الأمر ثانويًا للبعض، لكنني أعرف الآن بأنني كنت لأتجنب حماقات كثيرة في حياتي لو أنني لم أفرط بهذه الملكة، الإنصات إلى الحدس يعني أن أضع حياتي في حالة نمو مستمرة، وأن أخرج للغابة مرارًا، وأن أعرف، دائمًا، ما هي خطوتي القادمة.
March 17, 2022
Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype, Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype is a book by Jungian analyst, author and poet Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D, published in 1992 by Ballantine Books.
In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Estés analyses myths, fairy tales, folk tales and stories from different cultures to uncover the Wild Woman archetype of the feminine psyche. The book stems from these interpretations of old tales and creates this wolf-woman parallel, by incorporating her own previous studies that suggest "wolves and women are relational by nature."
The notion of the archetype is associated with the work of Carl Jung. Estés produces this new collection of words to describe the female psyche in Women who Run with the Wolves as it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیستم ماه ژوئن سال2006 میلادی
عنوان: زنانی که با گرگها میدوند افسانه ها و قصه هایی درباره کهن الگوی زن وحشی؛ نویسنده کلاریسا پینکولا استیس (استس)؛ مترجم سیمین موحد؛ تهران، پیکان، سال1383؛ در648ص؛ چاپ دوم سال1384؛ چاپ سوم سال1386؛ چاپ چهارم سال1387؛ چاپهای پنجم و ششم سال 1389؛ شابک9789643284305؛ چاپ هفتم سال1390؛ چاپهای هشتم و نهم سال1392؛ چاپ دهم سال1394؛ چاپ سیزدهم سال1396؛ چاپ چهاردهم سال1397؛ موضوع زنان روانشناسی - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م
دکتر «کلاریسا پینکولا استس»، در این کتاب، با استفاده از گنجینه ی غنی داستانهای: «اساطیری»، «کهن الگوها»، «افسانه های پریان» و «قصه های ملل»، راه پیوستگی دوباره به این نیروی توانمند و سالم طبیعت غریزی زنان را، نشان میدهند. نویسنده در این کتاب، نخست داستان و افسانه ای را بیان میکنند، که بیشتر ما آنها را شنیده یا خوانده ایم، و با توجه به آن داستانها، و کنکاش روانشناسانه ی آنها، به بیان نکاتی، درباره ی «روح زنان» و چگونگی توجه به آن، و شنیدن حرفهایشان میپردازند، تا زنان بتوانند: اعتماد به نفس خود را افزایش داده، و در تصمیم گیریها، به احساس و درون خود ایمان داشته باشند
تاریخ بهنگ��م رسانی 25/03/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 25/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype is a book by Jungian analyst, author and poet Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D, published in 1992 by Ballantine Books.
In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Estés analyses myths, fairy tales, folk tales and stories from different cultures to uncover the Wild Woman archetype of the feminine psyche. The book stems from these interpretations of old tales and creates this wolf-woman parallel, by incorporating her own previous studies that suggest "wolves and women are relational by nature."
The notion of the archetype is associated with the work of Carl Jung. Estés produces this new collection of words to describe the female psyche in Women who Run with the Wolves as it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیستم ماه ژوئن سال2006 میلادی
عنوان: زنانی که با گرگها میدوند افسانه ها و قصه هایی درباره کهن الگوی زن وحشی؛ نویسنده کلاریسا پینکولا استیس (استس)؛ مترجم سیمین موحد؛ تهران، پیکان، سال1383؛ در648ص؛ چاپ دوم سال1384؛ چاپ سوم سال1386؛ چاپ چهارم سال1387؛ چاپهای پنجم و ششم سال 1389؛ شابک9789643284305؛ چاپ هفتم سال1390؛ چاپهای هشتم و نهم سال1392؛ چاپ دهم سال1394؛ چاپ سیزدهم سال1396؛ چاپ چهاردهم سال1397؛ موضوع زنان روانشناسی - از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده20م
دکتر «کلاریسا پینکولا استس»، در این کتاب، با استفاده از گنجینه ی غنی داستانهای: «اساطیری»، «کهن الگوها»، «افسانه های پریان» و «قصه های ملل»، راه پیوستگی دوباره به این نیروی توانمند و سالم طبیعت غریزی زنان را، نشان میدهند. نویسنده در این کتاب، نخست داستان و افسانه ای را بیان میکنند، که بیشتر ما آنها را شنیده یا خوانده ایم، و با توجه به آن داستانها، و کنکاش روانشناسانه ی آنها، به بیان نکاتی، درباره ی «روح زنان» و چگونگی توجه به آن، و شنیدن حرفهایشان میپردازند، تا زنان بتوانند: اعتماد به نفس خود را افزایش داده، و در تصمیم گیریها، به احساس و درون خود ایمان داشته باشند
تاریخ بهنگ��م رسانی 25/03/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 25/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
November 2, 2018
New podcast episode reviewing this book! Check it out! http://arielbissett.com/booksunbound
December 23, 2011
Jungian psychoanalytic theory applied to folktales and fairy tales from around the world. Yes? Yes.
I want to carry copies of this book around and hand them out, proselytorily, to everyone woman I encounter who feels confined, constrained, and soul-sick. This book has helped me to reconnect with my intuition, reevaluate what it means for me to live authentically, and reimagine what my life can look like when I live it wildly and freely. It really has been a gift to me.
There is lots of gender essentialism in here, but for some reason I don't care. A friend and I were talking about this the other, trying to figure out why Estes gets away with saying essentializing and even heteronormative things that we would never swallow from another writer... we thought it might have to do with her practice of putting essentialisms in the context of universal archetypes that we can accept or reject as we choose. Whatever it is, I can't say anything about this book other than that I love it.
I want to carry copies of this book around and hand them out, proselytorily, to everyone woman I encounter who feels confined, constrained, and soul-sick. This book has helped me to reconnect with my intuition, reevaluate what it means for me to live authentically, and reimagine what my life can look like when I live it wildly and freely. It really has been a gift to me.
There is lots of gender essentialism in here, but for some reason I don't care. A friend and I were talking about this the other, trying to figure out why Estes gets away with saying essentializing and even heteronormative things that we would never swallow from another writer... we thought it might have to do with her practice of putting essentialisms in the context of universal archetypes that we can accept or reject as we choose. Whatever it is, I can't say anything about this book other than that I love it.
March 23, 2010
Another reviewer summed it up: this book's cover was misleading! I know that authors often have nothing to do with how their books are advertised, and perhaps I should have read the introduction before I bought it or something, but it *still* isn't fair that I wasted my money on a book chock-full of Jungian psychoanalysis when what is advertised and what I expected was a book about the literary and mythological archetype of the wild woman. What's worse, the book isn't so much about Jungian psychology in general as it is about the author's experience. I just get the feeling that this book was clearly written for the author, other woman just happen to become "empowered" by her writings on wild women. And honestly, I understand wanting to reclaim wildness and all, but making essentialist claims about all women-- even if they aren't "negative" (or turning a negative into a positive)-- is still annoying. I just wanted to scold, "No, not all women are 'robust'." And so is comparing women to (non-human) animals. These assertions and comparisons may be an attempt to reclaim or subvert sexist tenets about women, but Estes seems to forget that women have been compared to and thus treated like animals throughout history, and that this has negative consequences! I understand what she's attempting to do, I know she isn't ignorant of these facts, and I can appreciate the worth and need of a focus on women's psychology, but this just doesn't work for me.
One thing I can laugh at is the fact that I would have adored this book during high school, when I was really into Jung, Freud, psychology and feminism in general and I suppose I could finish reading it out of embarrassed nostalgia. But who reads a 500+ page book out of pure nostalgia? Not I.
One thing I can laugh at is the fact that I would have adored this book during high school, when I was really into Jung, Freud, psychology and feminism in general and I suppose I could finish reading it out of embarrassed nostalgia. But who reads a 500+ page book out of pure nostalgia? Not I.
December 7, 2023
I hate self-help books. I find them preachy, and I find them privileged. They give me the shivers and they annoy me so I stopped reading them years ago ('the art of not giving a fuck' is what really sealed the deal for me). So read this review knowing that I hate self-help books and that I would never shelf this book under that category.
Women Who Run With The Wolves did not change my life, like self-help books love to promise. It didn't change my life because it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know - and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. This book felt like a soul-call, a reminder of the ancient knowing that lives inside all of us. This book didn't change my life, but this book called me home. I have been struggling with a lot of collective female rage and trauma these past years. That feels weird to share here because it is deeply personal, but it's true: sometimes the suffering of all women throughout history and throughout the world today bears down on me so heavily I don't know what to do with myself. This book healed part of that wound for me. The pages wrapped me in their arms and said 'you are right to feel this way. You are right to question. You are right to feel angry. You are right to want to kick of your shoes, run barefoot through the trees and scream in internal rage from the top of a mountain'.
If you ever felt that urge, you need to read this book. If you never felt that urge, you may feel it after reading this book. Or you may think 'wow, this sounds like the preaching of a cult', and quickly run the other way - I wouldn't blame you. But this book doesn't try to teach you something, it doesn't tell you what you need to be or how to live your life. It is rather an ode to women, an ode to wisdom, an ode to spirituality, an ode to nature, an ode to life and death and the cycles we live through. There is poetry in its wisdom, and it feels like lovingly being carried by the hands of generations of wise and wild women from all over the world.
It took me eleven months to finish this. This is not the type of book you read in one go and be done with it. This is a book to savour, to put away for a while, to come back to, to question, to underline, to ponder. It is dense, it is difficult, sometimes it is repetitive. If you feel the need to put it away for a few weeks or months, do so, and wait for its call again.
“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”
Women Who Run With The Wolves did not change my life, like self-help books love to promise. It didn't change my life because it didn't tell me anything I didn't already know - and I mean that in the absolute best way possible. This book felt like a soul-call, a reminder of the ancient knowing that lives inside all of us. This book didn't change my life, but this book called me home. I have been struggling with a lot of collective female rage and trauma these past years. That feels weird to share here because it is deeply personal, but it's true: sometimes the suffering of all women throughout history and throughout the world today bears down on me so heavily I don't know what to do with myself. This book healed part of that wound for me. The pages wrapped me in their arms and said 'you are right to feel this way. You are right to question. You are right to feel angry. You are right to want to kick of your shoes, run barefoot through the trees and scream in internal rage from the top of a mountain'.
If you ever felt that urge, you need to read this book. If you never felt that urge, you may feel it after reading this book. Or you may think 'wow, this sounds like the preaching of a cult', and quickly run the other way - I wouldn't blame you. But this book doesn't try to teach you something, it doesn't tell you what you need to be or how to live your life. It is rather an ode to women, an ode to wisdom, an ode to spirituality, an ode to nature, an ode to life and death and the cycles we live through. There is poetry in its wisdom, and it feels like lovingly being carried by the hands of generations of wise and wild women from all over the world.
It took me eleven months to finish this. This is not the type of book you read in one go and be done with it. This is a book to savour, to put away for a while, to come back to, to question, to underline, to ponder. It is dense, it is difficult, sometimes it is repetitive. If you feel the need to put it away for a few weeks or months, do so, and wait for its call again.
“The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door.”
November 12, 2017
I couldn't even finish this shit. It was patronizing and self-mastabatory, as well as incredibly reaching, overflowing with weak arguments, and otherwise full of shit. (Seriously. That story of her and the couple telling her the myth of the coyote and the penis was *SO* funny they were howling, weeping, and banging the table for an extended period of time? Fuck off.) Check out Goddesses by Campbell or Goddesses in Everywoman. Much better analysis of the Divine Feminine in literature and mythos than this narcissistic shit show of "analysis." Who the fuck gave this woman a doctorate?
April 8, 2021
Written from the perspective of a Jungian analyst, the book is covering the interpretation of myths, fairy tales, folk tales and stories from different cultures aimed at exploring the Wild Woman archetype of feminine psyche. Pinkola Estés argues that the archetype of the Wild Woman is an essential archetype for a female path of individuation.
The writing style is more in line with books of popular psychology/self-help books than more “serious“ books about analytical psychology, which explain the way was more appealing to the general public than some better quality, more significant books in a similar niche, but sadly, less appealing to me.
I think it is always hard to rate books that cover topics you've already read a fair amount about, in this case, analysis of fairy tales and myths and the path of development of the female psyche. But this book unarguably carries a lot of unique wisdom and gave me greater comprehension from which I will benefit both personally (in reconnecting to parts of self) and professionally (in helping others do the same). Because of that, it deserves a higher rating as I value more the change of perspective than a writing style and literary accomplishment (especially in non-fiction). But if you decide to read this book, be prepared that it is painfully uneven and somewhat repetitive, and would benefit greatly from a good editor.
Folk tales, fairy tales and myths carry deep knowledge and collective wisdom about sex, love, marriage, birth, motherhood, death and transformation.
The strongest analysis I adored were; Bluebeard, Vasalisa the Wise, The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes and The Little Match Girl, really worth reading even without reading the whole book.
If you are into the archetypal, creative, cyclic, intuitive, erotic, passionate, authentic, and FEMININE side of life you will certainly enjoy this book.
If you feel depressed, dried out, weak, powerless, silenced, confused, and unexcited about life, you could benefit from this book, as well if you want to nurture, heal or just explore yourself further.
If you liked this book and what to dive deeper in the topics of female development as well interpretation of fairy tales I would recommend: Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine and Leaving My Father's House: A Journey to Conscious Femininity, for path of female individuation, and The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales and The Interpretation of Fairy Tales for a psychodynamic approach to fairy tales.
The writing style is more in line with books of popular psychology/self-help books than more “serious“ books about analytical psychology, which explain the way was more appealing to the general public than some better quality, more significant books in a similar niche, but sadly, less appealing to me.
I think it is always hard to rate books that cover topics you've already read a fair amount about, in this case, analysis of fairy tales and myths and the path of development of the female psyche. But this book unarguably carries a lot of unique wisdom and gave me greater comprehension from which I will benefit both personally (in reconnecting to parts of self) and professionally (in helping others do the same). Because of that, it deserves a higher rating as I value more the change of perspective than a writing style and literary accomplishment (especially in non-fiction). But if you decide to read this book, be prepared that it is painfully uneven and somewhat repetitive, and would benefit greatly from a good editor.
Folk tales, fairy tales and myths carry deep knowledge and collective wisdom about sex, love, marriage, birth, motherhood, death and transformation.
The strongest analysis I adored were; Bluebeard, Vasalisa the Wise, The Ugly Duckling, The Red Shoes and The Little Match Girl, really worth reading even without reading the whole book.
If you are into the archetypal, creative, cyclic, intuitive, erotic, passionate, authentic, and FEMININE side of life you will certainly enjoy this book.
If you feel depressed, dried out, weak, powerless, silenced, confused, and unexcited about life, you could benefit from this book, as well if you want to nurture, heal or just explore yourself further.
If you liked this book and what to dive deeper in the topics of female development as well interpretation of fairy tales I would recommend: Amor and Psyche: The Psychic Development of the Feminine and Leaving My Father's House: A Journey to Conscious Femininity, for path of female individuation, and The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales and The Interpretation of Fairy Tales for a psychodynamic approach to fairy tales.
August 24, 2018
Evocative and exhilarating! I need to reread this. Many, many times.
Q:
... a scar is stronger than skin... (c)
Q:
The body is a multilingual being. (c)
Q:
Even if one has friends, those friends may not be suns. (c)
Q:
When a life is too controlled, there becomes less and less life to control. (c)
Q:
Nothing makes the light, the wonder, the treasure stand out so well as darkness. (c)
Q:
Talismans are reminders of what is felt but not seen, what is so, but not immediately obvious. (c)
Q:
Stories are medicine. (c)
Q:
Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. We are multi-volume sets. (c)
Q:
Stories set the inner life into motion, and this is particularly important where the inner life is frightened, wedged, or cornered. Story greases the hoists and pulleys, it causes adrenaline to surge, shows us the way out, down, or up, and for our trouble, cuts for us fine wide doors in previously blank walls, openings that lead to the dreamland, that lead to love and learning, that lead us back to our own real lives as knowing wildish women. (c)
Q:
Dogs are the magicians of the universe. (c)
Q:
There is nothing wrong with ducks, I assure them, or with swans. But ducks are ducks and swans are swans. (c)
Q:
I like to use mice. What if you were raised by the mice people? (c)
Q:
Wild Woman comes back. Through night dreams, through events half understood and half remembered. ...
To take the world into one's arms and act towards it in a soul-filled and soul-strengthening manner is a powerful act of wildish spirit. (с)
Q:
We are all filled with a longing for the wild. There are few culturally sanctioned antidotes for this yearning. We were taught to feel shame for such a desire. We grew our hair long and used it to hide our feelings. But the shadow of Wild Woman still lurks behind us during our days and in our nights. No matter where we are, the shadow that trots behind us is definitely four-footed. (c)
Q:
Don't waste your time hating a failure. Failure is a greater teacher than success. Listen, learn, go on. (c)
Q:
Every creature on earth returns to home. It is ironic that we have made wildlife refuges for ibis, pelican, egret, wolf, crane, deer, mouse, moose, and bear, but not for ourselves in the places we live day after day. We understand that the loss of habitat is the most disastrous event that can occur to a free creature. (c)
Q:
I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories... water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom. (c)
Q:
Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that. The river does not dry up, we block it. If we want to allow it its freedom, we have to allow our ideational lives to be let loose, to stream, letting anything come, initially censoring nothing. That is creative life. It is made up of divine paradox. To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down. (c)
Q:
The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door. (с)
Q:
A woman may crave to be near water, or be belly down, her face in the earth, smelling the wild smell. She might have to drive into the wind. She may have to plant something, pull things out of the ground or put them into the ground. She may have to knead and bake, rapt in dough up to her elbows.
She may have to trek into the hills, leaping from rock to rock trying out her voice against the mountain. She may need hours of starry nights where the stars are like face powder spilt on a black marble floor. She may feel she will die if she doesn’t dance naked in a thunderstorm, sit in perfect silence, return home ink-stained, paint-stained, tear-stained, moon-stained. (c)
Q:
Practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then act upon what you know to be true. These intuitive powers were given to your soul at birth.
(c)
Q:
It is good to have many personae, to make collections, sew up several, collect them as we go along in life. As we become older, with such a collection at our behest, we find we can portray any aspect of self most anytime we wish. However, at some point, most particularly as one grows into past mid-life and on into old age, one's personas shift and meld in mysterious ways. Eventually, there is a kind of 'meltdown', a loss of personae complete, thereby revealing what would, in its greatest light, be called 'the true self. (c)
Q:
Go out in the woods, go out. If you don't go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin. (c)
Q:
When the personal soul life is burnt to ashes, a woman loses the vital treasure ... In her unconscious, the desire for the red shoes, a wild joy, not only continues, it swells and floods ... (c)
Q:
You are born to one mother, but if you are lucky, you will have more than one. And among them all you will find most of what you need. (c)
Q:
I was an aesthete rather than an athlete, and my only wish was to be an ecstatic wanderer. (c)
Q:
I’ve not forgotten the song of those dark years, hambre del alma, the song of the starved soul. But neither have I forgotten the joyous canto hondo, the deep song, the words of which come back to us when we do the work of soulful reclamation. (c)
Q:
Healthy wolves and healthy women share certain psychic characteristics: keen sensing, playful spirit, and a heightened capacity for devotion. Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mates, and their pack. They are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave. (c)
Q:
... a scar is stronger than skin... (c)
Q:
The body is a multilingual being. (c)
Q:
Even if one has friends, those friends may not be suns. (c)
Q:
When a life is too controlled, there becomes less and less life to control. (c)
Q:
Nothing makes the light, the wonder, the treasure stand out so well as darkness. (c)
Q:
Talismans are reminders of what is felt but not seen, what is so, but not immediately obvious. (c)
Q:
Stories are medicine. (c)
Q:
Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. We are multi-volume sets. (c)
Q:
Stories set the inner life into motion, and this is particularly important where the inner life is frightened, wedged, or cornered. Story greases the hoists and pulleys, it causes adrenaline to surge, shows us the way out, down, or up, and for our trouble, cuts for us fine wide doors in previously blank walls, openings that lead to the dreamland, that lead to love and learning, that lead us back to our own real lives as knowing wildish women. (c)
Q:
Dogs are the magicians of the universe. (c)
Q:
There is nothing wrong with ducks, I assure them, or with swans. But ducks are ducks and swans are swans. (c)
Q:
I like to use mice. What if you were raised by the mice people? (c)
Q:
Wild Woman comes back. Through night dreams, through events half understood and half remembered. ...
To take the world into one's arms and act towards it in a soul-filled and soul-strengthening manner is a powerful act of wildish spirit. (с)
Q:
We are all filled with a longing for the wild. There are few culturally sanctioned antidotes for this yearning. We were taught to feel shame for such a desire. We grew our hair long and used it to hide our feelings. But the shadow of Wild Woman still lurks behind us during our days and in our nights. No matter where we are, the shadow that trots behind us is definitely four-footed. (c)
Q:
Don't waste your time hating a failure. Failure is a greater teacher than success. Listen, learn, go on. (c)
Q:
Every creature on earth returns to home. It is ironic that we have made wildlife refuges for ibis, pelican, egret, wolf, crane, deer, mouse, moose, and bear, but not for ourselves in the places we live day after day. We understand that the loss of habitat is the most disastrous event that can occur to a free creature. (c)
Q:
I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories... water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom. (c)
Q:
Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that. The river does not dry up, we block it. If we want to allow it its freedom, we have to allow our ideational lives to be let loose, to stream, letting anything come, initially censoring nothing. That is creative life. It is made up of divine paradox. To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down. (c)
Q:
The doors to the world of the wild Self are few but precious. If you have a deep scar, that is a door, if you have an old, old story, that is a door. If you love the sky and the water so much you almost cannot bear it, that is a door. If you yearn for a deeper life, a full life, a sane life, that is a door. (с)
Q:
A woman may crave to be near water, or be belly down, her face in the earth, smelling the wild smell. She might have to drive into the wind. She may have to plant something, pull things out of the ground or put them into the ground. She may have to knead and bake, rapt in dough up to her elbows.
She may have to trek into the hills, leaping from rock to rock trying out her voice against the mountain. She may need hours of starry nights where the stars are like face powder spilt on a black marble floor. She may feel she will die if she doesn’t dance naked in a thunderstorm, sit in perfect silence, return home ink-stained, paint-stained, tear-stained, moon-stained. (c)
Q:
Practice listening to your intuition, your inner voice; ask questions; be curious; see what you see; hear what you hear; and then act upon what you know to be true. These intuitive powers were given to your soul at birth.
(c)
Q:
It is good to have many personae, to make collections, sew up several, collect them as we go along in life. As we become older, with such a collection at our behest, we find we can portray any aspect of self most anytime we wish. However, at some point, most particularly as one grows into past mid-life and on into old age, one's personas shift and meld in mysterious ways. Eventually, there is a kind of 'meltdown', a loss of personae complete, thereby revealing what would, in its greatest light, be called 'the true self. (c)
Q:
Go out in the woods, go out. If you don't go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin. (c)
Q:
When the personal soul life is burnt to ashes, a woman loses the vital treasure ... In her unconscious, the desire for the red shoes, a wild joy, not only continues, it swells and floods ... (c)
Q:
You are born to one mother, but if you are lucky, you will have more than one. And among them all you will find most of what you need. (c)
Q:
I was an aesthete rather than an athlete, and my only wish was to be an ecstatic wanderer. (c)
Q:
I’ve not forgotten the song of those dark years, hambre del alma, the song of the starved soul. But neither have I forgotten the joyous canto hondo, the deep song, the words of which come back to us when we do the work of soulful reclamation. (c)
Q:
Healthy wolves and healthy women share certain psychic characteristics: keen sensing, playful spirit, and a heightened capacity for devotion. Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mates, and their pack. They are experienced in adapting to constantly changing circumstances; they are fiercely stalwart and very brave. (c)
March 29, 2017
“I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories... water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom, till you yourself burst into bloom.”
Three times in my life this book found its way into my greedy little hands at a time when I needed it most.
Every woman should own a copy of this book.
Women Who Run With the Wolves is a collection of short stories/ fairytales interspersed with commentary by the author. It sounds weird, perhaps a little too academic, maybe even a bit of a literary wank.
It isn't. This book is the best "self help" book I have ever read. It takes really painful experiences, swallows them, then regurgitates them into metaphors and stories my heart could hear and respond to.
It's hard to talk about this book without getting into really personal details about why it means so much to me. I'll use an example I'm comfortable sharing. When I was in rehab for drug addiction I struggled terribly. I was isolated, I hated having every aspect of my life controlled by staff, and worst of all I wasn't sure I would succeed- when I thought about never using again I was filled with a yawning horror.
This was the second time Running with Wolves found me in need of nourishment. I had been in rehab for a month or two when someone dropped in my lap and said they thought I might like it. I can't begin to describe how soothing it was.
The stories in Leg traps, Cages, and Poisoned Bait such as the girl with the red shoes taught me how to accept who I was and what I would become if I kept chasing relief in all the wrong places. It dealt with addiction in a way that allowed me to sidle up to it and get used to the idea before facing it head on.
The Handless Maiden and The Girl with Golden Hair helped me acknowledge and honour the pain that had crippled me originally and led to my addiction.
Sealskin/ Soulskin and La Llorona helped me to find myself again.
I have been clean and sober for six years. It would be an exaggeration to say this book is the reason why, but it did help enormously.
This isn't a book to be deliberately read. It is a book that you stumble across, a book that a friend lends to you in a time of need. It's a book my hand brushes against when I'm reaching for another. I pull it out, flick through the pages and decide it is time to read it again.
I'm not a religious person, I don't believe in god. But when I read this book I feel spiritually connected to the world. I feel some inkling of the wonder and awe others feel when they commune with their god.
If you haven't read this book yet, put on your shelf. You might stumble across it again when you most need it.
Three times in my life this book found its way into my greedy little hands at a time when I needed it most.
Every woman should own a copy of this book.
Women Who Run With the Wolves is a collection of short stories/ fairytales interspersed with commentary by the author. It sounds weird, perhaps a little too academic, maybe even a bit of a literary wank.
It isn't. This book is the best "self help" book I have ever read. It takes really painful experiences, swallows them, then regurgitates them into metaphors and stories my heart could hear and respond to.
It's hard to talk about this book without getting into really personal details about why it means so much to me. I'll use an example I'm comfortable sharing. When I was in rehab for drug addiction I struggled terribly. I was isolated, I hated having every aspect of my life controlled by staff, and worst of all I wasn't sure I would succeed- when I thought about never using again I was filled with a yawning horror.
This was the second time Running with Wolves found me in need of nourishment. I had been in rehab for a month or two when someone dropped in my lap and said they thought I might like it. I can't begin to describe how soothing it was.
The stories in Leg traps, Cages, and Poisoned Bait such as the girl with the red shoes taught me how to accept who I was and what I would become if I kept chasing relief in all the wrong places. It dealt with addiction in a way that allowed me to sidle up to it and get used to the idea before facing it head on.
The Handless Maiden and The Girl with Golden Hair helped me acknowledge and honour the pain that had crippled me originally and led to my addiction.
Sealskin/ Soulskin and La Llorona helped me to find myself again.
I have been clean and sober for six years. It would be an exaggeration to say this book is the reason why, but it did help enormously.
This isn't a book to be deliberately read. It is a book that you stumble across, a book that a friend lends to you in a time of need. It's a book my hand brushes against when I'm reaching for another. I pull it out, flick through the pages and decide it is time to read it again.
I'm not a religious person, I don't believe in god. But when I read this book I feel spiritually connected to the world. I feel some inkling of the wonder and awe others feel when they commune with their god.
If you haven't read this book yet, put on your shelf. You might stumble across it again when you most need it.
February 26, 2024
هذا الكتاب سيكون على ما اعتقد اطول واصعب كتاب قرأته لهذا العام ٢٠٢٠ ، الكتاب الحديث عنه ليس سهل ، ولا اقول انى استوعبته بالكامل كما انه من الكتب التى حين بدأتها لم أكن واثقة انى سأكمله وحين سألنى الاصدقاء عنه اخبرتهم بعدم ثقتى انى سأكمله وانى ربما اتركه .لكن الكاتبة والموضوع جذبنى وشعرت طوال الوقت ان هذا الكتاب لابد ان يقرأ وان يعاد طبعه .كنت كثيرا ما أكرر قراءة الجمل احيانا للاستيعاب واحيانا نتيجة الانبهار وده طول من وقت القراءة للكتاب . لن انكر انى احيانا شعرت بالملل لكن مقارنة بأوقات اعجابي واندماجي مع الكتاب فهى لحظات قليلة .
الكتاب ليس بسيط لكنه ليس بذلك التعقيد الذى يجعلك لا تقراه هو يحتاج للتركيز والتأني فى القراءة ، وفى الغالب سأستعين بحديث الكاتبة نفسها .
من هى الكاتبة؟
كلاريسا بنكولا، المؤلفة الأمريكية الجنسية ذات الأصول المكسيكية والإسبانية وكذلك المجرية بالتبني، أنفقت أكثر من عقدين من عمرها في إعداد هذا الكتاب وتجميع مادته. إن المؤلفة شاعرة وقصاصة تخصصت في الميثولوجيا وكرست من عمرها سنوات طويلة في جمع الأساطير التي تتناول المرأة قديماً. وربطت بين الميثولوجيا القديمة فيما يخص المرأة وعلم النفس الحديث، وتحديداً مدرسة التحليل النفسي لـ"يونج"، إذ إن المؤلفة تحمل درجة الدكتوراه في التحليل النفسي، كما مارست الطب النفسي في عيادتها كطبيبة، بالاستعانة بالأساطير والقصص والأحلام في العلاج النفسي للمرأة.
فلنبدأ بعنوان الكتاب نساء يركضن مع الذئاب، الاتصال بقوى المراة الوحشية ..
بداية فلنعرف ماذا تقصد الكاتبة هنا بالوحشية وحتى لايخونني او اخطأ التعبير سأستعين بمقدمة الكاتبة وتعريفها للوحشية :
ماهي المرأة الوحشية ؟
هى روح الانثي ، بل اكثر من ذلك ، هى مصدر الأنوثة، انها كل ماهو فطرى في كلا العالمين الظاهر والباطن ، انها الاساس فنحن جميعا نأخذ منها الخلية النشطة التى تحوى كل الغرائز والمعارض التى نحتاج اليها في رحلة الحياة
انها قوة الحياة.. انها الحاضنة ، هي البديهة ، هي النبوءة والوحي ،هى القلب الأمين .
انها الافكار والمشاعر والدوافع والذاكرة.
هى المنبع والضياء والليل والظلام وهى الفجر .
الصوت الذي يصرخ فينا هذا هو الطريق
هى التى تصرخ في وجه الظلم
انها الجذور الراسخة لكل النساء . هي الاشياء التى تدفعنا للمواصلة ، حين نوقن اننا خلقنا من أجلها . هى العقل الذي يفكر بنا ونحن الافكار الاى ينسجها
لكن قد نتسائل لماذا الركض مع الذئاب ؟ لماذا الذئاب تحديدا
يتناول الكتاب مجموعة من الحكايات الشعبية والأساطير من مختلف الثقافات ويجري لها تحليلاً نفسياً وفك خيوطها لنفهم وندرك مايحدث ، بجانب حكايات من الكاتبة نفسها
لذا فمن خلال الحكايات و الاساطير تفسر لنا كلاريسا الكثير ، ليس من منطق مالدرس المستفاد من القصة لكن المعنى وماتخفيه كل تفصيله فيها و مزجه مع حياتنا بطريقة يصعب على وصفها او التعبير عنها ، والتحليل السيكولوجى لكل حدث فى الحكاية او الاسطورة .
بشكل مبسط لكنه ليس هو مافعلته الكاتبة بالظبط لكنها شبيهة بالاختبارات النفسية اللى بتفسر معنى اختياراتك.
.هناك قول قديم : الجهل هو عدم معرفة أى شئ و الانجذاب نحو الخير .. البراءة هى معرفة كل شئ والاستمرار في الانجذاب نحو الخير
من خلال ١٥ فصل وكل فصل يحتوى على حكاية او اسطورة اساسية ، وحكايات اخرى اثناء حديثها . بتتطرق لأكثر من موضوع وعوائق ومشاكل بتواجهنا .
أحيانا يكون لجملة او قصيدة أو لقصة صدى عميق بالغ التأثير ، يجعلنا نتذكر للحظة على الأقل المادة التى يتكون منها نسيجنا الحقيقى وأين يقع موطننا الأصلى .
وهو كتاب يخص الرجل أيضاً ويساعده على استكشاف الجانب الأنثوي في سيكولوجيته، وان يتعرف على المرأة. عن الحب والزواج ورسالة للرجل ليتعلم كيف ان تقبله لكل جوانب المرأة يساعد فى تقوية حبهم والعلاقة بينهم واستمرارها .
كما أنه يساعد المرأة على أن تغوص إلى أعماق نفسها ، وتشجيعها على ان لا تستسلم وتعتنق قوتها ، ان تحافظ على وعيها وتقوى حدسها ، ان تحافظ وتقوى قوتها الابداعية والمشاعر الفياضةوقوة الحكم الصحيح على الامور .عن الامومة وانواع الامهات وتأثيرهم على مستقبل ولادهم . عن تقبل الذات وتطويرها . عن علاقتك بجسدك . عن الغضب و التعلم منه وتحويله لطاقة . عن استرجاع والحفاظ على ابداعنا حتى وان حاربنا المجتمع والآخرين من أجل الحفاظ على انفسنا
هى تحاول ان تعطينا دفعة للامام ، لقتل الخوف لمحاربة الظلام ، لاستعادة نفوسنا من جديد ، لاستعادة قوتنا واحلامنا ، لقتل الوحوش التى تحاول سلبنا حريتنا وقتل افكارنا و كسر ارواحنا .
حين لاتشعرين انك تنتمى لمحيطك وحين تكونين مختلفة يجب ان لاتتوقفي وتستسلمى بل تبحثى عن المكان الذى تنتمي له .
هو كتاب للبنت وللأم والحبيبة والزوجة وللرجل ايضا ، هو كتاب عما نواجهه في الحياة وكيف نتغلب عليه .
شعرت احيانا ان هناك جزء من اسلوب التنمية البشرية فى حديثها وانا لست من محبي هذه النوعية من الكتب لذا عندى حساسية تجاه هذه الاحاديث 😄 لكن هنا الامر مختلف والدليل انى احببت واكملت الكتاب 😉😃، لن انكر ان هناك اجزاء ضايقتنى واجزاء لم اتفق معها فيها او لم تقنعنى ، واجزاء لم افهمها او استوعبها جيدا . واجزاء جاءت مثلما يقال على الجرح بداخلى .
.مالغذاء الأساسي للروح ؟
حسنا ، انه يختلف من مخلوق لآخر، لكن هناك بعض التركيبات .اعتبريها نباتات نفسية مطيلة للعمر . لبعض النساء يكون الهواء والمساء وضوء الشمس والأشجار هى الغذاء الضروري . لبعضهن تكون الكلمات والأوراق والكتب هى الأشياء الوحيدة التى تشبع . للأخريات اللون والشكل والظل والصلصال هى الأساسيات . بعض النساء يتحتم ان يثبن ويتقوسن ، لأن ارواحهن تتوق إلى الرقص .إلا ان الأخريات يحتجن فقط إلى سلام شجرة تنحني في وئام .
الكتاب ده هيكون من الكتب اللى هحاول اقراها تانى بعد فترة ان شاء الله .
وواضح ان السنادى ٢٠٢٠ هتبقى سنة للكتب اللى مكنتش اتخيل انى لما هقراها هحبها واستمتع بيها والكتب اللى متخيلتش انى ممكن اكملها بس كملتها و حبيتها
وطبعا فى شوية كتب مكملتهاش عادى برضه يعنى 😂
٨ / ٩ / ٢٠٢٠
الكتاب ليس بسيط لكنه ليس بذلك التعقيد الذى يجعلك لا تقراه هو يحتاج للتركيز والتأني فى القراءة ، وفى الغالب سأستعين بحديث الكاتبة نفسها .
من هى الكاتبة؟
كلاريسا بنكولا، المؤلفة الأمريكية الجنسية ذات الأصول المكسيكية والإسبانية وكذلك المجرية بالتبني، أنفقت أكثر من عقدين من عمرها في إعداد هذا الكتاب وتجميع مادته. إن المؤلفة شاعرة وقصاصة تخصصت في الميثولوجيا وكرست من عمرها سنوات طويلة في جمع الأساطير التي تتناول المرأة قديماً. وربطت بين الميثولوجيا القديمة فيما يخص المرأة وعلم النفس الحديث، وتحديداً مدرسة التحليل النفسي لـ"يونج"، إذ إن المؤلفة تحمل درجة الدكتوراه في التحليل النفسي، كما مارست الطب النفسي في عيادتها كطبيبة، بالاستعانة بالأساطير والقصص والأحلام في العلاج النفسي للمرأة.
فلنبدأ بعنوان الكتاب نساء يركضن مع الذئاب، الاتصال بقوى المراة الوحشية ..
بداية فلنعرف ماذا تقصد الكاتبة هنا بالوحشية وحتى لايخونني او اخطأ التعبير سأستعين بمقدمة الكاتبة وتعريفها للوحشية :
ماهي المرأة الوحشية ؟
هى روح الانثي ، بل اكثر من ذلك ، هى مصدر الأنوثة، انها كل ماهو فطرى في كلا العالمين الظاهر والباطن ، انها الاساس فنحن جميعا نأخذ منها الخلية النشطة التى تحوى كل الغرائز والمعارض التى نحتاج اليها في رحلة الحياة
انها قوة الحياة.. انها الحاضنة ، هي البديهة ، هي النبوءة والوحي ،هى القلب الأمين .
انها الافكار والمشاعر والدوافع والذاكرة.
هى المنبع والضياء والليل والظلام وهى الفجر .
الصوت الذي يصرخ فينا هذا هو الطريق
هى التى تصرخ في وجه الظلم
انها الجذور الراسخة لكل النساء . هي الاشياء التى تدفعنا للمواصلة ، حين نوقن اننا خلقنا من أجلها . هى العقل الذي يفكر بنا ونحن الافكار الاى ينسجها
لكن قد نتسائل لماذا الركض مع الذئاب ؟ لماذا الذئاب تحديدا
يتناول الكتاب مجموعة من الحكايات الشعبية والأساطير من مختلف الثقافات ويجري لها تحليلاً نفسياً وفك خيوطها لنفهم وندرك مايحدث ، بجانب حكايات من الكاتبة نفسها
لذا فمن خلال الحكايات و الاساطير تفسر لنا كلاريسا الكثير ، ليس من منطق مالدرس المستفاد من القصة لكن المعنى وماتخفيه كل تفصيله فيها و مزجه مع حياتنا بطريقة يصعب على وصفها او التعبير عنها ، والتحليل السيكولوجى لكل حدث فى الحكاية او الاسطورة .
بشكل مبسط لكنه ليس هو مافعلته الكاتبة بالظبط لكنها شبيهة بالاختبارات النفسية اللى بتفسر معنى اختياراتك.
.هناك قول قديم : الجهل هو عدم معرفة أى شئ و الانجذاب نحو الخير .. البراءة هى معرفة كل شئ والاستمرار في الانجذاب نحو الخير
من خلال ١٥ فصل وكل فصل يحتوى على حكاية او اسطورة اساسية ، وحكايات اخرى اثناء حديثها . بتتطرق لأكثر من موضوع وعوائق ومشاكل بتواجهنا .
أحيانا يكون لجملة او قصيدة أو لقصة صدى عميق بالغ التأثير ، يجعلنا نتذكر للحظة على الأقل المادة التى يتكون منها نسيجنا الحقيقى وأين يقع موطننا الأصلى .
وهو كتاب يخص الرجل أيضاً ويساعده على استكشاف الجانب الأنثوي في سيكولوجيته، وان يتعرف على المرأة. عن الحب والزواج ورسالة للرجل ليتعلم كيف ان تقبله لكل جوانب المرأة يساعد فى تقوية حبهم والعلاقة بينهم واستمرارها .
كما أنه يساعد المرأة على أن تغوص إلى أعماق نفسها ، وتشجيعها على ان لا تستسلم وتعتنق قوتها ، ان تحافظ على وعيها وتقوى حدسها ، ان تحافظ وتقوى قوتها الابداعية والمشاعر الفياضةوقوة الحكم الصحيح على الامور .عن الامومة وانواع الامهات وتأثيرهم على مستقبل ولادهم . عن تقبل الذات وتطويرها . عن علاقتك بجسدك . عن الغضب و التعلم منه وتحويله لطاقة . عن استرجاع والحفاظ على ابداعنا حتى وان حاربنا المجتمع والآخرين من أجل الحفاظ على انفسنا
هى تحاول ان تعطينا دفعة للامام ، لقتل الخوف لمحاربة الظلام ، لاستعادة نفوسنا من جديد ، لاستعادة قوتنا واحلامنا ، لقتل الوحوش التى تحاول سلبنا حريتنا وقتل افكارنا و كسر ارواحنا .
حين لاتشعرين انك تنتمى لمحيطك وحين تكونين مختلفة يجب ان لاتتوقفي وتستسلمى بل تبحثى عن المكان الذى تنتمي له .
هو كتاب للبنت وللأم والحبيبة والزوجة وللرجل ايضا ، هو كتاب عما نواجهه في الحياة وكيف نتغلب عليه .
شعرت احيانا ان هناك جزء من اسلوب التنمية البشرية فى حديثها وانا لست من محبي هذه النوعية من الكتب لذا عندى حساسية تجاه هذه الاحاديث 😄 لكن هنا الامر مختلف والدليل انى احببت واكملت الكتاب 😉😃، لن انكر ان هناك اجزاء ضايقتنى واجزاء لم اتفق معها فيها او لم تقنعنى ، واجزاء لم افهمها او استوعبها جيدا . واجزاء جاءت مثلما يقال على الجرح بداخلى .
.مالغذاء الأساسي للروح ؟
حسنا ، انه يختلف من مخلوق لآخر، لكن هناك بعض التركيبات .اعتبريها نباتات نفسية مطيلة للعمر . لبعض النساء يكون الهواء والمساء وضوء الشمس والأشجار هى الغذاء الضروري . لبعضهن تكون الكلمات والأوراق والكتب هى الأشياء الوحيدة التى تشبع . للأخريات اللون والشكل والظل والصلصال هى الأساسيات . بعض النساء يتحتم ان يثبن ويتقوسن ، لأن ارواحهن تتوق إلى الرقص .إلا ان الأخريات يحتجن فقط إلى سلام شجرة تنحني في وئام .
الكتاب ده هيكون من الكتب اللى هحاول اقراها تانى بعد فترة ان شاء الله .
وواضح ان السنادى ٢٠٢٠ هتبقى سنة للكتب اللى مكنتش اتخيل انى لما هقراها هحبها واستمتع بيها والكتب اللى متخيلتش انى ممكن اكملها بس كملتها و حبيتها
وطبعا فى شوية كتب مكملتهاش عادى برضه يعنى 😂
٨ / ٩ / ٢٠٢٠
May 23, 2011
pfft.
June 9, 2017
To me, this book is a little like Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. Sometimes she says something incredibly insightful, and then she starts talking about crumple-horned snorkacks. However, while I love Luna, I don't love this book. Not only that, but it seemed that while she was trying to mend centuries of women being put into a particular box that is damaging, she put them all into a different box. There were several times in the book that she said something like, "All women are ...." fill in the blank, and I don't think that all women are necessarily what she was describing.
There are people that I love beyond all reason that would love this book. It just wasn't for me.
There are people that I love beyond all reason that would love this book. It just wasn't for me.
June 19, 2017
WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ
She says, quite negatively, that women were once only considered to be kept as fallow gardens, yet in the next pages she states that she's only felt like she was a wild woman when she was a mother. Again, I felt she was just reinforcing the belief that women are still just "fallow gardens." Contradictory to the notion she was trying to convey that women are more than just a womb.
Does the author need help? I feel like these are the scratchings of a crazy person. It was so non sensical, rambling and repetitive that I found it absurd and ridiculous. I was surprised to read that the author has a PHd and is a psychoanalyst... I guess she would have passed the bit where you over analyse everything - which I guess she did well, although terribly.
It's so badly written and boring also.
My mind is very open, I am very spiritual and I have walked the hard path, however this is just nonsense.
I thought this would be a collation of stories written by inspiring women, however they were just ramblings of the authors, with no logical direction or factual references.
On page 57 it says; "the young woman summons her psychic brothers. What do these represent in a woman's psyche? They are the more muscled, more naturally aggressive propellants of the psyche."
What a huge contradiction to the meaning of this book. The book is supposed to be an ode to women and their naturally strong 'wild woman' instincts. Inspiring confidence in its female readers. Encouraging our do it yourself/we can do anything attitude.
Yet she continued to stay with the women are the weaker sex stereotype.
The entire book is just explaining what a wild woman is "she is .. she is .. she is..." ok get on with it. This is not how you write a book.
It reminds me of grade 1 homework I once did. We had to write as many pages as possible in our diaries, explaining what we did on the weekend; instead I took this as an opportunity to suck up to my teacher and filled the pages by writing "I really like Mrs. ... I like her very very very very very (x3 pages of this) much. That was a better story than this.
As a woman and a feminist, she tried in her words to describe what a woman is. I feel she has a very singular view of women. I feel we are neither that complicated or that simplified. I say complicated because this book is very confusing. And I say simplified, as she quite often pigeon holed women as purely mothers, wives and caregivers. Yes we are those things, but some of us aren't and some of us are also maternal, yet happy not to be mothers.
We are strong without another's acceptance. We are beautiful without another's appreciation. There was just too much stereotyping and judging going on here.
I don't understand anyone who could like this book but I guess I could have misinterpreted the whole book (I don't think so though).
I was massively disappointed in this book, as I have been waiting to read this for so long, yet quite frankly, it is the worst book I have ever read - not kidding.
She says, quite negatively, that women were once only considered to be kept as fallow gardens, yet in the next pages she states that she's only felt like she was a wild woman when she was a mother. Again, I felt she was just reinforcing the belief that women are still just "fallow gardens." Contradictory to the notion she was trying to convey that women are more than just a womb.
Does the author need help? I feel like these are the scratchings of a crazy person. It was so non sensical, rambling and repetitive that I found it absurd and ridiculous. I was surprised to read that the author has a PHd and is a psychoanalyst... I guess she would have passed the bit where you over analyse everything - which I guess she did well, although terribly.
It's so badly written and boring also.
My mind is very open, I am very spiritual and I have walked the hard path, however this is just nonsense.
I thought this would be a collation of stories written by inspiring women, however they were just ramblings of the authors, with no logical direction or factual references.
On page 57 it says; "the young woman summons her psychic brothers. What do these represent in a woman's psyche? They are the more muscled, more naturally aggressive propellants of the psyche."
What a huge contradiction to the meaning of this book. The book is supposed to be an ode to women and their naturally strong 'wild woman' instincts. Inspiring confidence in its female readers. Encouraging our do it yourself/we can do anything attitude.
Yet she continued to stay with the women are the weaker sex stereotype.
The entire book is just explaining what a wild woman is "she is .. she is .. she is..." ok get on with it. This is not how you write a book.
It reminds me of grade 1 homework I once did. We had to write as many pages as possible in our diaries, explaining what we did on the weekend; instead I took this as an opportunity to suck up to my teacher and filled the pages by writing "I really like Mrs. ... I like her very very very very very (x3 pages of this) much. That was a better story than this.
As a woman and a feminist, she tried in her words to describe what a woman is. I feel she has a very singular view of women. I feel we are neither that complicated or that simplified. I say complicated because this book is very confusing. And I say simplified, as she quite often pigeon holed women as purely mothers, wives and caregivers. Yes we are those things, but some of us aren't and some of us are also maternal, yet happy not to be mothers.
We are strong without another's acceptance. We are beautiful without another's appreciation. There was just too much stereotyping and judging going on here.
I don't understand anyone who could like this book but I guess I could have misinterpreted the whole book (I don't think so though).
I was massively disappointed in this book, as I have been waiting to read this for so long, yet quite frankly, it is the worst book I have ever read - not kidding.
December 9, 2018
dün gece uykuyla uyanıklık arasında bitirince beş yıldızı verip bırakmışım. 10 aydır okuyorum, iki cümle yazmazsam ayıp.
aslında bu kitabı okuyabilmek, biraz akademik okuma alışkanlığı ile bağlantılı. içeriğinin kurgusal olmamasın��n yanında, ders gibi bir kitap olduğundan; ders çalışma, ders için okuma, makale okuma gibi alışkanlıklarınızın taze olduğu bir dönemde okursanız çok daha hızlı okuyabilirsiniz. zira ders gibi ama sıkıcı değil, gayet akıcı ve bildiğiniz bir şeyi okusanız bile oldukça keyifli -ki bu kitapta yazan her şeyi "biliyor" olmanız da pek mümkün değil zaten. ufuk açıcı bir kitap.
update yaparken yazdığım gibi, kırmızı ayakkabılar masalının geçtiği bölüm çok güzeldi; hala da favorim o. ama bu asla sabit değil bence. zira bu kitabı okudum, bitirdim diye rafa kaldırıp unutmak pek mümkün değil. sürekli açıp açıp rastgele bölümleri okuyabilir, özellikle zor zamanlarda bir rehber gibi kullanabilirsiniz. dolayısıyla okurun yaşı ilerledikçe, tecrübeleri çoğaldıkça zevk aldığı bölümün de değişeceği kanısındayım.
velhasıl zor oldu ama asla pişman değilim okuduğuma. herkesin, tamamını olmasa bile, okuması gerektiğini düşündüğüm kitaplardan biri oldu.
aslında bu kitabı okuyabilmek, biraz akademik okuma alışkanlığı ile bağlantılı. içeriğinin kurgusal olmamasın��n yanında, ders gibi bir kitap olduğundan; ders çalışma, ders için okuma, makale okuma gibi alışkanlıklarınızın taze olduğu bir dönemde okursanız çok daha hızlı okuyabilirsiniz. zira ders gibi ama sıkıcı değil, gayet akıcı ve bildiğiniz bir şeyi okusanız bile oldukça keyifli -ki bu kitapta yazan her şeyi "biliyor" olmanız da pek mümkün değil zaten. ufuk açıcı bir kitap.
update yaparken yazdığım gibi, kırmızı ayakkabılar masalının geçtiği bölüm çok güzeldi; hala da favorim o. ama bu asla sabit değil bence. zira bu kitabı okudum, bitirdim diye rafa kaldırıp unutmak pek mümkün değil. sürekli açıp açıp rastgele bölümleri okuyabilir, özellikle zor zamanlarda bir rehber gibi kullanabilirsiniz. dolayısıyla okurun yaşı ilerledikçe, tecrübeleri çoğaldıkça zevk aldığı bölümün de değişeceği kanısındayım.
velhasıl zor oldu ama asla pişman değilim okuduğuma. herkesin, tamamını olmasa bile, okuması gerektiğini düşündüğüm kitaplardan biri oldu.
December 31, 2018
Sooo many words to not really say a lot of things. This book was definitely not written for me. First of all, I think it’s remarkably tedious to read. It’s full of enumerations, repetitions and random Spanish or German words (which are then translated - every single time, even after the 500th instance) that do not enforce, but cloud the message the author wants to convey. Second, I was very annoyed that most “messages” were covered in more metaphors than her stories. It felt like reading a horoscope - everyone can interpret her interpretations in a way that fits them. Also, her insistence on women being “creative creatures” that love to paint, sculpt and write (her favourite examples) felt sexist to me. I know a lot if women who would not identify as “the creative type”, and they have not “lost touch” with their psyche - they just do not fit in that tiny, neat little box this book provides.
Read
February 19, 2018على قائمة الإنتظار حتى يسمح المزاج
معرفش ليه طول مانا فاتحة الكتاب أوبرا كارمن في وداني خصوصاً الجزء ده وضحكة كارمن مسيطرة ع الموقف :D:D
نوع من التمرد الممتع ربما :P"/>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lspRhX...
معرفش ليه طول مانا فاتحة الكتاب أوبرا كارمن في وداني خصوصاً الجزء ده وضحكة كارمن مسيطرة ع الموقف :D:D
نوع من التمرد الممتع ربما :P"/>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lspRhX...
June 19, 2019
This is the longest it's ever taken me to read something I've enjoyed so thoroughly. I had to take regular pauses because it's so dense, and if my heart wasn't in it I read something else instead rather than risk missing bits through lack of attention.
Imagine Wonder Woman gave birth to a girl who was even more badass than her mother and was raised by wolves. And her sole goal in life was to tell stories to women to inspire them to be just as badass and basically wreak femininely havoc on the world.
It is not an easy read. The language is fancy and elaborate (I'm pretty sure she made a ton of words up but I'm okay with that) and the material is so rich that every sentence is a loaded one. There are themes that will make you feel uncomfortable, and if you're a bit cynical there'll probably be a lot of eye-rolling. But if you approach this with an open heart and mind, I promise you will get so much out of it.
This book is like a fluffy wolf cub that you wanna cuddle coz it looks so cute and friendly but then when you go to stroke its furry little head it's face launches towards you and you feel the searing pain of teeth in your hand as it rips a chunk out of you. And you wanna get mad at it but then it looks all cute and starts licking the wound and you kind of just think, well, it is a wolf cub, after all ...
I love myths and legends. I love how stories from the past and from different cultures can teach us so much about our present-day lives. To see them so thoroughly explored here was absolutely fascinating. Each story is delivered then followed up with a chapter that divulges how the story can represent a facet of the female psyche. Familiar stories like Bluebeard and The Ugly Duckling took on new meaning. I love symbolism, and when the dots were connected I could see the new picture quite clearly. There were so many times I picked up this book only to find the next portion I read directly related to a current aspect of my life.
I've never considered myself to be a feminist, so parts of this did make me feel a bit awkward. But it also allowed me to understand a bit about that awkwardness. It is an incredibly empowering book, and I do certainly feel more comfortable in my feminine presence. I'm a woman, yo. I am a strong, beautiful, wild creature that cannot be contained by the rules and regulations of a rigid society. *flexes*
That being said, I do wonder how this would be received by non-traditional genders. (Forgive me if that's an offensive term, I am consciously incompetent on the subject). I really appreciate that it inspires women to be badass and embrace their wild woman, but I wonder if that means it will be less relevant to non-female readers?
BE WARNED: This book may make you want to strip naked and dance under the moonlight. It may make you want to sell everything you own and journey out into the wild world with nothing but the clothes on your back. It may make you want to quit your job, bathe in the ocean, practice witchcraft, or howl at the moon. It may awaken your soul in unexpected ways.
It may also have you scratching your head wondering what the heck is going on. If that's the case, put it down. Give yourself time to grow. Pick it up again when you feel a little more open to new ideas.
Honestly this is such a wonderful, empowering book and I cannot recommend it highly enough to woman looking for strength, growth and just that little something that might be missing in life.
Imagine Wonder Woman gave birth to a girl who was even more badass than her mother and was raised by wolves. And her sole goal in life was to tell stories to women to inspire them to be just as badass and basically wreak femininely havoc on the world.
It is not an easy read. The language is fancy and elaborate (I'm pretty sure she made a ton of words up but I'm okay with that) and the material is so rich that every sentence is a loaded one. There are themes that will make you feel uncomfortable, and if you're a bit cynical there'll probably be a lot of eye-rolling. But if you approach this with an open heart and mind, I promise you will get so much out of it.
This book is like a fluffy wolf cub that you wanna cuddle coz it looks so cute and friendly but then when you go to stroke its furry little head it's face launches towards you and you feel the searing pain of teeth in your hand as it rips a chunk out of you. And you wanna get mad at it but then it looks all cute and starts licking the wound and you kind of just think, well, it is a wolf cub, after all ...
I love myths and legends. I love how stories from the past and from different cultures can teach us so much about our present-day lives. To see them so thoroughly explored here was absolutely fascinating. Each story is delivered then followed up with a chapter that divulges how the story can represent a facet of the female psyche. Familiar stories like Bluebeard and The Ugly Duckling took on new meaning. I love symbolism, and when the dots were connected I could see the new picture quite clearly. There were so many times I picked up this book only to find the next portion I read directly related to a current aspect of my life.
I've never considered myself to be a feminist, so parts of this did make me feel a bit awkward. But it also allowed me to understand a bit about that awkwardness. It is an incredibly empowering book, and I do certainly feel more comfortable in my feminine presence. I'm a woman, yo. I am a strong, beautiful, wild creature that cannot be contained by the rules and regulations of a rigid society. *flexes*
That being said, I do wonder how this would be received by non-traditional genders. (Forgive me if that's an offensive term, I am consciously incompetent on the subject). I really appreciate that it inspires women to be badass and embrace their wild woman, but I wonder if that means it will be less relevant to non-female readers?
BE WARNED: This book may make you want to strip naked and dance under the moonlight. It may make you want to sell everything you own and journey out into the wild world with nothing but the clothes on your back. It may make you want to quit your job, bathe in the ocean, practice witchcraft, or howl at the moon. It may awaken your soul in unexpected ways.
It may also have you scratching your head wondering what the heck is going on. If that's the case, put it down. Give yourself time to grow. Pick it up again when you feel a little more open to new ideas.
Honestly this is such a wonderful, empowering book and I cannot recommend it highly enough to woman looking for strength, growth and just that little something that might be missing in life.
August 6, 2023
İKİNCİ OKUMA EDİTİ:
Türkçe çevirideki bazı sıkıntılar yüzünden sıksık ingilizce edisyona müracat etme ihtiyacı hissettim. 14. Hikaye, Yeraltı Ormanında Erginlenme'yi okurken çok zorlandım. Sanırım o hikayeyi sakin bir kafa ve dingin bir ruh hali ile yeniden okumam gerekecek.
İlk okumamda şarap gibi bir kitap demiştim. Fikrim hala aynı, hayatın her döneminde okunan zamana göre yeni farkındalıklar yaratacak bir eser. Bu okumamda kadın yerine "insan" diye düşünsek nasıl olurdu diye düşündüm mesela...
İkinci ama son değil... Bir sonraki okuma zamanı gelene kadar şimdilik virgül.
Bazı yerlerde tıkandığımı hissetsem de belirli bir zaman geçtikten sonra yeniden okumak niyetindeyim. İkinci okumamda farklı yerlerin dikkatimi çekeceğine eminim.
Şarap gibi bir kitap velhasıl, okudukça yeni ufuklara yelken açabileceğiniz
..
Türkçe çevirideki bazı sıkıntılar yüzünden sıksık ingilizce edisyona müracat etme ihtiyacı hissettim. 14. Hikaye, Yeraltı Ormanında Erginlenme'yi okurken çok zorlandım. Sanırım o hikayeyi sakin bir kafa ve dingin bir ruh hali ile yeniden okumam gerekecek.
İlk okumamda şarap gibi bir kitap demiştim. Fikrim hala aynı, hayatın her döneminde okunan zamana göre yeni farkındalıklar yaratacak bir eser. Bu okumamda kadın yerine "insan" diye düşünsek nasıl olurdu diye düşündüm mesela...
İkinci ama son değil... Bir sonraki okuma zamanı gelene kadar şimdilik virgül.
Bazı yerlerde tıkandığımı hissetsem de belirli bir zaman geçtikten sonra yeniden okumak niyetindeyim. İkinci okumamda farklı yerlerin dikkatimi çekeceğine eminim.
Şarap gibi bir kitap velhasıl, okudukça yeni ufuklara yelken açabileceğiniz
..
June 22, 2007
Juicy and satisfying, this book is for any woman who feels an urge to connect with wild and ancient concepts of what it means to be female: messy, raw, and full of luminously passionate creative energy. If this book doesn't make you want to howl out loud, I'm not sure what will!
April 4, 2009
I have read this book a few times. I pick it up from time to time to look over a chapter of this or that - it affected the way I think about other fables and even the movies. I am half convinced that the end of the Wedding Crashers is really about two healthy psyches driving away together into the future, married to themselves. I was rereading this book about the same time I saw that movie.
Any woman who is interested in empowering herself will be inspired. It is a jungian read on the darkest version of popular folk tales and fairy tales. for me, that made it very accessible.
Some chapters resonated deeply, others not so much - I think it would be different for each individual reader.
This is not the easiest book to get into or read, but someone recommended I skip the first three chapters. Once I tried that, I dived right into the book and, reading some chapters, every page turned revealed some piece of knowledge I had been trying to grasp on my own.
I read this book at a time of great searching within myself for answers, and if you are at that kind of a point in your life, I would recommend it.
Any woman who is interested in empowering herself will be inspired. It is a jungian read on the darkest version of popular folk tales and fairy tales. for me, that made it very accessible.
Some chapters resonated deeply, others not so much - I think it would be different for each individual reader.
This is not the easiest book to get into or read, but someone recommended I skip the first three chapters. Once I tried that, I dived right into the book and, reading some chapters, every page turned revealed some piece of knowledge I had been trying to grasp on my own.
I read this book at a time of great searching within myself for answers, and if you are at that kind of a point in your life, I would recommend it.
March 31, 2018
This is a fabulous book of almost 500 pages. It is described as..."Myths and Stories of the Wild Women Archetype. Written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph. D. It is a gift of profound wisdom and love. It is...'Full of wonderful passionate, poetic, psychologically potent words and images that will inspire, instruct, and empower women to be true to their own nature........ These are not my words but just a few of many on the back cover. It is almost like a bible and not an easy read but certainly worth dipping into now and then.
May 27, 2022
A Mulher Intuitiva
A Vida confronta-nos constantemente com escolhas desafiantes. Escutamos conselhos e opiniões, pensamos, repensamos... as dúvidas multiplicam-se, a ansiedade instala-se...
À posteriori, todo esse processo redundará num de dois resultados prováveis: ou duvidamos penosamente da decisão tomada, ou permanecemos incapazes de decidir!...
E porquê?
Porque, face aos problemas que enfrentamos socorremo-nos apenas da mente. Esta analisa prós e contras, adiantando possíveis soluções. Porém, é a intuição que escolhe. E é essa voz, esse guia interior, que somos incapazes de escutar, ao permanecermos indefinidamente conectadas com a mente.
Amordaçámos a Mulher Intuitiva. Este livro propõe-se retirar-lhe a mordaça!!! 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟
A Vida confronta-nos constantemente com escolhas desafiantes. Escutamos conselhos e opiniões, pensamos, repensamos... as dúvidas multiplicam-se, a ansiedade instala-se...
À posteriori, todo esse processo redundará num de dois resultados prováveis: ou duvidamos penosamente da decisão tomada, ou permanecemos incapazes de decidir!...
E porquê?
Porque, face aos problemas que enfrentamos socorremo-nos apenas da mente. Esta analisa prós e contras, adiantando possíveis soluções. Porém, é a intuição que escolhe. E é essa voz, esse guia interior, que somos incapazes de escutar, ao permanecermos indefinidamente conectadas com a mente.
Amordaçámos a Mulher Intuitiva. Este livro propõe-se retirar-lhe a mordaça!!! 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟
November 7, 2016
If I could buy this book for every woman in the world, I would. This book will become your mother when you need a mother and there isn't one around. Hell, it will be a mother you've never had. A mother of all mothers, from the birth of time. And a heart that will keep you alight when you think you're surrounded by darkness that blinds you, suffocates you, destroys you. A book every woman needs to read, if only to know she's not alone but standing on the bones of all the other women who died for her so she could keep blazing her path, to make it easier for the women who'll come after her, our daughters.
March 25, 2007
I learned a lot from this book. The big ideas for me were:
1. "even if the mother vine is damaged, it doesn't mean her children are"
and
2. "it will never hurt you to go after something you want or something that is calling to you"
The books is sort of a slow-read, but I find the author generous and familiar and enjoyed the way she reconstructed women's psychology through myth.
It's good to have new (complete?) stories in my mind as well.
1. "even if the mother vine is damaged, it doesn't mean her children are"
and
2. "it will never hurt you to go after something you want or something that is calling to you"
The books is sort of a slow-read, but I find the author generous and familiar and enjoyed the way she reconstructed women's psychology through myth.
It's good to have new (complete?) stories in my mind as well.
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