posted May 01, 2013 09:11 PM              

This is how it makes you feel.... when you read it.

I have not been able to read it without tears yet, tears of joy and healing.
http://www.amazon.com/Women-Wolves-Clarissa-Pinkola-Estés/dp/0345409876

I got it for a couple of bucks on ebay.

It's all in how one interprets this book- it is very pragmatic, symbolic and intuitive, for a person not to be sensitive in this area then they would probably have all meaning go right over their heads (and hearts), but to those who can 'hear the heart beat of the earth' as I'd put it, then it would bring you to tears of joy.

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This review is from: Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype (Paperback)
Reading the other customer reviews, I find it very interesting to see how different they are, and how different many of them are from my experience.
I was surprised to read the review on this page by the woman who believes we ought to read Jung first (or instead). My experience is the opposite; when I've picked up Jung's original works I've found them tough to follow, but this book I found very accessible and useful. I don't think the comparison between the Bible and a tv evangelist is at all fair. It's more like the difference between Strunk & White and the Oxford English Dictionary. The OED is wonderful, but Strunk & White is the one that is most likely to help you become a better writer.

Although I think of myself as a creative person, I tend to downplay that part of myself and to lead with my left brain, as it were. Reading this book I felt like I was being given a path to my inner wellspring. I felt that I had at last found water for a thirst I hadn't quite been able to identify until now.

This book is about one's inner life. It is not a how-to book, it's not political (except in the sense that the personal is political), and I didn't feel that it over-emphasized "what's wrong with you," as another reader put it. It does continually nudge one to think about what might be wrong: many many women are cut off from their own preferences, their own inner selves, because they feel pressured to conform with societal norms. Many societal norms are, in my opinion, quite damaging and inappropriate. It is very easy in American society to get the impression that women should be seen and not heard. Women are still encouraged to focus on how we look, to be compliant, to act ladylike and be nice even when we are being denigrated, and to stand by our man no matter what. We are encouraged to help others at the expense of our own happiness, and many many of us fall into this trap without even realizing it. We think it is normal to put ourselves last, and we lose touch with the shames and the fears that keep us from being happy, wiping the subject of happiness off the table with a dismissive hand as something that is too indulgent or not important.

This book helped me realize the ways in which I stand in my own way, and it gave me courage and inspiration.

The author is not only a Jungian analyst, but a storyteller. She is steeped in the traditions of storytelling from both the Latin and the Hungarian sides of her family, and I very much enjoyed the ways in which she uses this legacy of the storyteller as healer to make her points. I never thought of storytelling in this way before, but reading this book I found it to be true. (I feel that her stories have helped heal me.) I am a storyteller myself, of a sort, so for me the book was a kind of homecoming. If you have ever wondered why fairy tales seem so cruel and peculiar, you will find the answers in this book. Fairy tales have been mangled in the translation, but this author shows you where they came from and what they are really about.

While I am a huge believer in free-market capitalism, growth, business, and civilization (as opposed to back-to-nature Green-ery), I have tremendous concerns about the increasingly violent and impersonal nature of our society. This book shows you how to cultivate a healing, loving attitude toward the world without becoming a doormat--quite the contrary, it shows how love can give you more strength and power than you'll ever find in a boardroom.

Another review on this page criticized the book for not putting these issues into a broader context of one's life. It took twenty years for this author to distill her wisdom of storytelling and her knowledge of Jungian archetypes into this lovely, readable book. For me, that's quite an accomplishment. I'm more than willing to take it the rest of the way myself.

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When I see young women who don't trust their gut feelings, who don't envision their full potential, who allow abuse, who lack self-confidence, I WISH THEY WOULD READ "Women Who Run With Wolves." This is not an "easy read," but DO READ IT and become a powerful woman on the inside -- a woman whose soul is steady and strong -- a "Wild Woman." The author of this book taught me the wisdom and lessons of ancient "fairy tales." This author taught me to strengthen my core, my soul, trust my own wisdom, listen to myself and stand tall and firm and strong.

This book helped me get over mistakes of the past, and prevent many future mistakes. Re-reading it always gives me strength and courage and builds my self-confidence.

Also, today, as an "Old Woman" I cannot stand by and quietly watch young women lose their souls. I must "teach" in a quiet, kind, gentle way. And, recommend this book !! I hope you love it, as I did and do.

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This is no miracle medicine book for an overnight turn over to a new you.... This book is certainly not prescribed for a person who does not have the courage to look with in. But for the woman no matter what she is, a house wife, a professional or an executive, as long as she accepts that she wants to be the woman the lord created her as and stop living the way soceity/ circumstances / culture dictates, this book is a friend who will wisper in your ear each time where to turn and where to look.
I would not appreciate this book being used to be displayed on a book shelf as an indication of so called intellectual reading. It is not. This book is for every woman who likes to listen to tales, to think about these tales and to learn from these tales. Read it and ask your self, why is that so. Open the minds doors, stray into those corridors where you never wanted to go, never had the time/ inclination to go...... and you will in time, after reading/ rereading will find the graceful, fully alive, intutitive wolf woman with in. and she is the best friend you could have for the rest of your life..... and if you really love your daughter, show her the path.

The womankind should thank Clarissa for this book.

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larissa Pinkola Estes searched out the scorched and fragmented land of our psyches. She brought back the lost parts which would make us whole. This book will make you dream, and I mean dream! Men, women, gay, lesbian, married/single read then re-read this book. It's an oracle, a history/her-story book, and a manual for inter-personal relationship, among other things. Ms. Estes successfully wrote down the bones. The soul's infra-structure is found in this book. This book is a defragmentation device for your psyche. Each person I give this book to, starts to change--immediately. They spark up a new dialogue. Something wonderful and authentic happens all at once--and they grow. Join me in the inner adventure and trust that there is something wonderful inside of you waiting to be re-cog-nized and re-mem-bered. Clarissa will guide you as storyteller, cantadora, into the archetypes, and your soul may learn a new song. Mine did.

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I read this book at a time in my life when I was open to looking at who I really am. Each chapter resonated with something deep within that I had been hungering and searching for. This was the pivitol book that began my personal healing inner work. I recommend this book to any woman who wants to find the parts of herself she has lost or disowned. It is much easier to read with the right side of the brain and it does require emotional work as you go along, but very well worth it.

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posted May 02, 2013 07:30 PM              

And a couple of other women too, here and in RL!

posted May 02, 2013 09:15 PM            

I've not been interested in any books for awhile now, but this one I can't wait to delve into. Thank you again.

posted May 02, 2013 09:22 PM            

I thought you would love it too......

posted May 03, 2013 09:05 PM              

I keep wondering if you started it yet!

posted May 06, 2013 04:52 PM            

It's been so long now...i'm suprised myspace is still in existence.

Anyway, I am planning a date with this book on the beach for sometime this week. I've flipped through it a bit, but want to read it through from start to finish.

I hope some of our other friends here pick it up too.

I think teasel mentioned in another thread she had it somewhere. Some others come to mind that would probably love it too. I hope this thread takes off. K....laptop battery is dying...bb later.