Women Who Run with the Wolves

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Summary: WWRWW is a treasure trove of female psychological insight.
Review: It reached into the depth of my innermost hurts, named the pain and through my tears the poison was diluted until I felt a healing beginning. As we discover what was lost or given up we are also given the tools to go about reclaiming instincts that can bring us into a place of awareness; instinctual enlightenment. Intellectually stimulating and a thinker's paradise, this work touches reality as deeply as it does myth -- Estes uses language that motivates, inspires, and also tenderly, lovingly imparts an understanding of the trials I endured and the wrong (and right) choices I made. "Forgive as much as you can" she writes, "forget a little, create a lot." -- "Refuse to be ashamed." My book is the hardcover first edition, 1992. It is underlined, highlighted, bookmarked, post-it tabbed, etc. It is virtually in hunks and I carry it around in a gallon ziplock bag to keep it somewhat intact. Oh, but that I would have known growing up what I learned here. - Thanks to Dr. Estes for creating a safe place for me to work out my life and for providing the nurturing that gave me strength and courage to be proud and respectful of my self. I'll never toss my scarcoat. I earned it and I'm glad to trade my survivor status for "thrivor." And, to Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, I'm leaving deep footprints because I can! Blessings to all who share the wisdom and heart in these pages.

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Summary: A legacy for the future that is explained from our past
Review: One of the authors I have enjoyed the most was Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Dr. Estes discusses important issues using stories, legends, and myths she has collected around the world. In her interviews I have heard her explain that, since the beginning of human time the stories we have told, whether around the campfires of our ancient civilizations or in our more modern books, have reflected society's attitudes and taboos. The stories are like a mirror into the past. From our past are the keys to our future--keys that can set us free. Dr. Estes is a consummate story teller. She weaves a web of truth that hits like a sledge hammer. She holds the reader spell bound as she leads us from story to story, explaining every crevice and corner behind the subtle meanings within the seemingly harmless fair tales we grew up with. She discusses life at its most exciting, death at is most gruesome, and all that lies between the two. She talks about sensuality, women's issues, men's issues, the after life. She teaches us to look beyond the obvious for what is beneath and unseen. She takes us to the underworlds of ancient cultures and to the courageous who battled for the hand of a maiden. She talks of betrayal and of brutal societies who cage us, clip our wings and try to kill our very souls. Her writing is not for everyone. Men should read her, but seldom understand her concepts. Women must read her, though to do so brings up such hidden emotions. We often have to stop in the reading to deal with the flood of emotions that erupt. Her writing has changed the life of a 73 year old woman who found answers to questions she had wondered about all her life. Her writing has changed the life of a young mother who found her wildish nature in the writings. It has even changed the life of a business woman who discovered her spiritual connection to the world around her. Dr. Estes' books are my legacy to my grand daughters as well my daughters. I have bought a book for each. As my grandaughters become young women, I will present ea! ch a book in hopes that the teachings within these stories will enhance their life and preserve their wildish natures for generations to come.

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Summary: The Power in Metaphors
Review: Estes has provided a great service to us all by preserving and interpreting these archetypal stories that pass on the wisdom of the generations that precede us with regard to living, loving, rites of passage, and dying. Second only to Joseph Campbell's work (The Power of Myth) in it's power to explain many of the facets of our lives. As equally valuable to men as to women.

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Summary: captivating
Review: 13 feb 1998 writing this review as i listen to courtney love sing "pieces of jennifer's body"... throughout the time i spent reading "women..." i would drift to the courtney's and the ani's and the marge piercy's and the vast, faceless unknown women who know what "women" says, though they cannot articulate, they cannot allow themselves at times to enter that metaphorical world... they are literally hungry; their children are literally starving; their spouses and parents are literally beating them to death. as an instructor in adult education, as a human being, as a woman, as a person who tries to understand that which is oftentimes so damned unclear, i must say that this work, this book, this opportunity to run with the wolves, has opened up to me many venues, many dormant inclinations, many silent needs and rights.... for that, and for so much more, i am more than grateful, more than thankful, more than i possess words to describe... so, i shall let action live where words cannot find their voice or relevance, i shall let spirit embrace me. i shall let this work, this appendage to that which i have innately known, guide me, fill me, lift me. thank you, clarissa....for giving of yourself, for believing in the power of belief. i am forever indebted and grateful. thank you..... maggie

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Summary: It can change your life (really)
Review: I picked up this book when it was already a best-seller, and hence approached it with a certain cynicism: it sounded like yet another touchy-feely, "let it all hang out" invitation to express aspects of one's character that are probably better left unexpressed.
Was I wrong! Myths are powerful because they speak to a level of understanding beyond the rational. I got to the story of the Ugly Duckling, and found myself in tears: that was me as a child, and, although I'm well into swanhood now, I'd never overcome the feeling that there was something profoundly wrong with me because I wasn't the cute, cuddly little girl everyone said I "should" be. Estes' advice to the former Ugly Ducklings of this world was right on, too: don't get hung up in being a "survivor"; pay tribute to the pain and the strength of the child you were, then leave it behind you.
This isn't as "scholarly" a work as some critics would like, but I don't think that's the point. Reading it is like spending time with a wise grandmother who tells you all the old tales and advises you based on what she's learned from life. In rational terms, much of what she says may make no sense -- but the stories themselves, her wisdom, and the love and acceptance she radiates, are all powerful teachers.
This is a book about changing from within, not abandoning your responsibilities to, literally, go off and run with the wolves. Through reading these stories, you'll REclaim parts of yourself that you thought you'd lost forever.

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Summary: The best book I've read for women!
Review: What a magnificent book! I urge all women to read this. Beautifully written and very compelling. It will help you understand your inner self, your psyche. She tells women to be willing to burn hot, burn with passion, burn with words, with ideas, with desire for whatever it is that she truly loves. Such an amazing book from an amazing woman. Ms. Estes, please go on write more books

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Summary: Guys can howl too!
Review: Men, don't let the title fool you. We can learn as much as women can from this ingenious book from Clarissa Estes. The parables she tells and the interpretations she provides have truly opened my eyes to many of the issues faced by women. In a style that is easy to read and even easier to understand, WOMEN WHO RUN WITH THE WOLVES contains lessons for both genders to learn. Though a few of Estes' statements are gender-specific, much of her wisdom is universal. Guys, we've been asking all of our lives what women want. My guess is they want us to read this book

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Summary: Estes uses cross-cultural mythologies to celebrate women!
Review: Women Who Run With the Wolves is a marvelous book for women, celebrating our innate intuition and intelligence. Using such classic myths and legends as Blue Beard, she clearly draws a link between the essence of the tale and a woman's strength. She tells us to trust ourselves, and also shows how we have been taught by our culture not to. Celebrate your individuality, revel in your femininity, trust yourself--these are her messages. Also an excellent book for a man who seeks to better understand the women around him.

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Summary: the women's bible
Review: A friend once remarked to me that this book was a bible for women...and so it is. Amazing truths, thought-provoking stories, and connections from deep archetypes to who and where we are now. I've found it to be inspiring, comforting and helpful at times when I've needed these things. And when I pick up the book and randomly open it, it always comes to a page and story of particular relevance for me at the current moment. After having the harcover for years, I recently bought the paperback to carry with me, and it's like carrying an old friend. Dr. Estes has done something truly remarkable with this book

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Summary: Reassures women whose "wild" soul is speaking to them.
Review: When you are suddenly aware that your "soul" is speaking to you and telling you to confront the most profound secrets of your life, what do you do? Head to the nearest psychiatrist's couch? Cower in depression? I was fortunate enough to tell a friend who recommended I immediately read Women Who Run With the Wolves. Clarissa Pinkola Estes explores a number of myths, some familar and some unfamilar to most readers of the Western "canon," to reassure women going through this transformation that they are not "crazy," but are developing an awareness of the tranforming power of the "wild" soul. This book is life affirming, life saving, and one to read and reread throughout your life. I only wish Dr. Pinkola Estes had written some follow up works to this book that sings "truth" on every page. G. J. Frui