Reviews for Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

The average rating for Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-05-31 00:00:00 Walter Kiplinger Let me just start with saying that there are two kinds of people who would NOT like this book: 1- chauvanistic men/pigs(hehe), and 2- women who are uptight with their religious and social beliefs (and the stepford housewives type). This book is for all women, who struggled through life because of the pressures and pre-tailored expectations of their families, socieities, religious leaders, husbands, children, etc, and finally saw the light of the moon and could not fight the urge to howl (owwwwwwwwwwwwww). This book contains fairy tales and folklore stories which we were told as children, but never thought about as a tool for empowering women or entering their psyche. I did not give it five stars because the parts after each story in which the author explains the folkloric symbols, the achtypes, and the psychological implications, sometimes were too unneccessarily elaborate. In general, nevertheless, it is a very empoweing book. The basic concept is that everything that goes wrong in women's lives in the modern world is that they have forgotten their wild nature, that place inside their mind which still leads with an animal instict that makes women strong and with much power. The Wild Woman is between bars inside each one of us, howling and scratching her way out, demanding that she has time to create art, to heal, to protect her territory, to guide, to give life, to mourne, to make love, to laugh scandelously with no shame, to live with no boundries, to teach, to carry wisdom, and to trust her intuition and instincts. As a child, hearing the traditional fairy tales and reading Russian children's books, I remember never caring for the handome king, or the beautiful maiden, or the innocent mother; i was always obsessed with the evil charachters: the wolf, the vampire, the witch (especialy Baba Yaga), and the devil. I remember thinking of how strong they are, how wise, and how cunningly smart, and wanting to be like them, and not like the weak princess who's waiting in her stupid castle for some idiotic rich man with an ugly haircut to come and do all the work. After reading this book i realized that even as a child, my wild nature was healthy and active, and I did base so many decisions in my life as a kid and now as an adult on it...i sniff and see if something smells fishy, and i listen for the crack of broken twigs. I have to say though, that i still sometimes forget my canines and my claws, and start to drift into the appropriateness of the mainstream, but now I know how to always pounce right back into my furry, four-legged state with all its glory and pride. And i am thankful that I have a man who would not be surprised if i peed around a tree to mark it mine!! (just a figure of speech, don't ge any ideas, mia :-P) Ladies, go find your inner animal and live free... following but the laws of the wild...

Review # 2 was written on 2008-07-01 00:00:00 Shelly Graham 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.