Women Who Run With the Wolves
from the amazing foxandfeathers flickr
Women Who Run With the Wolves: myths and stories of the wild woman archetype
It is rare that I am constantly inspired by a book after reading it. It’s as if the insights you find often fade after a while and the book seems only really relevant and exciting as you read it. This one stands the test of time (in many ways) and the more I experience, the more I gain after reading it. Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes is not just inspiring, but a something I keep spilling my heart out about to everyone. She loves dirt, gardens, sex, the nature of life, death, life, women expressing themselves, intuition, water, a healthy body and a robust soul. But I can’t begin to tell you how astonishingly wise this woman is. I had such a strong response that I felt if I ever had the means I would buy a copy for every single woman and girl in the world. That I should sing its goodness out like those preachers shreeek on city corners. There is also a certain eerie magic with how ‘right’ it felt to me by intuition when I picked it up, and in the way it described the soul as a wolf.
During this time I was freaking out about the hallucination of a ‘wolf soul’ i had that was still amazing me. yes. I hallucinated a ‘wolf’ as part of my person/spirit/mind or whatever the hell you wanna call it, think what you will, during a bit of a hairy time in hospital. It felt as if it usually stayed underwater until the time I was ill. The book’s allusion to wildness, soul and the wolf startled me with its very accurate description of how I hallucinated it, which was weird. I’ve always been interested in the essence of wise, true-natured women and ancient feminine divine, though. and who doesn’t love gritty fairytales?
How the Book does this
Estes analyses with a hearty warmth for the ‘bare bones’ of stories, meaning the soul of the stories and their original, ancient messages for women (and sometimes men). These have often become lost over time and through development of civilisation and re-shaping of newer religions and other influencing contexts. I felt like she covered everything, and more than I knew I wanted to learn, or knew that I wanted the answers to. It’s very surprising how much worthwhile dilemmas you can wonder about without addressing them.
Estes writes in a casual, lively style, full of good humor. This is not a dry, analytical, passionless discussion, and you will not find one ounce of psychobabble anywhere. As one friend of mine exclaimed, “This woman talks like me!” As I read, I found myself laughing, crying, and nodding my head in agreement. It sparked such a sense of longing I felt my heart would burst at times–something deep in my bones woke up, stretched and sniffed the breeze. I remembered what it was like to be alive in this way, and I saw how “civilized” I had become. Just as pictures can tell a thousand words, I’d like to quote a little tale Estes learned from her late Uncle Vilmos which will clearly show what happens in this civilization process:
“A man came to a szabo, tailor, and tried on a suit. As he stood before the mirror, he noticed the vest was a little uneven at the bottom. ‘Oh,’ said the tailor, ‘don’t worry about that. Just hold the shorter end down with your left hand and no one will ever notice.’ While the customer proceeded to do this, he noticed that the lapel of the jacket curled up instead of lying flat. ‘Oh that?’ said the tailor. ‘That’s nothing. Just turn your head a little and hold it down with your chin.’ The customer complied, and as he did, he noticed that the inseam of the pants was a little short and he felt that the rise was a bit too tight. ‘Oh, don’t worry about that,’ said the tailor. ‘Just pull the inseam down with your right hand, and everything will be perfect.’ The customer agreed and purchased the suit. The next day he wore his new suit with all the accompanying hand and chin ‘alterations.’ As he limped through the park with his chin holding down his lapel, one hand tugging at the vest, the other hand grasping his crotch, two old men stopped playing checkers to watch him stagger by. ‘M’Isten, oh, my God!’ said the first man. ‘Look at that poor crippled man!’ The second man reflected for a moment, then murmured, ‘Igen, yes, the crippling is too bad, but you know I wonder…where did he get such a nice suit?’” Just like the man with the new suit, we often develop personas that display to everyone how good, caring, nice, etc., we are. To the outside world everything is perfect, but inside our true natures are crippled. Women often get so much support for these pleasing personas, we lose touch with how much they narrow our choices, cut us off from life, and bring us unnecessary pain. Women Who Run with the Wolves helps us see that we have become like the tailor’s gullible customer. Perhaps we have been hobbling around in our fancy suits for so long we have forgotten we weren’t always a cripple. Estes’ book will show you where you have lost touch with your heart, your guts, your creativity, your wildness–your life! The stories she presents, and her insightful analysis of those stories, will gently lead you back to yourself. Even if you are unmoved by this review, I would ask you to run to the nearest bookstore and read the introduction. Let Estes’ own words touch you. This is one of those powerful books that, if you are ready for it, it will call you.
Laura Bryannan
I felt so in awe with reading Clarissa Estes that I researched(read: ‘googled’) the text, and it turned out her book was a New York Times Bestseller and that Alice Walker (one of my faaavourite writers, of The Color Purple, like, everr) says,
‘Women Who Run With the Wolves isn’t just another book. It is a gift of profound insight, wisdom, and love. An oracle from La Que Sabee – One Who Knows’.
Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple
Flicking through Sabrina Ward Harrison’s book..I discovered suddenly a minimalist white page with only ONE message ‘You Must read Women Who Run With the Wolves’ and I went crazy, because I find Harrison’s artwork and collage sacred being scarily relatable, intimate and honest. Reading the text itself felt like a very important thing to do once I started. Every paragraph is disillusionment and discovery, so very abundant and leads to a lot of brainstorming. It’s an epic, wonderful read. It might even still be collecting dust on you mum’s bookshelf!
Criticisms to address
It could be critiqued as unpractical, and not telling us ‘what to actually do’, or even that it’s vague. I never got that impression. I was really surprised by this response, but realised what was meant. For me, there were often moments of..’oh god, i don’t know! i’ll have to work that one out.’ because it challenged me in so many ways it takes a lot of actual mind-work, yet it can just sink into your mind and feels very healing & therapeutic. Most importantly,this is not a self-help book. It’s not a’ for this time, this girl, this society, this class, this lifestyle’ deal. On the contrary. Arguably, Estes says that circumstances are nothing compared to will and intention through Gnosis (self-knowing). Her purpose is to reveal and sing the innate feminine, ancient knowledge women had recently suppressed a lot in the time, and before book was written. It’s a book of inductive truth and nature. The old..’i can only point you to the door’ analogy works here.
The messages she so potently expresses were enough, more than enough, for me. My decisions and self-trust already strengthened by her analysis of story and access to ancient/worldly female truth has been very very ‘helpful’ and maturing. My empathy and intuition feel even more alive than ever. I don’t need someone to hold my hand or play out my life for me with puppet strings, this isn’t the point of the text. The point is the opposite. Be the wanderer, trust yourself and know what you actually want and challenge yourself with your ideals, and it’s gonna be hard work!! – “Save Yourself!” – shouts Mr. Bukowski! Thank you, Mr. Bukowski. Phew. Anyhow, she is very good at the direction she gives and is in no way ‘vague’. A lot of readers seem to describe how it ‘stews’ in your mind after reading it for a long time. In this way it’s very unique. Your mind really has to get used to revealed, raw truths and digest wonderful, unbelievably important messages of a woman’s entire life and universe.
I’m so happy it was bestseller but scared that this profound text might be lost on our generation, and god knows we need it. We still crave that push of feminism(the dirty word) for the importance of healthy, flourishing, women in society.
Buy the book, whatever you do! It has to be on the top of your priorities, no matter where you are at right now. It’s really vital and we’re so so so lucky this brilliant poet, scholar, analyst, therapist, gardener and mother put so much work into this subject.
I hope you guys rub some pennies together and order it right now, you wonderful things! go go GO!
Have you read WWRWTWs yet or reading it?? What do you think? I’ll probably re-read it heaps.
SUPER WOLF LICKIN LOVE
p.s i love this song:
