Women Who Run with the Wolves: Written by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, 1996 Edition, Publisher: Random House USA Inc [Mass Market Paperback] Unbound

I couldn't put this book down. It has so much value for me and insights into the world of storytelling and physcoanalysis that I was carried away into other worlds, and a journey into my own pysche. A true treasure to find a book so well written and inspiring as this. A powerful testament in how to return to an authentic and fulfilling life. I can't say enough positive things about this book except it has a huge impact and will stay with me now...

I don't normally leave reviews, but in this instance I feel utterly compelled to do so. When I am enjoying a book, I devour it completely, having started this book in that same tradition, I reached page 18 and realised that this is not how this book should be read. So I started again. This isn't a book. It's a journey. It is written to be dissected and digested carefully and thoroughly. Each word, line, paragraph and chapter need to be read, 're read and absorbed before proceeding to the next.I encourage you to read this as a learning text, my copy is overflowing with post it's highlighting singular words, phrases and whole beautiful chunks of text that resonate with me.Insightful, inspiring, intuitive and incredibly intelligent are just a few words out of a thousand that I will use to describe Women Who Run With The Wolves. You can travel to the far corners of the earth searching for answers as to why you feel lost, searching, anxious and misplaced in this world, but the utterly remarkable storytelling talents and patient teachings of Clarissa Pinkola Estés have helped me understand why I often feel that way and how I can take steps to change it.A pleasure and a delight to read, humourous and emotional. I found alot of somewhat astonished joy, in her incredible technique of being able to so accurately and poetically articulate how my soul is feeling.I can not praise this book enough! Can you tell? It is a "bible" of sorts to me, a gift to all humankind, a guide of self discovery, recovery, acceptance and a path to our natural and rightful power of self.Life and self affirming, truly truly a literary gift to the world. I shall be buying every woman I know a copy and will hopefully share in their enlightened journeys of growth. I will also encourage them (and you) to write footnotes and thoughts in the margins and fill it with your own truths and learnings that you discover along the way.Far beyond everything I hoped it would be. So deeply beautiful. An astounding accomplishment.

This book is an education no matter your age, race, background or any other variables.There is so much wisdom and beauty in this book and things that as a girl I wish I had been taught. As a woman who is learning more about myself on my journey, this book found me at the right time and I am forever grateful for the teachings within it. I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly I have understood and applied the teachings within my professional and personal life, and I’m able to recognise them, and the archetypes so easily. Reading it has made unconscious things conscious for me- there’s lots I connect with. Definitely get it, you won’t regret it.

This book really made me think about my life and be quite proud to be female. It's more than a self-help book, it's more like a life guide! I love the short stories and the analysis to go with each one. I have been able to apply some lessons taught in this book to my own life. The only real issue is that it can be difficult to read at times as there's some quite abstract concepts she deals with. I really needed to use my imagination at times and had to re-read some sentences to fully understand.Apart from this, it was very entertaining as well as educational. I could really get lost in the book, which to me is a sign of a great book. There's a lot of psychology woven in as well which I really liked. After reading this, I do feel much more confident to listen to my gut instinct.

I really wasn't prepared for how much of an impact this book would have on me.It's not light reading. It's not one of those trashy modern-women's self help manuals. It's thoughtful and delicate and piercing and something that you just yearn for all girl-to-be-women to read to just understand the process they are going through.I just found myself thinking 'wow i wish I knew that 7 years ago [I'm 25] it would have saved me a lot of turmoil!'. But it actually extends beyond that, beyond a defined age bracket. It has an organic substance to it that doesn't dictate but gives these malleable stories and descriptions that evoke the imagination. If you are the kind of person to dedicates enough time and energy to your own self development, this book will send you steaming light years ahead if used meticulously and carefully.But you have to be patient with it, take time over it. I got into the first few chapters and realised I wouldn't get as much out of it without highlighting those key parts that really struck close to my heart. So now dog earred, underlined and annotated beyond what is reasonable! I plan on rereading it again in another year.In summary, if you are a deep thinking woman who is groping about trying to know herself this really will be like a beacon to guide your way, I promise you.