If Women Rose Rooted : A Journey to Authenticity and Belonging

Product Information

Now, I'm cis and I call my reproductive organs my "lady bits," but that's because I'm a lady, and they are my bits. :P If I had different reproductive organs, they would still be my "lady bits," you know? I resonate deeply with the call to be a memory-keeper, a weaver of stories, and a creator, but I want to decouple the idea that the gift of creation is intrinsically mine because I have a uterus, and replace it with the idea that the gift of creation is intrinsically mine because I am human, separate from whatever bits my body bears. I was born in the north-east of England, a Celt through and through: my family and ancestry is both Scottish and Irish, and I was raised on an imaginatively rich diet of Irish myth, poetry, music and history. After studying psychology, I spent several years as an academic neuroscientist/ psychologist specialising in the field of anxiety and panic, and working at the Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière in Paris and the Institute of Neurology in London. After a few twists and turns, including some unwise years advising a tobacco company on smoking and health and safer cigarettes, and the acquisition of a master’s degree in Creative Writing, I moved to a croft in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. There I returned to my roots, in practice as a therapist specialising in narrative psychology, myth- and storytelling, as well as in other creative imagination techniques and clinical hypnotherapy. My passion during those years was, and still is, creating transformation in individuals and groups. It’s not that I don’t appreciate summer: I do. I love it deeply, from the first rich flush of hawthorn blossoms to the last fading mauves of August heather. I love the green and the growing, the treasures of the hedgerows, and the always astonishing abundance of the land which surrounds me. It’s just that I love autumn and winter more. Something opens up in me then – something soft and deep and glowing – which is far too shy to expose itself to the inexhaustible light of summer.” You cannot read this book and be unchanged by it. Even if you think you are there, there will be something new – a new seed will begin to stir. I loved this book. It is so beautifully written and woven together perfectly. Evocative, honest and raw. Do read it.’ Being from New York City, living in the Bronx, I feared this book would have little to offer me but I was wrong. There is even a section on how to appreciate the earth as a city dweller. The rest of it made me dream of another way of living. I wanted to move to rural Ireland immediately!

Deeply heart-felt, poetic, and inspiring, but I couldn't help but feel small twinges of distress at some of the cis-gendered/biological definitions of women/woman included, particularly when coupled with the "essential nature" and "calling" of a woman. It was not overly saturated, or even very frequent, but it popped up here and there enough to make me pause, and wonder if the author has a place for transwomen in her call to uplift and re-enchant the world. And if we rise up rooted, like trees . . . well then, women might indeed save not only ourselves, but the world.' If you want to learn more about Bookshelves specifically, please read the Bookshelves FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Beyond my issues with the feminism aspect, so much of this book was dedicated to the personal history of the author, interviews with different women, and repetitively talking about the connection between "the divine feminine energies" and the earth that I felt the connection to real environmental issues was missing, and I would have also enjoyed more context for the selected myths. She dreams of a night sky from which the stars have not fled in horror, and of wild-pawed, stinking foxes yapping in a moonlit wood. She can see it; she can almost taste it.”For women who feel separated from their true feminine self, this is a rallying cry to rediscover those ancient roots and be part of the life force again .’ cygnus review I love this book. Truly, it's mind-blowing in the most profound and exhilarating sense. This is an anthem for all we could be, an essential book for this, the most critical of recent times. I sincerely hope every woman who can read is given one, and has the time and the space to read it." — Manda Scott, author of Boudica and Into the Fire This book has the power to change lives, I truly believe that... A real game changer." — The Way of the Buzzard

Menopause is a time between stories, when the old story fades and a new story is waiting to emerge: the ultimate revelation of who we truly are and always were meant to be. It’s a liminal time, when we hover on the brink of the profound transformation which ultimately leads to elderhood, and contemplate the work of gaining new perspectives on our life, of challenging and evolving our belief systems, of exploring our calling, of uncovering meaning, and ultimately finding healing for a lifetime’s accumulation of wounds. I see someone desperately hanging on to the cliff-edge of control with bleeding, shredded fingernails and gritted teeth, wanting all the while to just let go and scream her tired heart out as she fell.”Transformative courses designed to lead you into a deeper awareness and understanding of your own unique mythopoetic journey through this life. Born in the edgelands where psychology, myth and ecology converge, these courses are aimed at rewilding the tired and overly domesticated psyche. What I would have liked to have seen in this book is a pronunciation guide for the Gaelic names and words (impossible combinations of letters!) and an appendix with the names and brief identities of the mythological characters and places. There are footnotes for sources which is helpful. I love this book. Truly, it’s mind-blowing in the most profound and exhilarating sense. This is an anthem for all we could be, an essential book for this, the most critical of recent times. I sincerely hope every woman who can read has the time and space to read it.’ ~ Manda Scott, Boudica and Into The Fire My first novel The Long Delirious Burning Blue was described by The Independent on Sunday as ‘Hugely potent. A tribute to the art of storytelling that is itself an affecting and inspiring story’ and by The Scotsman as ‘… powerful (reminiscent of The English Patient), filmic, and achieving the kind of symmetry that novels often aspire to, but rarely reach.’ 'If Women Rose Rooted', a nonfiction book about women, Celtic myth, place and belonging was published in 2016, 'The Enchanted Life' in 2018, and 'Foxfire, Wolfskin and other stories of shapeshifting women' in September 2019..

We are guided deftly on a life-changing journey from the wasteland of modern society to a place of nourishment and connection. Mind-blowing. An anthem for all we could be . . . I sincerely hope every woman who can read has the time and space to read it.’ Manda Scott, author of Boudica and A Treachery of Spies The book depicts one way of femininity – connected with nature, stories and heritage – and finds multiple examples of women that thrived when following this path. But these multiple examples still adds up to like 10-15 women in total. This makes me think about all the other aspects and ways of being that were completely ignored. Distinctive and didactic poems, paintings, and music come into my life when I am deep into soul-searching, shadow work. This book arrived exactly when I needed it. It is gut-wrenching, beautiful, powerful, and very important.

And if we rise up rooted, like trees . . . well then, women might indeed save not only ourselves, but the world. Because enchantment, by my definition, has nothing to do with fantasy, or escapism, or magical thinking: it is founded on a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world; a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life. The enchanted life presented here is one which is intuitive, embraces wonder and fully engages the creative imagination – but it is also deeply embodied, ecological, grounded in place and community. It flourishes on work that has heart and meaning; it respects the instinctive knowledge and playfulness of children. It understands the myths we live by; thrives on poetry, song and dance. It loves the folkloric, the handcrafted, the practice of traditional skills. It respects wild things, recognises the wisdom of the crow, seeks out the medicine of plants. It rummages and roots on the wild edges, but comes home to an enchanted home and garden. It is engaged with the small, the local, the ethical; enchanted living is slow living.”

This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.I feel I received this great collection of stories just at a right time to get grounded and to find my roots in every day life. In all the old stories, the geilt is hypersensitive to the sights and sounds of the civilised world, finding them unendurable. She finds other people unendurable too; only alone in the wild, in nature, can safety and freedom be found.” I also felt better able to deal with my own aging process, something that has been hard for me to accept. The idea (familiar to me but forgotten, pushed aside) that age has something of its own to offer the world, something valuable is a source of comfort and inspiration.