A testament to inspirational women throughout literature, Erin Blakemore’s exploration of classic heroines and their equally admirable authors shows today’s women how to best tap into their inner strengths and live life with intelligence, grace, vitality and aplomb. This collection of unforgettable characters—including Anne Shirley, Jo March, Scarlett O’Hara, and Jane Eyre—and outstanding authors—like Jane Austen, Harper Lee, and Laura Ingalls Wilder—is an impassioned look at literature’s most compelling heroines, both on the page and off. Readers who found inspiration in books by Toni Morrison, Maud Hart Lovelace, Ursula K. LeGuin, and Alice Walker, or who were moved by literary-themed memoirs like Shelf Discovery and Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume, get ready to return to the well of women’s classic literature with The Heroine's Bookshelf.

"A profound roadmap for how whole systems of oppression can die if we choose to do the work."—LaTosha Brown, cofounder of Black Voters Matter “An inspiring, empowering clarion call and guide to become the heroines we were meant to be.”—Debra Messing, actor and activist A soul-shaking wake-up call to the oppressive structures that keep women in their place—and a radical approach to fighting back You were born with massive reservoirs of strength, confidence, and creativity. But oppressive structures that keep you “in your place”—that is, silent, weak, and complacent—have cut you off you from your natural gifts and pitted women against one another. Following the timeless wisdom of the heroine's journey, Becoming Heroines invites you to recover your inner power and unleash it as a force for change in the world. For decades, Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin has been the go-to mentor for women who’ve wasted years playing by traditional rules. Now, she’ll show you how to break away from that which no longer serves you, starting by healing the painful memories that hold you back from living to your fullest capacity. You’ll learn how to confront any internalized bias contributing to systems of oppression. And joining with the growing revolution, you’ll be inspired to lend your voice to those repairing the wounds of history in order to build a future of freedom and justice for all. At once deeply heartfelt and galvanizing, Becoming Heroines is an empowering call to recover your rightful role as the heroine of your own life. For any woman ready to rise from the ashes of trauma and grief, live out her values more radically, and lead us all to a better world, the journey begins.

While debating literature’s greatest heroines with her best friend, thirtysomething playwright Samantha Ellis has a revelation—her whole life, she's been trying to be Cathy Earnshaw of Wuthering Heights when she should have been trying to be Jane Eyre. With this discovery, she embarks on a retrospective look at the literary ladies—the characters and the writers—whom she has loved since childhood. From early obsessions with the March sisters to her later idolization of Sylvia Plath, Ellis evaluates how her heroines stack up today. And, just as she excavates the stories of her favorite characters, Ellis also shares a frank, often humorous account of her own life growing up in a tight-knit Iraqi Jewish community in London. Here a life-long reader explores how heroines shape all our lives.

The Heroine’s Journey describes contemporary woman’s search for wholeness in a society where she has been defined according to masculine values. Drawing on cultural myths and fairy tales, ancient symbols and goddesses, and the dreams of contemporary women, Murdock illustrates the need for—and the reality of—feminine values in Western culture. This special anniversary edition, with a new foreword by Christine Downing and preface by the author, illuminates that this need is just as relevant today as it was when the book was originally published thirty years ago.

After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans," transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl's poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York. Following her brother's death and her mother's emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal. Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relative’s financial aid to save the family store. As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young woman’s heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood.

Writing great fiction heroes and heroines.

A workbook to guide readers through the different stages of The Heroine’s Journey—healing deep wounds of one’s feminine nature on a personal, cultural, and spiritual level. Maureen Murdock’s modern classic The Heroine’s Journey explores woman’s mythic quest for maintaining feminine values and a sense of wholeness in a society that’s been defined according to masculine values. Womankind undertakes this spiritual and psychological journey by integrating all parts of her nature. This workbook, based on workshops conducted by Murdock herself with women of all ages, can be used individually or in a group to guide readers through The Heroine’s Journey. With exercises and reflection questions for each chapter, readers will embark on profound self-exploration and gain a new sense of clarity and understanding of their own life quests. The skills learned on this archetypal journey prepare women to work toward the larger pursuit of bringing consciousness to others and preserving the balance of life on earth.

This omnibus of the acclaimed Vows and Honor trilogy, set in the New York Times bestselling world of Valdemar, follows Tarma and Kethry, swordswoman and sorceress, as they seek justice for past wrongs. The Oathbound: Introduces Tarma--swordswoman trained by elite warriors in all forms of deadly combat--and Kethry, former noblewoman whose magical skills were shaped by a powerful school of sorcery. United by the Goddess and armed with a magical sword drawing them to those in need, Tarma and Kethry swore a blood oath to fight against evil. Oathbreakers: When Idra, leader of the Sunhawk mercenaries, failed to return from a journey to her home kingdom of Rethwellan, Tarma and Kethry set out in search of her. Instead they find a land shadowed by a dark enchantment, the claim to the throne in question, and the people of Rethwellan in terrible jeopardy. Oathblood: The sisters of sword and spell have pledged to train others to fight for their cause, starting a school for fledgling warriors and mages. But training turns out to be far more perilous than expected--and when two of their students are kidnapped, Tarma and Kethry must draw upon their combined skills to answer the call of destiny in ways they never imagined.

In an analysis of the fifty most important books by and about women from the Middle Ages to the present day, each book is placed within its historical context, tracing the life and influence of such authors as Toni Morrison, Edith Wharton, Grace Paley, Zora Neale Hurston, and Mary Wollstonecraft.

Women face many challenging transitions on the pilgrimage from girlhood through womanhood: menses, love and heartbreak, motherhood, menopause. Devoid of a central narrative, these rites of passage too often happen in shame and secrecy, leaving women doubting their personal power and self-worth. Bestselling author and founder of The Way of the Happy Woman®, Sara Avant Stover saw how women erroneously viewed these initiations as “curses” and sought to present a new model that reflected the power and wisdom unique to the feminine path. The Book of SHE celebrates all that it means to be a woman, from mythological underpinnings to the cycles of our day-to-day lives. Drawing on archetypes including Mary Magdalene, the Dark Goddess, and Green Tara, Stover will guide you on a journey home to psychological wholeness, personal empowerment, and, ultimately, full feminine spiritual Awakening. Brimming with mystery and magic, this provocative book makes ancient wisdom and healing practices accessible to every woman who is ready to revel in her full femininity — the dark and the light — through joyfully becoming the heroine of her own life.