Goddesses In Every Woman Reissue
Jean Shinoda Bolen, MD
(Associate Reviewer - Gail Evans)
1993 HarperCollins
ISBN: 006091291X

A New Psychology of Women. With a Foreword by Gloria Steinem.

Just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they may also be unconscious of powerful forces within them that influence what they do & how they feel, & which account for major differences among women.

Psychoanalyst Jean Bolen believes that an understanding of these inner patterns & their interrelationships offers reassuring, true-to-life alternatives that take women far beyond such restrictive dichotomies as masculine/feminine, mother/lover, careerist/housewife. & she demonstrates how understanding them can provide the key to self-knowledge & wholeness. Dr. Bolen introduces these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, with whom all women will identify.

Goddesses in Everywoman shows readers how to identify their ruling goddesses--from the autonomous Artemis & the cool Athena to the nurturing Demeter & the creative Aphrodite--how to decide which to cultivate & which to overcome, & how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become better “heroines” in their own life stories.

Associate Reviewer Gail Evans writes:

About ten years ago I had a dream that I have never forgotten. I shelved it away, took it out every now & then, looked at it, then put it back again. In the last year, due to circumstances in my life, I have been forced to examine this dream more closely, & to my amazement have discovered that it encapsulates the last twenty years of my life, & what is more, I have discovered that, to all intents & purposes, I have been living out a Greek myth!

When I first had this dream I had little to no knowledge of Greek mythology or the fantastical lives of the Gods & Goddesses who resided on Mount Olympus & played out their seemingly chaotic lives for human amusement. However, since this time I have done some research & as I have “hit,” rather than gradually reached the crossroads of my life, I have put both my dream & the Goddesses of ancient Greece under close scrutiny. Which brings me to Goddesses in Everywoman by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.

I can only thank my therapist for placing this book in my hands. As I emerge from my chaotic, divorce-challenged life, Goddesses in Everywoman is assisting me to break free from the myth, the dream, the denial-riddled existence I have been living, & move onto a far more healthy, self-empowered life. We can become to attached to our delusions, our denials, our inability to see things for how they really are & end up expending a great amount of energy & effort to suppress the truth. Eventually both our physical & mental health suffers the consequences.

In Goddesses in Everywoman I have found great insight into myself, into the Goddess within & the many faces that both she & I present to the world. Jean Shinoda Bolen groups the Goddesses into three main categories.
The Virgin Goddesses: Artemis, Athena & Hestia
The Vulnerable Goddesses: Hera, Demeter & Persephone
The Alchemical Goddess: Aphrodite.
I personally resonate with the Hera, Demeter, Persephone grouping & like Persephone, I have finally removed the clouds from my eyes & risen from out of Hades. Life can only get better from here on!

Whether you have reached a cross roads in your life or not, Goddesses in Everywoman is highly recommended reading for women of all ages. Jean Shinoda Bolen's insight into the female psyche is unbelievably enlightening & insightful & can only assist every reader to achieve a far deeper understanding of herself. I myself, have been able to finally break free from an outworn script that was long overdue for a re-write!

More from Jean Shinoda Bolen:
Gods In Everyman: New Psychology of Men's Lives & Loves
Crossing to Avalon: A Woman's Midlife Pilgrimage
Goddesses in Older Women: Archetypes in Women Over Fifty
Ring of Power: Symbols & Themes Love Vs. Power in Wagner's Ring Circle & in Us: A Jungian-Feminist Perspective
(06/15/03)

Gail Evans
2003©Gail Evans
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I currently live in Johannesburg, South Africa & am the author of: The Firstborn of God: Resolving the Contradictions In The Bible, Time Trials & Meditations In My Favourite Places In Southern Africa.