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4.7 out of 5 stars
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women who run clarissa pinkola must read years ago pinkola estes wild woman highly recommend fairy tales writing style many times great book myths and stories audio version favorite books well worth woman archetype life changing ever read books i have ever folk tales
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S. Garcia
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but...
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2018
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This book could be interesting and I like the concept of it. I've heard so much about how awesome it is and a lot of people in the groups I'm in rave about this book. I decided to finally buy it without reading it first. Big mistake. I should've checked this out from the library first. I am an intelligent person, I have a bachelor's degree, and I've completed research at the graduate level beyond my years because apparently that's where my reading and writing skills are. The author's writing is impossible to follow completely because a lot of unnecessary words are added in, some of which don't add any meaning to whatever it is that she is trying to say. Just no. Check it out from the library if curious.
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Gretchen Jones
2.0 out of 5 stars really wanted to like this book
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
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really wanted to like this book, but the author is most concerned with proving her intellect with an unusual and unreasonable amount of words per sentence making it impossible to find a flow when reading. Its as though she's trying to prove herself through how many overly intellectual words she can through into each and every sentence within the book. Its self indulgent to say the least.

Also - if you are a modern woman who doesn't need to connect to your womb to feel of value in the world - this book is alienating. Matriarchy is not the only narrative for femininity - yet this book encourages women to think this is the case.

I find this book to be overly revered for the perspective and narrative it actually offers.
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lovsmack
1.0 out of 5 stars Gave up.
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2018
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Couldn’t get past the first chapter. I’m not sure if I just lost my attention span or have gotten dumber over the years, but, based on the other 1 and 2 star reviews, I’m thinking that the writing is just terrible. I felt like I was trying to read the Bible, if the Bible was written in the style of Alice in Wonderland. So many unnecessary words and long sentences. Pass.
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Ardy
5.0 out of 5 stars My Go To Book for healing the injured female within
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2016
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this book is my go to staple to feed my female soul. if anyone can get it right and deep it is Clarissa. to me, she is like the female version of Joseph Campbell. she totally unfolds the female archetypal characters and souls. if you want a book with meat and bones that talks about the issues of the female character and her relationships with other women ... within her family ... who betray her or abuse her, abandon her or neglect her ... and you have had that happen to you and you need a healing through profound understanding ... then get this book, read it and reread it and digest every bit of hit because there is nothing but soul food in here! thank heaven, God and angels for Clarissa. she is a national jewel and anything she creates speaks to me and i think it will speak to you as well.
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Mshoneylove
5.0 out of 5 stars Get the book!
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2018
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I am still enjoying this book. The stories in it really resonates with me. I had stopped reading it for a couple of months after finishing a story when I had a break down about my life. I had started reading the book again to take my mind off of things and the next story, "The Red Shoes" touched a lot on what I am experiencing. Feeling a need to escape and get to a life that is happier/soulful. The Ugly Duckling is also one of my favorite stories in this book. The way the author takes the symbols and decode the meaning and themes of these stories is amazing. As kids hearing these fairy tales we'd never know that there was a deeper meaning to them. As adults they mean so much more.
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Ioana Plesea
5.0 out of 5 stars game changer
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2018
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This book is for all women, who struggled through life because of the pressures and pre-tailored expectations of their families, socieities, religious leaders, husbands, children, etc, and finally saw the light of the moon and could not fight the urge to howl (owwwwwwwwwwwwww).

The basic concept is that everything that goes wrong in women's lives in the modern world is that they have forgotten their wild nature, that place inside their mind which still leads with an animal instict that makes women strong and with much power. The Wild Woman is between bars inside each one of us, howling and scratching her way out, demanding that she has time to create art, to heal, to protect her territory, to guide, to give life, to mourne, to make love, to laugh scandelously with no shame, to live with no boundries, to teach, to carry wisdom, and to trust her intuition and instincts.

Ladies, go find your inner animal and live free... following but the laws of the wild...
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Barbara A. Rues
5.0 out of 5 stars If You're a Woman You'll Love This Book
Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2017
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This is the book I return to for wisdom and guidance, that I quote to explain life lessons to friends and grandchildren, that I understand better and differently whatever age I am when I reread it, starting at 38 up til now when I am 67. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, a Jungian analyst and storyteller with a tradition of women storytellers on both sides of her family, tells the original versions of fairy tales and folk tales from around the world and then meticulously, exquisitely exposes the deep hidden archetypal meaning hiding within. From love to anger to finding and learning to trust our wild wisdom, she covers every aspect of women's lives. I buy spare copies whenever I find them to have on hand to give out whenever I find a receptive soul.
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Dr. K
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, totally insightful
Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2017
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Years ago, I would not have given the book, or its title a second thought. But with lived experience, comes a different perspective. The clarity that it has given me is mind blowing. Dr. Estes is totally on point in her narrative and understanding of the woman archetype within...in all aspects and phases of our lives. She brings a wholeness and a healing to those of us who suffered under the yoke of 'expectations' and allows us to live free. Thus, we owe it to our daughters, granddaughters, and daughters-in-law to allow them to 'run with the wolves' and not encumber them with the 'roles' in which many of us were expected to fulfill.
This is a must read for ALL women and for the men who love them. This isn't a 'fluff' read at all...it is deep and messy at times, but the narrative she paints with her words and stories connect with every woman who has yearned to be free and run with the wolves!!
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Top reviews from other countries

H. Perryman
5.0 out of 5 stars A literary gift to humankind. Insightful, inspiring, intuitive and incredibly intelligent.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 13, 2019
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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.
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Michele Berrie
3.0 out of 5 stars Be interested in Dreams!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2018
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I was recommended to read this book before going on a women only yoga retreat. I found the first 40 pages or so completely unintelligible, as they were terribly overwritten and dense, making reading unenjoyable. The writer follows Jung so the book deals heavily with dream analysis and ideas of collective unconscious. Once the writer moved on to analyse fairy stories from the wild woman perspective I enjoyed it a lot more. This is a very interesting area but, for me, this book is too hard going to engage me and I had to give up reading it before the end.
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Angel83
5.0 out of 5 stars Every woman (young and mature) should read this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2018
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Clarissa Pinkola Estes beautifully communicates traditional Native stories of the Wild Woman and analyses with the reader the psyche, and how understanding our own inner psyche how we as women (and men) can move out of victim-hood into the Wild being that we should be: strong, daring and Wild. The stories are demonstrated throughout the book and provide easy instant recognition, understanding and self development. Probably the best book I have ever picked up (and can't put down). As an educated woman who had lost her inner creativity (also discussed in the book as to how this happened and how to reclaim our creative selves), the only thing I can say that could be addressed (although it wouldn't make reading it so enjoyable) is that there are many words that even I do not recognise and I would imagine could be difficult for readers that find reading challenging. Clarissa Pinkola Estes however, is a very gifted writer and regardless of this, I would not wish to change the book as it flows in a way that most readers could understand even without a dictionary. I have so much praise for this book and I have purchased several for my female tribe so they can gain wisdom into their own Wild Women psyche.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Women: if you only read one more book in your life, let it be this
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2018
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Piece by piece, slowly slowly, bite off and taste chapters of this book and let it dissolve into your soul. It will change you. It will root you to your ancestors and to the earth and to the women you were meant to be but could never find. A hard slog requiring patience and persistence, but oh my was it worth it. I'm actually sad to of finished this today. I will start reading it over again tomorrow...
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LLuz
5.0 out of 5 stars Every woman should read this book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2016
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Every woman should read this book. After reading I bought 5 copies and gave to each of my closest friends. When my daughter is old enough I will give her a copy too
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