The Wounded Woman

This book is an invaluable key to self-understanding. Using examples from her own life and the lives of her clients, as well as from dreams, fairy tales, myths, films, and literature, Linda Schierse Leonard, a Jungian analyst, exposes the wound of the spirit that both men and women of our culture bear—a wound that is grounded in a poor relationship between masculine and feminine principles. Leonard speculates that when a father is wounded in his own psychological development, he is not able to give his daughter the care and guidance she needs. Inheriting this wound, she may find that her ability to express herself professionally, intellectually, sexually, and socially is impaired. On a broader scale, Leonard discusses how women compensate for cultural devaluation, resorting to passive submission (“the Eternal Girl”), or a defensive imitation of the masculine (“the Armored Amazon”). The Wounded Woman shows that by understanding the father-daughter wound and working to transform it psychologically, it is possible to achieve a fruitful, caring relationship between men and women, between fathers and daughters, a relationship that honors both the mutuality and the uniqueness of the sexes.

An invaluable key to self-understanding, The Wounded Woman shows that by understanding the father-daughter wound, it is possible to achieve a fruitful, caring relationship between men and women, between fathers and daughters, a relationship that honors both the mutuality and the uniqueness of the sexes.

In the spirit of Haruki Murakami and Amelia Gray, Catherine Lacey's Nobody Is Ever Missing is full of mordant humor and uncanny insights, as Elyria waffles between obsession and numbness in the face of love, loss, danger, and self-knowledge. Without telling her family, Elyria takes a one-way flight to New Zealand, abruptly leaving her stable but unfulfilling life in Manhattan. As her husband scrambles to figure out what happened to her, Elyria hurtles into the unknown, testing fate by hitchhiking, tacitly being swept into the lives of strangers, and sleeping in fields, forests, and public parks. Her risky and often surreal encounters with the people and wildlife of New Zealand propel Elyria deeper into her deteriorating mind. Haunted by her sister's death and consumed by an inner violence, her growing rage remains so expertly concealed that those who meet her sense nothing unwell. This discord between her inner and outer reality leads her to another obsession: If her truest self is invisible and unknowable to others, is she even alive? The risks Elyria takes on her journey are paralleled by the risks Catherine Lacey takes on the page. In urgent, spiraling prose she whittles away at the rage within Elyria and exposes the very real, very knowable anxiety of the human condition. And yet somehow Lacey manages to poke fun at her unrelenting self-consciousness, her high-stakes search for the dark heart of the self.

Hope and Healing Are at Hand Extraordinary emotional pain cries out for something more than a Band-Aid, a pat on the shoulder, or a greeting card cliché. When the wounds go deep, real help, honest encouragement, and tangible healing may be hard to locate. But it is there to find, and the search is worth the effort. Compassionate and experienced counselors Dr. Steve Stephens and Pam Vredevelt, LPC, have walked alongside women in pain for years—they’ve heard the stories, seen the tears, felt the pain, and entered into the devastation. They’ve also seen how wounded women can step out of darkness into hope, regain their feet, restart their lives, recover their energy, and even reclaim their joy. Real-life stories and proven, practical counsel serve as powerful tools to help you recover from past and present wounds, moving you into a new season of productive living. Hope Is Here “My pain is too deep for a Band-Aid.” “Will this heartache ever end?” “Why me?” Today is your day…a fresh season of living has arrived. Coming alongside as faithful friends, Dr. Steve Stephens and Pam Vredevelt meet you in the depths of your circumstances and uncover the pathway to healing. They offer an opportunity to regain your feet, restart your life, recover your energy, and reclaim your joy. These real-life testimonies and proven, practical counsel will guide you toward complete recovery and inspire you to press forward in newfound strength—not in spite of your wounds, but because of them. “I believe this is one of the most important books ever written for women. Every page is filled with nurturing wisdom and refreshing hope. At last, for every wounded woman, there is a pathway out of the hurt and pain.” -Alice Gray, author of Treasures for Women Who Hope, coauthor of The Worn Out Woman and The Walk Out Woman Story Behind the Book The authors are licensed therapists who see an enormous number of women struggling with the same basic issue: wounds that result from living in an imperfect world with imperfect people. “Some are great at hiding their wounds,” they say. “Others are so overwhelmed by them that they are unable to recover and bounce back. We consistently meet women with incredible potential who are stuck in emotional pain. Unable to move forward, their wounds block them from becoming all they can be. We want to help them work through the process of letting go of this pain and progress in healing. The abundant life Jesus promises will be theirs!”

Practical strategies for overcoming heartache and discouragement and restoring peace to your soul.

Imploding relationships, incapacitating losses, injurious personal mistakes, or spiritual failures—whatever the issue, the wounds are the same. Whether it’s a lapse in judgment by Bathsheba or the moral failure of the women’s ministry leader in your local church; the spiritual insensitivity of Martha or the compulsive obsessions of your church’s care circle chairwoman; the terror of an abandoned single mother like Hagar or the struggling single mother in your prayer group—the time and circumstances are different, but the wounds are equally deep and spiritually devastating. Dena Dyer and Tina Samples get it. They have their own stories of pain before healing—along with similar experiences of their families and friends. Offering more than pat affirmations or vicarious shoulders to cry on, Dena and Tina delve deep into the shared emotions and injuries that women of all ages have in common—and move readers toward the recovery and healing that only God can provide. No matter what hurts you’ve experienced, Wounded Women of the Bible proves that God understands and that healing is not only His intention but His delight! This is a book not to be missed!

The Madwoman is a powerful psychological and emotional energy that lives in us all—both men and women—and speaks to us all, inhabiting our dreams, our lives, our collective cultural memory. Ignored or suppressed, she becomes a force of self-destruction; acknowledged and understood, she becomes a source of creativity and power. In this remarkable and revolutionary book, Linda Schierse Leonard explores how we can overcome the inner turmoil of contemporary life—unexpressed rage, the buildup of guilt and anxiety—by harnessing this primal expression of our natural instincts. From Medea to Ophelia to Thelma and Louise, the paradox and patterns of “madness” are as old as time. But the chain can be broken; the Madwoman within each of us can and must be freed, openly expressed, and transformed into a source of constructive, creative energy. Leonard draws upon an extraordinary range of sources—ancient myths and fairy tales, films and literature, contemporary and historical women’s lives—to design a model of empowerment for women today. With its fresh perspectives and bold insights, Meeting the Madwoman is a provocative work of profound cultural significance, one whose ideas are sure to resonate for years to come. Praise for Meeting the Madwoman “A book loaded with practical insights that’s also fun to read . . . With refreshing originality, Leonard reverses some traditional perceptions.”—New Woman “A vigorous exploration . . . Throughout, Leonard writes passionately, seeing the Madwoman as an empowering symbol and the discovery process as a spiritual exercise—a kind of purification and ultimate triumph of the feminine spirit.”—Kirkus Reviews