Women Who Run

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One million copies sold! “A deeply spiritual book [that] honors what is tough, smart and untamed in women.”—The Washington Post Book World Book club pick for Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf Within every woman there lives a powerful force, filled with good instincts, passionate creativity, and ageless knowing. She is the Wild Woman, who represents the instinctual nature of women. But she is an endangered species. For though the gifts of wildish nature belong to us at birth, society’s attempt to “civilize” us into rigid roles has muffled the deep, life-giving messages of our own souls. In Women Who Run with the Wolves, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés unfolds rich intercultural myths, fairy tales, folk tales, and stories, many from her own traditions, in order to help women reconnect with the fierce, healthy, visionary attributes of this instinctual nature. Through the stories and commentaries in this remarkable book, we retrieve, examine, love, and understand the Wild Woman, and hold her against our deep psyches as one who is both magic and medicine. Dr. Estés has created a new lexicon for describing the female psyche. Fertile and life-giving, it is a psychology of women in the truest sense, a knowing of the soul.

An inspirational collection of true tales shares the experiences of twenty women who run for very personal reasons, from first woman Boston Marathon participant Katharine Switzer and sixty-four-year-old competitive speed walker Shirley Matson to amputee and spokesperson Sarah Reinersten and breast cancer survivor Louise Cooper. Original.

style="font-size:20px;line-height:20px;">“Have You Forgotten? I Am Your Mother. You Are Under My Protection.” “There is a promise Holy Mother makes to us,” proclaims Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, “that any soul needing comfort, vision, guidance, or strength can cry out to her, flee to her protection, and Blessed Mother will immediately arrive with veils flying. She will place us under her mantle for refuge, and give us the warmth of her most compassionate touch, and strong guidance about how to go by the soul’s lights.” Untie the Strong Woman is Dr. Estés invitation to come together under the shelter of The Mother—whether she appears to us as the Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe, or any one of her countless incarnations. In this unforgettable collection of stories, prayers, and blessings, Dr. Estés shares: “The Drunkard and the Lady”—a story of unexpected miracles that arise from the mud and soil • “Guadalupe is a Girl Gang Leader in Heaven”—a poem of resistance and hope • “No One Too Bad, Too Mean, or Too Hopeless”—the fierce Mother that never gives up on us • “The Shirt of Arrows”—a love that is invincible no matter how many times we are wounded • “The Black Madonna”—she who stands at the juncture between two worlds and protects us as we enter the dark places Why does the face of Our Lady appear in the most humble and unexpected places? Why does she burst forth into every culture no matter how hard authority tries to suppress her? It is because no bonds can restrain the power of her love, nor prevent her from returning to those who need her most. With Untie the Strong Woman, Dr. Estés invites you to encounter the force of Immaculate Love—“So that your memory of Her is renewed, or that the knowledge of her miraculous, fierce, enduring ways is drawn into your heart for the very first time.”

More women than ever are discovering the unique benefits of running -- forstress relief, weight management, endurance, and self-esteem. Women'sbodies are not the same as men's, and though we can train just as hard andwith the same passion for excellence, we have certain special concerns.Finally, there is a comprehensive guide exclusively for women whoexperience the pure joy of running, or want to. It's the simplest, fastest, most accessible way to fitness and good health known to woman. You don't need a partner, equipment, or even much time. Now, Claire Kowalchik, former managing editor of Runner's World magazine, answers every question about the overwhelmingly popular activity that builds endurance, melts fat, and even prevents illness. In this total running book for women, you'll learn: How to get started and stay motivated What to eat for optimal nutrition How to run during pregnancy and after menopause Why running is the most effective form of exercise How to prevent and treat injury What to wear -- from sports bras to running shoes How to prepare for everything from a 5K to a marathon Authoritative and friendly, The Complete Book of Running for Women is a sourcebook for both beginners and long-time runners. Along with wisdom drawn from the author's personal experience, you'll find advice from the experts: coaches, exercise physiologists, nutritionists, doctors, and other women runners. Including question-and-answer sections and a complete list of resources, The Complete Book of Running for Women tells you everything you need to know to be off and running toward better health and richer living.

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The inspiring, hilarious memoir of a “Bridget Jones-like writer” (The Washington Post) who transforms her life by learning to run, with stories of miserable defeat, complete victory, and learning to choose the right shoes. When Alexandra Heminsley decided to take up running, she had hopes for a blissful runner’s high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets—and failed spectacularly. The stories of her first runs turn on its head the common notion that we are all “born to run”—and exposes the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal. Running Like a Girl tells the story of getting beyond the brutal part, how Alexandra makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin; but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father—a marathon runner—and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon. But before her first marathon, she has to figure out the logistics of running: the intimidating questions from a young and arrogant sales assistant when she goes to buy her first running shoes, where to get decent bras for the larger bust, how not to freeze or get sunstroke, and what (and when) to eat before a run. She’s figured out what’s important (pockets) and what isn’t (appearance), and more. For any woman who has ever run, wanted to run, tried to run, or failed to run (even if just around the block), Heminsley’s funny, warm, and motivational personal journey from nonathlete extraordinaire to someone who has completed five marathons is inspiring, entertaining, practical, and fun.

Real Women Run is an innovative feminist ethnography that consists of a series of linked essays and presentations about women who run at the intersections of queer, feminist, and running identities. Faulkner uses feminist grounded theory, poetic inquiry, and qualitative content analysis to examine women’s embodied stories of running: how they run, how running fits into the context of their lives and relationships, how they enact or challenge cultural scripts of women’s activities and normative running bodies, and what running means for their lives and identities. During a two-and-a-half-year ethnography with women who run, Faulkner engaged in an intersectional qualitative content analysis of websites and blogs targeted to women runners, a grounded theory poetic analysis of 41 interviews with women who run, and participant observation at road races. Real Women Run speaks to the call for a more physical feminism. This ethnography sees women’s physical and mental strength developed through running as a way to embrace the contradictions between a deconstructed focus on the mind/body split and the focus on individuals’ actual material bodies and their everyday interactions with their bodies and through their bodies with the world around them.

The book argues that contrary to conventional wisdom, the candidate's sex plays a minimal role in the majority of US elections.