If Women Rose Rooted The Power of the Celtic Woman
Reviews
I went in with very high hopes for this particular literary work. The promise of Celtic myth inter-spliced with a moving call back to our roots, and consequently the land, was an invitation I accepted greedily. However, I found this book to be more haunting than inspiring, and far more of a personal memoir than a collective call to action (though the call was attempted frequently and forcefully). The emphasis for the narrative fell more on the collective ache than on the resilience of women — and as the title suggests, the book was exclusively about women and what defines them (not all of which I agreed with). The myths were a joy to read but the retelling carried the same candid and somewhat cynical voice of the author. They also felt a bit dissonant paired against the very real and potent hardships of women who'd been interviewed by the author for the purpose of this book. Much like the myths, I also felt their stories did not echo their authentic voices but rather the agenda of the author. It was extremely well researched (and properly cited), which was greatly appreciated. And there were many bright moments that felt both familiar and poignant, and a nod to ecopoetics I have yet to encounter anywhere else, but the overall impression I'm left with is that it asked a lot of the reader emotionally and did not deliver enough hope or inspiration in return. The premise is there, and it is a lovely introduction to the concept of reclaiming and reawakening from the 'Wasteland' as she describes it. But in a time when reckoning, remembering, and returning are becoming more prevalent in literary works, this feels like a jumping off point not necessarily an advancement in the discourse.
As someone who walked away from a traditional, patriarchal corporate environment to live differently this book spoke to my soul. As someone who has always strongly identified with her Celtic roots I loved reading all the Celtic stories woven throughout the book. Highly recommend to anyone who finds themselves stuck on a hamster wheel and wondering if life is actually supposed to be this hard (hint: it's not). What an amazing book to start 2021 with.
Highlights
‘When you approach horses, they’re not listening to your agenda, status or outer persona; instead, they’re watching your body language, assessing your emotions . . . Horses see through to our internal states. They reflect them back at us, make the invisible visible. They respond to who and how you really are, in your body, in the present moment. A horse can give accurate and instant feedback about what is real and truthful in us. 'And so they can become our allies and our guides as we explore our inner stories, and as we start to understand how they are tied up with our external challenges, ambitions or stuck places. All of this helps us to see our lives with new eyes, to shift and to become more authentic. Horses teach us how to re-align mind, body and spirit so that we can walk on into our future with courage, grace and integrity.’
“There are times when you need the extremity of rock, the hardness of an old, cold place against which you can measure yourself. There are times when you need to retreat to the wilderness. But there are times when you need the subtle flow of a river, the song of a waterfall and the deep, slow presence of trees. Times when you need to Return. There are times for holding on, and times for letting go.”