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In Ripening Dr Sharon Blackie starts from the beginning, and writes about a woman’s journey to midlife using European fairy tales as inspiration. Ripening is a book about thriving in the first half of life. It’s a book about taking back our stories, and navigating a hazardous world with confidence, strength, resourcefulness – and maybe even a little panache. From her perspective as a psychologist and folklorist, Blackie argues that fairy tales present us with characters and images that inspire us, capture our hearts, and help us to imagine how much-needed change might be possible. They can shine a light on our traumas, but they can also shine a light on our natural transitions – on all the stages of an ever-metamorphosing life.
This book is the culmination of decades of research uncovering the cultural meaning of fairy tales and the reasons for their deep psychological resonance.
PRAISE FORHAGITUDE: 'A fascinating book... well researched, packed with stories and bursting with lovely descriptions of the natural world. There's plenty in it to inspire women of every age' Christina Patterson, Sunday Times
'Already becoming a beloved cult classic, as a myth-infused manifesto for the possibilities for life from middle age onwards' Katherine May, author of Wintering
Dr Sharon Blackie is an award-winning author and a psychologist with a background in mythology and folklore. Her highly acclaimed books, lectures and teaching programmes are focused on reimagining women's stories, and on the relevance of myth and fairy tales to the personal, cultural and environmental issues we face today. She has written six books, which have been translated into several languages: The Long Delirious Burning Blue, If Women Rose Rooted, The Enchanted Life, Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women, Hagitude and Wise Women. Sharon’s awards include the Society of Authors’ Roger Deakin Award and a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and an Honorary Member of the UK Association of Jungian Analysts.
- Author's note
- The stories we live by
- Finding ourselves in fairy tales
1. Budding: girl, forming
2. Flowering: girl, unfurling
3. Fruiting: woman, creating
4. Ripening: coming home to the Self
5. Seeding: The neverending story
- Shaping the story
1. Reimagining our stories
2. Cultivating you inner imaginarium
Afterword: Why women need fairy tales now
Acknowledgements
Fairy-tale collections referenced in this book
1. What's in a fairy tale?
2. How we decide who we are
3. The Fairy-Tale Heroine’s Journey