The Empress Book Club Reveal... 🍁📚👑
Dr. Sharon Blackie reimagines midlife with us!
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Fellow Empresses, Happy Weekend… How the hell are you?
So, the votes are in and a majority of you want to press on with Dr. Sharon Blackie’s Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life.
I was secretly hoping this book would be chosen because, although I believe Jung was largely mistaken in limiting a woman’s life to just three phases—maiden, mother, and crone—I think Blackie does an excellent job of highlighting what he got right, especially regarding myths, fables, and folklore. Her insights are incredibly rich, and the resources she provides are invaluable!
Here’s her fantastic site teaching the book:
Hagitude by Sharon Blackie – Book Group Questions
Before reading Hagitude, which folk tales or fairy stories that include old women did you know about? How did they make you feel about getting older?
Sharon talks about the old women who were important to her in childhood, particularly her Aunt Meg. Which older women do you remember from childhood and why?
Sharon writes about characters in diverse books and movies that have inspired her—Kate Brown in Doris Lessing’s The Summer Before Dark; Granny Weatherwax in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books; Evelyn Couch and Ninny Threadgoode in Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café; Belinda in Fleabag. Which books and films have older female characters that have inspired you?
For my part, aside from the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, nearly all the folk and fairy tales I grew up with portrayed old crones as terrifying figures, often bent on poisoning, harming, or sabotaging the fate of a younger woman. Yet, in my own life, the older women I’ve known—particularly my grandmothers (Rae & Mary)—have been strong, empowered, yet warm and kind. They were crafty, resourceful, subversive figures in my life—rather than simplistic fulfillers of wishes. In terms of older characters from books and films, Belinda from Fleabag ranks high, but so too does Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect, Emma Thompson in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Audra McDonald, and Christine Baranski in The Good Fight.
But what about you? What springs to mind with these questions?
A Note from the Publisher
RADICALLY REIMAGINE THE SECOND HALF OF LIFE
For any woman over fifty who has ever asked “What now? Who do I want to be?” comes a life-changing book showing how your next phase of life may be your most dynamic yet. As mythologist and psychologist Sharon Blackie describes it, midlife is the threshold to decades of opportunity and profound transformation, a time to learn, flourish, and claim the desires and identities that are often limited during earlier life stages. This is a time for gaining new perspectives, challenging and evolving belief systems, exploring callings, uncovering meaning, and ultimately finding healing for accumulated wounds.
Western folklore and mythology are rife with brilliantly creative, fulfilled, feisty, and furious role models for aging women, despite our culture’s focus on youthfulness. Blackie explores these archetypes in Hagitude, presenting them in a way sure to appeal to contemporary women. Drawing inspiration from these examples as well as modern mentors, you can reclaim midlife as a liberating, alchemical moment rich with possibility and your elder years as a path to feminine power.
ICYMI, check out our newest feature—The Empress Questionnaire! Our recent issue shines the spotlight on PHOSIS Skincare CEO & founder, Susan Campbell!
Stay tuned for more commentary on our book and I’ll reach out to Dr. Blackie and see if she can join us for a Zoom.
Yours in Grandeur & Deep Sh*t,
PS - A track to remind you to…
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