Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes
- ISBN-10
- 006288719X
- ISBN-13
- 9780062887191
- Pages
- 304
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2022-04-12
- Publisher
- Harper Wave
- Author
- Elizabeth Lesser
Description
What story would Eve have told about picking the apple? Why is Pandora blamed for opening the box? And what about the fate of Cassandra who was blessed with knowing the future but cursed so that no one believed her? What if women had been the storytellers? Elizabeth Lesser believes that if women's voices had been equally heard and respected throughout history, humankind would have followed different hero myths and guiding stories--stories that value caretaking, champion compassion, and elevate communication over vengeance and violence. Cassandra Speaks is about the stories we tell and how those stories become the culture. It's about the stories we still blindly cling to, and the ones that cling to us: the origin tales, the guiding myths, the religious parables, the literature and films and fairy tales passed down through the centuries about women and men, power and war, sex and love, and the values we live by. Stories written mostly by men with lessons and laws for all of humanity. We have outgrown so many of them, and still they endure. This book is about what happens when women are the storytellers too--when we speak from our authentic voices, when we flex our values, when we become protagonists in the tales we tell about what it means to be human. Lesser has walked two main paths in her life--the spiritual path and the feminist one--paths that sometimes cross but sometimes feel at cross-purposes. Cassandra Speaks is her extraordinary merging of the two. The bestselling author of Broken Open and Marrow, Lesser is a beloved spiritual writer, as well as a leading feminist thinker. In this book she gives equal voice to the cool water of her meditative self and the fire of her feminist self. With her trademark gifts of both humor and insight, she offers a vision that transcends the either/or ideologies on both sides of the gender debate. Brilliantly structured into three distinct parts, Part One explores how history is carried forward through the stories a culture tells and values, and what we can do to balance the scales. Part Two looks at women and power and expands what it means to be courageous, daring, and strong. And Part Three offers "A Toolbox for Inner Strength." Lesser argues that change in the culture starts with inner change, and that no one--woman or man--is immune to the corrupting influence of power. She provides inner tools to help us be both strong-willed and kind-hearted. Cassandra Speaks is a beautifully balanced synthesis of storytelling, memoir, and cultural observation. Women, men and all people will find themselves in the pages of this book, and will come away strengthened, opened, and ready to work together to create a better world for all people.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2020-09-15
- 304 pages
- Paperback
- Harper Wave
-
- 2020-09-15
- 304 pages
- Ebook
- HarperCollins
Similar books
-
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
By Elizabeth LesserNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • This inspiring guide to healing and growth illuminates the richness and potential of every life, even in the face of loss and adversity—now updated with additional toolbox materials and a new preface by the ...
-
Change Enthusiasm: How to Harness the Power of Emotion for Leadership and Success
By Cassandra WorthyIn this book, Cassandra will teach you to: Redefine your relationship to change Embrace "negative" emotions and use them for epic growth and transformation Make conscious, productive choices in the face of disruption of any sort Develop ...
-
Queen of Broken Hearts
By Cassandra King. . Queen of Broken Hearts is richly textured tale “full of romance and surprises” (Fannie Flagg), from the national bestselling author of The Sunday Wife and Tell Me a Story.
-
The Seeker's Guide: Making Your Life a Spiritual Adventure
By Elizabeth LesserWarm, accessible, and wise, this book provides directions through the four landscapes of the spiritual journey: THE MIND: learning meditation to ease stress and anxiety THE HEART: dealing with grief, loss, and pain; opening the heart and ...
-
The Cassandra: A Novel
By Sharma ShieldsAs the men she works for come closer to achieving their goals, her visions intensify to a nightmarish pitch, and she eventually risks everything to question those in power, putting her own physical and mental health in jeopardy.
-
The Busy Woman's Little Book of Motivation: 42 Morsels of Motivation to Help You Live Out Loud and Become the...
By Cassandra MackIf truth is what you seek and balance is what you need, this is where you'll find it; right here in Cassandra Mack's The Busy Woman's Little Book of Motivation.
-
Marrow: A Love Story
By Elizabeth LesserA mesmerizing and courageous memoir: the story of two sisters uncovering the depth of their love through the life-and-death experience of a bone marrow transplant Throughout her life, Elizabeth Lesser has sought understanding about what it ...
-
City of Bones: TV Tie-in
By Cassandra ClareA small brown rat,” said Clary. “Someone might have thought he was a pet, or . . .” Her voice trailed off. They were staring at her as if she were insane. Cold despair seeped into her bones. “Let me get this straight,” Lily said.
-
Queering the Tarot
By Cassandra SnowIn Queering the Tarot, Cassandra Snow deconstructs the meanings of the 78 cards explaining the ways in which each card might be interpreted against the norm.
-
Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays
By Christa WolfA recreation of the myth of Cassandra, journeying to her foreseen death and reflecting on her own history, is accompanied by essays that touch on such diverse issues as nuclear war and the role of women, linking them to the interpretation ...