If Women Rose Rooted : A Journey to Authenticity and Belonging

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In 1962, the French philosopher René Guénon suggested that we live in ‘degenerate times’, at the end of a long age during which important spiritual truths have been forgotten, the ancient centres of wisdom have been destroyed and the guardians of that wisdom have been dispersed. At such times, he said, a safe repository for spiritual truth can be found in folklore. He suggested that knowledge which is in danger of being lost passes into the symbolic code of a folk tale, and then is passed on to the people. They will perhaps only be concerned with the stories’ surface meanings – but they will at least preserve them, and pass them down to their children. Then, in better times, people might once again appear who understand the code, and who will penetrate the symbolic disguise to the wider meaning behind.59” If women remember that once upon a time we sang with the tongues of seals and flew with the wings of swans, that we forged our own paths through the dark forest while creating a community of its many inhabitants, then we will rise up rooted, like trees. And if we rise up rooted, like trees … well then, women might indeed save not only ourselves, but the world.’

And if we rise up rooted, like trees . . . well then, women might indeed save not only ourselves, but the world.’ I feel I received this great collection of stories just at a right time to get grounded and to find my roots in every day life.Mind-blowing. An anthem for all we could be . . . I sincerely hope every woman who can read has the time and space to read it.’ Manda Scott, author of Boudica and A Treachery of Spies Here, I have found my rootedness. And while I may have been growing in the wrong environment to start, I've shaken the dirt off my roots and planted myself where I need to be.

It is a Call to Life – a full, authentic life. It is a Call to rise from the half-sleep of our existence, and take up our part in the great unfolding of the world. To become a Voice of the Wells. We must answer the Call, or forever be lost in the Wasteland. For many women, that Call occurs at midlife. Dante expressed it perfectly, in the opening lines of The Divine Comedy: ‘Midway upon the journey of my life I found myself in a dark wood, where the right way was lost.’ Most women experience major change in these middle years: physical change or professional; social or psychological; changes in our family and our relationships. Our children leave home. We are overtaken by disillusionment and dissatisfaction. We find ourselves unhappy in our jobs, in our marriages. We develop physical illnesses, anxiety or depression. Rage and grief threaten to overwhelm us. We begin to contemplate our own mortality. We question who we are, who we might have been, who we might yet become. We question our spiritual values and our material values. We begin to wonder what we are doing with our lives, what meaning we might find. We open our eyes a little wider, and take in the world beyond ourselves. For the first time, we see the Wasteland for what it is.” Menopause is not a medical condition, it is an earthquake, shaking us to our deepest foundations, wiping out the edifices we've so carefully constructed on what we once imagined to be the solid ground of our life.” Mind-blowing. An anthem for all we could be ... I sincerely hope every woman who can read has the time and space to read it.’ Manda Scott, author of Boudica and A Treachery of Spies As well as writing five books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted and her latest, Hagitude, her writing has appeared in anthologies, collections and in several international media outlets – among them the Guardian, the Irish Times, and the Scotsman. Her books have been translated into several languages, and she has been interviewed by the BBC, US public radio and other broadcasters on her areas of expertise. Her awards include the Roger Deakin Award, and a Creative Scotland Writer’s Award. Her next book, Wise Women: Myths and folklore in celebration of older women will be published by Virago in 2024. This twelve-Module self-study program explores the ways in which we might flourish at midlife and beyond, in the decades that so often are portrayed as a time of decline. How can we map the territory, prepare ourselves for yet another searing transformation, and move into the second half of life with a new sense of vitality, creativity and vision?I appreciate ecofeminism in general, but the Celtic folklore did not speak to me. (It definitely will to some.) I found the stories to be rambling at times and felt the book could use a heavy edit. The author's biographical vignettes were confusing and a little disjointed - I lost interest in these parts. A beautiful, intelligent and unusual book … I’m hoping this book will become the anthem of our generation, encouraging all women to surrender to the earth’s intelligence and rise up, rooted, like trees.’ Kate Forsyth, author of ‘Bitter Greens’, T’he Wild Girl’, and ‘The Beast’s Garden’ While I'm all up for this kinda stuff and was interested in what the author had to say, in the end I just found it too long and way too baggy - an edit would have been good. I also kind of knew a lot of this stuff (as a Welsh person who had the Mabinogion read to her in primary school), which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I guess I just could have done with something more or a different angle on it. Also, while the writing was fine, it didn't go beyond that - it wasn't like reading Jay Griffiths who writes on similar subject matters but really gorgeously - it didn't really do interesting things, or challenge stuff or make you think. And if we rise up rooted, like trees . . . well then, women might indeed save not only ourselves, but the world.

I put this book down determined to face my own life more deeply and forge a deeper connection with the world. I hope this inspiration lasts even after the memory of this book has faded. The women in this book showed me how deeply connected to the earth and each other our lives can be. It made me feel that it's never to late to deepen our lives, my life, and a sense that life can be renewed at any stage. For women who feel separated from their true feminine self, this is a rallying cry to rediscover those ancient roots and be part of the life force again .’ cygnus review Beautifully written, honest and moving, If Women Rose Rooted is a passionate song to a different kind of femininity; a rallying cry for women to reawaken their natural power – not just for the sake of their own wellbeing, but for love of this threatened earth.I love this book. Truly, it's mind-blowing in the most profound and exhilarating sense. This is an anthem for all we could be, an essential book for this, the most critical of recent times. I sincerely hope every woman who can read is given one, and has the time and the space to read it." — Manda Scott, author of Boudica and Into the Fire The world which men have made isn’t working. Something needs to change. To change the world, we women need first to change ourselves – and then we need to change the stories we tell about who we are. The stories we’ve been living by for the past few centuries – the stories of male superiority, of progress and growth and domination – don’t serve women and they certainly don’t serve the planet. Stories matter, you see.” I also felt better able to deal with my own aging process, something that has been hard for me to accept. The idea (familiar to me but forgotten, pushed aside) that age has something of its own to offer the world, something valuable is a source of comfort and inspiration.