Spinning Straw into Gold : What Fairy Tales Reveal About the Transformations in a Woman's Life

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1: Snow White: Breaking Away from Mother
What's your favorite fairy tale? Whether it's 'Cinderella,' 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Hansel and Gretel,' or another story, your answer reveals something significant about you, your experiences, and your soul.

Author Q&A
Q: Joan, I'm curious to know what aroused your interest in old stories. What was the genesis of Spinning Straw into Gold? And how long have you been working on it?

Reader's Guide
Let's start with the opening line of the book: What's your favorite fairy tale? The first story that comes to mind is apt to be the one that reveals the most about your inner self and the family history that shaped your life.

What's your favorite fairy tale? Whether it's "Cinderella," "Beauty and the Beast," "Hansel and Gretel," or another story, your answer reveals something significant about you, your experiences, and your soul. In this penetrating book, Joan Gould brings to the surface the hidden meanings in fairy tales and myths, and illuminates what they can tell you about the stages in your own life. As Gould explores the transformations that women go through from youth to old age-leaving home and mother, the first experience of sexuality, the surprising ambivalence of marriage, the spiritual work required by menopause and aging-her keen observations will enrich your awareness of your inner life.

Full of archetypal figures known to us all, Spinning Straw into Gold also includes stories from the lives of ordinary women that clarify the insights to be gained from the beloved tales that have been handed down from one generation to the next.

Joan Gould's work has appeared in many publications, including The New York Times, Esquire, and Sports Illustrated. The author of Spirals, she lives in Rye, New York..

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