| Edition |
First edition. |
| Description |
x, 292 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Summary |
"In her new book, bestselling author Elizabeth Lesser looks to the stories told about women over the ages and how they contribute to persistent misogyny and gender inequality, and offers a path towards framing new stories that honor all people"-- Provided by publisher. |
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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. |
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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. -- Provided by publisher. |
| Contents |
Pt. I ORIGIN STORIES -- Eve -- Pandora -- She's Got the Whole World in Her Hand -- Listening to Cassandra -- The Spell of Galatea -- The Greatest Books -- Know Her Name -- Leaving the Cave -- pt. II POWER STORIES -- The Old Story of Power -- Women, Power, and the Shadow -- Scars -- In Praise of Fathers -- Doing Power Differently -- The First First Responders -- Vivere Militare Est -- A Day Without a War Metaphor -- A Revolution of Values -- pt. III BRAVE NEW ENDING: A TOOLBOX FOR INNER STRENGTH -- Innervism -- Meditation -- Do No Harm and Take No Shit: A Meditation Practice -- Overcoming the Impostor Syndrome -- Cassandra Speaks -- Take the Other to Lunch -- Flip the Script -- The Oath -- Legacy -- Dream -- Fernweh. |
| Subject |
Feminism.
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Women in literature.
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Sex role in literature.
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Storytelling -- Social aspects.
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Misogyny.
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Sexism.
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Equality.
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Equality. (OCoLC)fst00914456
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Feminism. (OCoLC)fst00922671
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Misogyny. (OCoLC)fst01023668
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Sex role in literature. (OCoLC)fst01114649
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Sexism. (OCoLC)fst01114686
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Storytelling -- Social aspects.
(OCoLC)fst01134189
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Women in literature. (OCoLC)fst01177912
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| Other Form: |
Online version: Lesser, Elizabeth. Cassandra speaks First edition. New York, NY : HarperCollins, [2020] 9780062887207 (DLC) 2020025795 |
| ISBN |
9780062887184 (hardcover) |
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0062887181 (hardcover) |
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9780062887207 (electronic publication) |
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