If Women Rose Rooted : A Journey to Authenticity and Belonging

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What a wonderful book! I found it so life-giving, filled with beautiful Celtic stories and the stories of women leading healing lives, helping others, rooted in the land. Creation, and so creativity, is the act of giving life, the nourishing and enhancement of life, in whatever way you choose to do it. And when we find our individual creative power, we can harness it and use it to fight for what we care about, to remake the world in our own image. But what might such a creative woman look like, and how might she do such a thing?”

It’s not that I don’t appreciate summer: I do. I love it deeply, from the first rich flush of hawthorn blossoms to the last fading mauves of August heather. I love the green and the growing, the treasures of the hedgerows, and the always astonishing abundance of the land which surrounds me. It’s just that I love autumn and winter more. Something opens up in me then – something soft and deep and glowing – which is far too shy to expose itself to the inexhaustible light of summer.”It is heartening to read a progressive view of the women's movement and one that links with care for the Earth and all living beings. This book is very well recommended." — GreenSpirit magazine It was one of those rare times when I felt as if by some means of synchronicity, the right book reached me at exactly the right moment." — Dreaming in Stitches What I would have liked to have seen in this book is a pronunciation guide for the Gaelic names and words (impossible combinations of letters!) and an appendix with the names and brief identities of the mythological characters and places. There are footnotes for sources which is helpful. 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 has the time and space to read it.’ ~ Manda Scott, Boudica and Into The Fire

I see someone desperately hanging on to the cliff-edge of control with bleeding, shredded fingernails and gritted teeth, wanting all the while to just let go and scream her tired heart out as she fell.” 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. A life-changing journey from the wasteland of modern society to a place of nourishment and connection. Who will listen any more to their long, slow songs; who understands the language of stones? Not these people, for sure. They don't even know that the stones are alive.” Beautifully written, honest and moving, If Women Rose Rooted is a passionate song to a different kind of femininity, a rallying, feminist cry for the rewilding of womanhood; reclaiming our role as guardians of the land.

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The book left me determined to belong to some community that is working towards the saving of the earth. Also to appreciate my own heritage more. It's hard to think of a mythical heritage in the Bronx! I may have to look to my own Celtic roots. But there are also the stories my father told me, the world of the lower East Side in the 20s and 30s to the world this city has become. the premise of a heroine's journey, in contrast to the hero's journey described by campbell, where women reconnect with the earth and get in touch with their gifts to heal the world, ok. the utilization of ancient celtic stories to connect women with celtic heritage to their own cultures and landscapes, ok. the basic premise of the patriarchy being out of balance, masculine energy dominating feminine energy, sure, I agree with that. the concept of rape as the primal offense against the feminine, sure. Distinctive and didactic poems, paintings, and music come into my life when I am deep into soul-searching, shadow work. This book arrived exactly when I needed it. It is gut-wrenching, beautiful, powerful, and very important.