Ripening: Why Women Need Fairy Tales Now by Sharon Blackie is probably the only type of self-help book I like. Dr. Blackie is a psychologist and folklorist who examines how women can apply fairy tales and folklore to the different parts of their lives. She likens a woman’s life cycle to that of a tree (which is very fairy-tale of her), and makes a very sound case for the use of fairy tales as bibliotherapy.
Dr. Blackie believes we are all storytellers of a sort, noting the habit of humans to rewrite the stories of their past within the context of their present. I found this idea fascinating, and really rung true for me, and I see it in my parents too (unsurprisingly, I come from a family of excellent storytellers). Those of you who have read my book or seen me speak live know that I talk fondly of how The Little Mermaid has grown with me and helped me through difficult periods, and that is very much the vibe of this book.
Not only will you be introduced to some fairy tales you may not know, as well as reinterpret old favorites, but it’s an interactive book. The format is mostly like a memoir/narrative nonfiction, but each section ends like a workbook – a more beautiful one than I’ve ever held in my hands. Dr. Blackie offers up prompts for each section, so the reader can work out their own story as they reflect it against the womanhood of folklore.
Each section follows a different era of a woman’s life from the bud of young womanhood to the ripening of older womanhood, and explores the types of conflicts we face through fairy tales she finds particularly relevant to those eras of life. (She sticks to Eurocentric tales in an attempt to avoid putting western psychology ideas onto non-European folklore.) She also uses anonymous accounts of patients she’s applied this fairy tale theory to as casual case studies and to have experiences to share beyond her own life (though she is very forthcoming with her own mental health struggles). Interestingly, the first half, in the young woman sections, has a bigger variety of named fairy tales, while the second half uses more general folkloric figures (like selkies, witches, women of myth) to explore the latter half of life. I expect this is likely because most fairy tales use youth and coming of age as a jumping off point, and while the older figures of folklore exist, you start to get more into the realm of myth with them – or have to write your own versions of these characters, since they show up more as supportive figures in fairy tales.
Lastly, Dr. Blackie spends a chapter discussing the relevant lessons fairy tales hold for us today in our specific era, emphasizing the subversive lessons of community-building and survival that the stories hold. This is very much a Liz book that I expect I will revisit at different parts of my own life.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this from the publisher and Dr. Blackie’s PR firm.
