Linda Schierse Leonard

Wow, how do I start this review? Well first off, if you read this book, by the end of it you will absolutely hate men and blame them for everything that has ever gone wrong (or right) in your life.
The author covers MANY bases of types of father - daughter relationships and all seem to end negatively. Whether your father was good to you, bad to you or non-existent, it's all negative and the father has always done wrong. Even to the point that he causes the mother to affect you negatively. show more One of the basic themes of the book is that the father can never do anything right. And even if what he's done has caused you to become stronger and more successful it's still negative and the father was in the wrong.
The most irritating and unreadable portions of this book are the countless examples of the author taking famous fairy tales and mythology stories and twisting them so that they tell tales of female repression by men. She uses these stories in a "presenting evidence to prove her point" sort of way. She chooses stories that are easily twisted in this way and later complains that there are no stories like these of courageous/powerful/independent women. Which anyone who studies these things (men & women alike) can tell you that there are many such tales.
Lastly, the absolute worst part of this book (at least for me) is that no healing for the reader ever takes place. And apparently none takes place for the author through writing the book either as she describes in the chapter immediately following the "healing" chapter. This book was just a big let down on all aspects. I do not recommend this book to anyone, least of all someone who is in need of healing from a father - daughter relationship. show less

Bestselling author of The Wounded Woman and Meeting the Madwoman, Jungian analyst Linda Schierse Leonard offers an exciting new way to understand the instinctual energies that affect us in our search for wholeness and healing and in the expression of our creativity. Inspired by a dream of a woman who runs with a herd of reindeer, she devoted years to the exploration of the reindeer in nature and as an archetype of feminine instinctual energy -- a living symbol that can inspire both men and show more women in their spiritual development and an image of hope in the ecological dark times in which we now live.
Dr. Leonard takes readers along on her journeys to Siberia, Lapland, and Alaska, where reindeer and caribou are messengers between heaven and earth, bridges between spirit and nature. Drawing upon myths, dreams, stories, and films, she explores the reindeer's power, beauty, resilience, and vulnerability. This archetype leads us to our own inner force that is feminine, free-spirited, and strong yet imbued with a gentle and compassionate heart. Chronicling travels across the top of the world and deep into the regions of the soul, Creation's Heartbeat takes us along on a luminous pilgrimage, giving us a map of the sacred and nourishing us with unforgettable ideas. Source: Publisher show less

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know... New Age.
It has good dream interpretations focusing on female archetypes. Actually, the archetypes are pretty good to think about. It can put positive spin on states of being that may intimidate us.
Chapters:
Meeting the Madwoman
Mad mothers, Mad daughters
The Caged Bird
The Muse
The Rejected Lover
The Bag Lady *my personal fear
The Recluse
The Revolutionary
The Visionary
Through the Madness

I don't know... I am pretty new to archetypes, but since we clearly end up labeling show more others, and labeling ourselves, it seems good to ponder them. show less

Using examples from her own life and those of her clients, Leonard, a Jungian analyst, discusses emotional wounds created by the father-daughter relationship.