Medea's Folly: Women, Relationships and the Search for Intimacy [Paperback]

Tanya Wilkinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

Why is the search for intimacy so important for women? What does real intimacy feel like? These questions and others are explored and answered in Dr. Tanya Wilkinson's book on the Medea myth, which has brought new insight to our understanding of how relationships really work for women. She unravels the mysteries of women's commitment to establishing, maintaining, and improving intimate relationships. She also explores the troubling dark side of intimacy that is so often ignored in modern culture as she takes us on an illuminating journey through myth and fairy tale.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

So often, women are the ones committed to establishing, maintaining, and improving intimate relationships...but why? Through Medea's Folly, Dr. Tanya Wilkinson uses myth and fairy tale to give new insight to our understanding of how relationships really work for women.

About the Author

Tanya Wilkinson is Professor of Psychology and Core Faculty Member at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco and a licensed psychotherapist in private practice.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: PageMill Press (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879290146
• ISBN-13: 978-1879290143
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,760,324 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars almost anyone could find this book fascinating!, December 28, 1999

By 

Rebecca Birdsong (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medea's Folly: Women, Relationships and the Search for Intimacy (Paperback)

This author has a fabulous way of blending "self-help" ideas in with valuable cultural anthropology. She does a great job of avoiding useless generalizations, yet points out real cultural patterns in women (and men) in regard to relationships. Her use of several myths and fairytales, plus real-life examples, grab your attention and keep the book juicy (not dry) reading! I have recommended this book to all my women friends and relatives, no matter what their personal experience might be. I found that the book was quite relevant to many women my age (mid-20s), but heartbreakingly even more so for women of my mother's generation. But I would also recommend it to any smart man for gaining some sharp new perspectives on women's psyches (and theirs, by comparison).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've read on women and power in relationships, August 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Medea's Folly: Women, Relationships and the Search for Intimacy (Paperback)

Using myths and fairy tales, Wilkinson offers a brilliant analysis of how women give away their power to the ideal of "Relationship." Wilson gets women off the hook for crazy relationship behavior and shows how cultural standards program women to sacrifice the goals of the Self for impossible relationships. Wilkinson has a lively, clear prose style that's always readable, and her analysis of cultural myths appeals to both heart and intellect. A book that transforms how you feel about your life as you read it. I took it with me on vacation and couldn't put it down, it reached me on a very deep level.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, Meaningful, Helpful, Compassionate Book For Women, June 15, 2009

By 

Hart of Gold (Redwood City, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medea's Folly: Women, Relationships and the Search for Intimacy (Paperback)

I read Medea's Folly while divorcing an abusive husband. It helped me understand and forgive myself for choosing such a mate. It is a work of art because it is packed with information but delivered in a very gentle, entertaining prose. It is on my top 10 books that I have ever read. I highly recommend it to those who are searching to understand their own relationship fumbles.