The Heroine's Journey, Part Seven: The Heroine Urgently Yearns to Reconnect with the Feminine

The Heroine’s Journey, Part Seven: Heroine Urgently Yearns to Reconnect with the Feminine

In this step, the Heroine renegotiates their relationship to their own past so that they can reorient themselves to both their present and possible futures. They reconnect with younger versions of themselves (or younger versions of their feminine elders). They name and grieve the ways that their femininity has been wounded. They seek out new support, develop new skills, and try out new ways to approach the world so that they can figure out how to integrate their feminine aspects into their life as it is now. During this part of their journey, the Heroine may appear out-of-sorts as they are unable to exhibit the kind of composure they did before their crisis.

 

Personal Story

Years ago I had bought a copy of Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd, but had never read it. It had never felt like the right time. While on leave from pastoral call during the 2020-2021 school year, while I managed a 1st and 2nd grader at home, and I felt reduced to little more than a utilitarian necessity, I decided that it was time to pick it up. Most nights before bed, I read two or three pages. I was too weary to manage more than that. It took me months to finish.

Click here to read the rest of the article at Fidelia Magazine, a digital publication of Young Clergy Women International where I am a Writer-in-Residence. Click here to read the previous devotionals.