I was disappointed that is not the novel Circle of Stones by this author. I have searched for the book and thought I had found the novel only to find this. So sad.

MY impression was Duerk was emerging from a very hectic and chaotic time in her life and wanted someplace to rest. The words "quiet" and "peaceful" are on every single page at least three times I think. And yeah absolutely I need my QUIET and my still times in life. But the idea of bowing down to the "peaceful goddess" is a crock. The Goddess was a pretty angry, bloody deity. Blood is all over her origin(menstruation), and her existence to reflect the predatorial nature of human lives at the time. Don't make MY GODDESS into some demur, quiet, hide in the dark silent corner of the cave deity! She was loud, powerful, scary as hell, with a lions head in Eqypt and snakes on her head in Greece, with serpents in her hands in India.

I will risk being the minority here and say that this book was completely stale for me. I have spent the last year or so reading books on women's spirituality and have been blessed with enlightening, challenging, nourishing, provocative pieces...until this purchase. I couldn't read past the first twenty pages or so. I was looking for uplifting; something affirming me as a feminine ball of creation blessed by the divine. Reading this title from the very beginning felt like walking through quicksand... in the dark. I don't know how else to explain it. I couldn't bear to read another dreary dream. Maybe I didn't read far enough. My evolving/loving myself into feminine fire may have involved tears and fears but not a book of them! Bring me some light!

This book is a life-changer. It will shatter your world and rebuild it in the most amazing way. Duerk poignantly, though gentle, writes about what it truly means to be a Woman, to discover and rebirth the Sacred Feminine within. The poetry of her writing touches the soul, and the questions posed at each chapter as to 'how might your life have been different if...' are not written in the sense of "pity me/what-if?" but in a sense that helps the reader to reclaim her innate divinity and to exhume the knowing of what Woman is from deep within. If you've been filled with a longing, an aching to (re)discover who you are, what the Sacred Feminine really is, and to bring new life to yourself, then you have stumbled upon a book that will aid you in that journey.

If it speaks to you, try the Women Within weekend experience!