This Is Woman's Work - by Dominique Christina (Paperback)

About the Book

"It is no small thing, this business of knowing ourselves," writes Dominique Christina. That's because each of us is composed of many selves--inner players of the psyche who contribute their voices to our "I." With This Is Woman's Work, this award-winning poet offers insights and exercises to help us meet our council of inner women.

Book Synopsis

Calling Forth Your Inner Council of Wise, Brave, Crazy, Rebellious, Loving, Luminous Selves

"A woman's work is to define herself," says award-winning slam poet Dominique Christina. While this task is important for everyone, there is an urgency for women. "When you have inherited a societal construct that names, describes, and practices an ideology that women are somehow less important, and less necessary, then the work of defining yourself carries with it a kind of fury."

Every woman is composed of many selves--archetypal players of the psyche who contribute their voices to her greater "I." Here, Christina creates an empowering space for women to examine their inner workings and honor the feminine aspects that make them who they are. Each chapter is devoted to a different archetype, delving into the magic and gifts of our inner world in all its forms, such as the Willing Woman, the Rebel, the Beggar, the Shapeshifter, and the Warrior.

Combining firebrand poetry, compelling inquiry, and heart-opening exercises, Christina helps us make an intimate connection with each of our inner women--known and unknown, loved and feared--so we may integrate their voices, realize their wisdom, and open ourselves to our full expression and power.

Review Quotes

"Author, educator, and activist Christina (The Bones) explores 20 archetypes of female behavior in her warm-hearted third book. Each chapter is devoted to a different archetype, with poetry, attribute lists, writing exercises, and historical, spiritual, and literary examples woven throughout. The book is intended to help women define themselves and engage with archetypal behaviors, such as the 'Wombed and Willing Woman' and the 'Rebel and Journey Woman.' Christina writes that 'to fully know yourself is to reckon with all of these forms, all of these incarnations of womanness--to embrace, finally, the community of women that lives in all of us.' The boundaries Christina chooses to draw could be seen as simplistic, but her evocative and intimate voice effectively entwines her personal experiences with broader insights, inviting the reader to deconstruct the racist, sexist, and stereotypical paradigms of womanhood they have inherited. Her rich imagery, lyrical tone, and sharp acumen provide a refreshingly honest and nuanced guide for self-exploration. She successfully creates a safe, empowering space for women to find and create themselves." --Publishers Weekly

"Beautiful and uplifting, this book provides a refreshing new approach to exploring the self through reclaimed language and imagery thereby facilitating unique, powerful, and atypical archetypes. Each chapter introduces creative and expansive ways for women to examine their inner workings and honor different aspects of the feminine. Author and poet Christina (The Bones, The Breaking, The Balm) replaces overused and arguably oversimplified Jungian archetypes, such as the femme fatale and the damsel in distress, with evocative mystical descriptions such as the third-eye woman or the rebel woman. This encourages women to reexamine self-imposed limitations and prejudices and reconsider 'our voices and stories.' VERDICT By providing forged paths for guided reflection, Christina imbues the reader's spirit with inspiration." --Library Journal, starred review

"An unearthing, the soil of which connects us to our past and our many selves." --Staceyann Chin

"Each time I read Christina's words, I come away with a vibrant and new understanding of myself as a woman. These exercises intend to steer us into the full wilderness that inhabits our bodies and demand we bring ourselves into wholeness." --Rachel McKibbens, Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion 2009, author of Pink Elephant

"Dominique Christina has the courage to use her imagination, and her empathy, to conceive of an alternative world, in the midst of this one, using language to provide inspiration and instruction so people can straighten their backs and make the world a better place." --Cornel West, educator, scholar, CNN analyst, author of Race Matters

About the Author

Dominique Christina is an award-winning poet, author, educator, and activist. She holds five national poetry slam titles, including the 2014 and 2012 Women of the World Slam Champion. Her work is influenced by her family's legacy in the Civil Rights Movement. She is the author of four books, including Anarcha Speaks, winner of the National Poetry Series Prize. A writer for and actor on the HBO series High Maintenance, Dominique has been chosen by the US Department of State to be an Arts Envoy representing excellence in poetics. For more, visit dominiquechristina.com.