Artemis - by Jean S. Bolen

The Indomitable Spirit In Everywoman

The indomitable Jean Bolen gives meaning and purpose to women's lives through the retelling of important archetypal myths, and her bestselling classic Goddesses in Everywoman has been widely read and soundly praised by women everywhere-from fictional characters like Bridget Jones to feminist icons like Gloria Steinem.

Now comes a new book written in the same spirit and with the same vitality. In Artemis: The Indomitable Spirit in Everywoman, Bolen delves deeply into the myth of Atalanta, the famous hunter and runner in ancient Greek mythology, a mortal woman who identified with Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Hunt and Moon. Atalanta began life abandoned and left to die because she was born a girl. She faced the Calydon Boar and drew first blood; she was the runner who would demand to be beaten in a footrace by the man who could claim her as his bride. She exemplifies the indomitable spirit in competent, courageous girls and in the women they become-the one who refuses to give up on what she knows to be true for herself. This is grit, the passion and persistence to go the distance, to survive and to succeed.

Bolen explores female psychology at every stage of a woman's life beginning in girlhood and offers insights for women to become more authentically themselves. Atalanta and Artemis are the means through which readers can navigate their own personal exploration.

Retold in Marlo Thomas' bestselling Free to Be You and Me written more than forty years ago, Bolen's further exploration of the Artemis archetype will resonate with her readers and with fans of Joseph Campbell, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, James Hillman, among others. Plus Bolen's use of many real-life stories as well as mythological and fictional examples of young women who are similar to Atalanta including Princess Merida from the animated film Brave and Katniss from The Hunger Games which draw a new generation of readers.