What was the process like for you, of writing Femophobia?
It took seven years for me to write this book, and it's not at all what I had planned! My previous book took about a year or so to write, and I had figured on the same here give or take a little. But when l got to the end of the book and started reading it from the beginning, it would change right through. Each time I read it, it would morph yet again. It did so over and over, until I got what was going on. I had started one book around eating disorders, but in fact another book wanted to be born. In the beginning, the Feminine was nowhere to be seen. Indeed she was so obscure, it took me several rounds to decipher her arising like a figure out of clay, like a phoenix from the ashes. Then I realized this is what the book is about – about our inability to see her, the one who nurtures life so quietly and devotedly.
What do you think of Femophobia as a book?
It is not an easy book, but a challenging one. I didn’t think I would be applauded, so I am surprised at the positive response. There are many risky topics in the book, but that’s my nature – I take risks. I am tired of blame-based literature. Blaming men places the power in their hands. But that doesn’t mean that women are to blame, nor are they victims. Victimhood dogma merely induces further anger and is disempowering.
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