Overview

In these pages you will encounter the archetypal Eve-not the literalized Eve that has for so long served as justification for horrific environmental and social injustices, but the mythic Eve who liberates. Weaving in her own lived experience of stepping beyond the boundaries of fundamentalist religion into deeper spiritual sovereignty, Dr. Leilani shows us the power of disobedience to set us free. Part mythological exploration, part cultural commentary, and part personal memoir, The Flesh and the Fruit shows us the power of creative transgression as we move toward new ways of being and living. Dr. Leilani empowers us to find our own knowing, permission, and blessing as we walk out of the ""shoulds"" and into our own nature and wildness. The Flesh and the Fruit is an invitation for us to step into the center of our own circles, to believe in our beauty and inherent worth rather than in the ancient poisonous tale of our fallenness and depravity. Dr. Leilani encourages readers to challenge the hierarchical systems of power that sever us from ourselves, from each other, and from the Earth and to live from our wild knowing.

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9781910559963

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Reviews

"""I have not been as electrified by a book since Women Who Run with the Wolves."" --Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman, artist and illustrator of The Divine Feminine Oracle ""Dr Vanya Leilani explores the Eden myth as a foundation stone of patriarchy and domination. She weaves together her own lived experiences of growing up in a conservative Christian community with her deep understanding of psychology and myth to show us how profound and invasive the story of the woman to blame is in our Western culture. A beautiful blend of scholarship and a life well lived, The Flesh and the Fruit can be a light held up to show the way toward true sovereignty and freedom."" --Gina Martin, author of the When She Wakes series ""An important addition to feminist literature. This book is a subversive must-read for anyone who has transgressed (or longs to) only to find a richer world on the other side."" --Natalie Bryant, author of Muddy Mysticism ""The Flesh and the Fruit weaves memoir and mythology through one woman's profound journey to claim her sovereignty and her whole and holy self. Bittersweet and so very relatable to women seeking the sacred in their own image, The Flesh and the Fruit is an important addition to the growing collection of women's work that invites and inspires us to look within our deepest knowing to find the answers to the questions that patriarchy doesn't want us to ask. Both fierce and tender, it provides steady companionship for women at every stage of their individual and spiritual rebirth."" --Amy Wilding, author of Wild & Wise: Sacred Feminine Meditations for Women's Circles and Personal Awakening ""If, after reading this book, your life hasn't changed and you don't feel renewed and awakened, read it again, more slowly."" --from the Foreword by Thomas Moore, New York Times bestselling author Care of the Soul ""What if we conceived of Eve as powerful, creative, curious? Not fallen, but wildly transgressive and able to choose her own path in life. In her excavation of the Eden myth, the author skillfully reimagines this foundational story that has stained women as sinful and shameful. In doing so, she liberates us to discover a way back to our truest and most alive Selves."" --Mary Reynolds Thompson, author of The Way of the Wild Soul Woman and Reclaiming the Wild Soul"

""I have not been as electrified by a book since Women Who Run with the Wolves."" --Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman, artist and illustrator of The Divine Feminine Oracle ""Dr Vanya Leilani explores the Eden myth as a foundation stone of patriarchy and domination. She weaves together her own lived experiences of growing up in a conservative Christian community with her deep understanding of psychology and myth to show us how profound and invasive the story of the woman to blame is in our Western culture. A beautiful blend of scholarship and a life well lived, The Flesh and the Fruit can be a light held up to show the way toward true sovereignty and freedom."" --Gina Martin, author of the When She Wakes series ""An important addition to feminist literature. This book is a subversive must-read for anyone who has transgressed (or longs to) only to find a richer world on the other side."" --Natalie Bryant, author of Muddy Mysticism ""The Flesh and the Fruit weaves memoir and mythology through one woman's profound journey to claim her sovereignty and her whole and holy self. Bittersweet and so very relatable to women seeking the sacred in their own image, The Flesh and the Fruit is an important addition to the growing collection of women's work that invites and inspires us to look within our deepest knowing to find the answers to the questions that patriarchy doesn't want us to ask. Both fierce and tender, it provides steady companionship for women at every stage of their individual and spiritual rebirth."" --Amy Wilding, author of Wild & Wise: Sacred Feminine Meditations for Women's Circles and Personal Awakening ""If, after reading this book, your life hasn't changed and you don't feel renewed and awakened, read it again, more slowly."" --from the Foreword by Thomas Moore, New York Times bestselling author Care of the Soul ""What if we conceived of Eve as powerful, creative, curious? Not fallen, but wildly transgressive and able to choose her own path in life. In her excavation of the Eden myth, the author skillfully reimagines this foundational story that has stained women as sinful and shameful. In doing so, she liberates us to discover a way back to our truest and most alive Selves."" --Mary Reynolds Thompson, author of The Way of the Wild Soul Woman and Reclaiming the Wild Soul

"""Dr Vanya Leilani explores the Eden myth as a foundation stone of patriarchy and domination. She weaves together her own lived experiences of growing up in a conservative Christian community with her deep understanding of psychology and myth to show us how profound and invasive the story of the woman to blame is in our Western culture. A beautiful blend of scholarship and a life well lived, The Flesh and the Fruit can be a light held up to show the way toward true sovereignty and freedom."" --Gina Martin, author of the When She Wakes series ""An important addition to feminist literature. This book is a subversive must-read for anyone who has transgressed (or longs to) only to find a richer world on the other side."" --Natalie Bryant, author of Muddy Mysticism ""The Flesh and the Fruit weaves memoir and mythology through one woman's profound journey to claim her sovereignty and her whole and holy self. Bittersweet and so very relatable to women seeking the sacred in their own image, The Flesh and the Fruit is an important addition to the growing collection of women's work that invites and inspires us to look within our deepest knowing to find the answers to the questions that patriarchy doesn't want us to ask. Both fierce and tender, it provides steady companionship for women at every stage of their individual and spiritual rebirth."" --Amy Wilding, author of Wild & Wise: Sacred Feminine Meditations for Women's Circles and Personal Awakening"

Author Information

Vanya Leilani is a depth psychologist, writer, teacher, and storyteller. She holds a PhD in depth psychology with emphasis in Jungian and archetypal studies, has completed a certificate training intensive with Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, and served as adjunct professor at Pacifica Graduate Institute, teaching on the creative power of archetypes. She has spent decades exploring the threshold where the external ""should"" in our lives encounter our own wild knowing and un-knowing. Vanya was born and raised in southeastern Brazil and currently lives in the woods of the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

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