Holy Mother makes to us,” proclaims Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés, “that any soul needing comfort, vision, guidance, or strength can cry out to her, flee to her protection, and Blessed Mother will immediately arrive with veils flying. She will place us under her mantle for refuge, and give us the warmth of her most compassionate touch, and strong guidance about how to go by the soul’s lights.” Untie the Strong Woman is Dr. Estés invitation to come together under the shelter of The Mother—whether she appears to us as the Madonna, Our Lady of Guadalupe, or any one of her countless incarnations. In this unforgettable collection of stories, prayers, and blessings, Dr. Estés shares:“The Drunkard and the Lady”—a story of unexpected miracles that arise from the mud and soil“Guadalupe is a Girl Gang Leader in Heaven”—a poem of resistance and hope“No One Too Bad, Too Mean, or Too Hopeless”—the fierce Mother that never gives up on us“The Shirt of Arrows”—a love that is invincible no matter how many times we are wounded “The Black Madonna”—she who stands at the juncture between two worlds and protects us as we enter the dark places  Why does the face of Our Lady appear in the most humble and unexpected places? Why does she burst forth into every culture no matter how hard authority tries to suppress her? It is because no bonds can restrain the power of her love, nor prevent her from returning to those who need her most. With Untie the Strong Woman, Dr. Estés invites you to encounter the force of Immaculate Love—“So that your memory of Her is renewed, or that the knowledge of her miraculous, fierce, enduring ways is drawn into your heart for the very first time.”  Contents   First WordsOur Ancestral Great Mother Opening Blessing:  Totus Tuus, I Belong to You, Blessed Mother   Chapter TwoHow the Great Woman Was Erased:  Our Part in Restoring Her Untie the Strong Woman   Chapter ThreeShe Is the Inspiratus for Souls Who Suffer The Drunkard and the Lady   Chapter FourIn Humble, Helpless Love with Her Guadalupe Is a Girl Gang Leader in Heaven   Chapter FiveRise Up!  Even From Bloodshed, Says La Conquista, Our Lady of the Conquered Massacre of the Dreamers:  The Maiz Mother   Chapter Six“Shirt of Arrows:” She Teaches Protection of the Vulnerable:  No Exceptions The Memorare, Remember!   Chapter SevenThe Uses of Broken-Heartedness, Mater Dolorosa Ever Bends Near The Use of the Seven Swords Through the Heart   Chapter EightMany Kinds of Prisons:  The Last Woman Standing “Our Lady Behind the Wall”   Chapter NineCarrying the Name of the Mother A Man Named Mary   Chapter TenForged in the Fiery Furnace The Black Madonna Chapter ElevenNo One Too Bad, Too Mean, or Too Hopeless How the Motherfuckers Became the Blessed Mothers   Chapter TwelveNo Racism, No Discrimination, No One Is An “Untouchable” The Great Woman Appears to Us Daily   Chapter ThirteenHer Names Without Classic Litany of the Mother Road:  Chant of Her Incandescent Names   Chapter FourteenCompassionate Mother:  Restoring The Soul After Shock Post-Abortion Compassion:  “The Children She Got That She Did Not Get”   Chapter FifteenThe Lasso of Our Lady…For Saving a Life The Drowning Man   Chapter SixteenHolding Fast to the Soul God Has No Hands:  Comforting Maria, The Ritual of Pesame   Chapter SeventeenThe Great Mother Inspires the Little Mothers The Marys of Mother Africa   Chapter EighteenRefusing the Holy:  No Room for You Here The “Oh Yes, There Is Too Room for You Here” Ritual of La Posada   Chapter NineteenLetter to the Young Mystics Following Holy Mother Our Lady of Guadalupe:  The Path of the Broken Heart   Chapter TwentyLos Inmigrantes, We Are All Immigrants:  The Undousable Creative Fire They Tried to Stop Her At the Border   Chapter Twenty-OneMi Madre, Tu Madre, La Madre de Ella, La Madre de El, Nuestra Madre:  My Mother, Your Mother, Her Mother, His Mother, Our Mother The Truth About How Very Hard it is to Get Into Heaven     Chapter Twenty-TwoThat You Be Watched Over and Kept Safe Until We See Each Other Again Closing Blessing:  Have You Forgotten?  I Am Your Mother   Chapter Twenty-ThreeBeautiful Words About the Mother Some of the Ways Other Creative Souls Understand Relationship With Mother   Chapter Twenty-FourAymen, Aymen, Aymen…And A Little Woman The Highest Prayer

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