Stories That Shape Us: Reflections on Women Who Run with the Wolves

Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype

By Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PhD

I have always been interested in how the stories surrounding us shape us—personally, culturally, and relationally. The myths, themes, and narratives that hold our attention are rarely accidental. They often reflect something we are searching for, something we’ve lost, or something we are trying to remember about ourselves.

Women Who Run with the Wolves invites that kind of curiosity. Through myth, folklore, and storytelling, Clarissa Pinkola Estés explores the archetypes often associated with women and what they reveal about instinct, creativity, resilience, and identity. Rather than offering a how-to guide or a single interpretation, the book encourages readers to sit with stories, symbols, and patterns—and to notice what resonates.

Why it’s helpful:

• Invites reflection through story rather than instruction
  The book uses myth and folklore as mirrors, allowing readers to find meaning rather than prescribing it.

• Explores archetypes and cultural narratives about women
  It highlights recurring themes that shape how women are perceived—and how women may come to perceive themselves.

• Encourages curiosity about what draws our attention
  The stories we return to often point toward values, longings, or parts of ourselves seeking recognition.

• Creates space for understanding lived experience
  Engaging with myth can help us contextualize not only our own experiences, but the experiences of others across cultures and generations.

A Personal Reflection on Story and Meaning

As an avid reader of fiction, I am especially drawn to character-driven stories—narratives that explore inner worlds, motivations, and transformation. I experienced Women Who Run with the Wolves less as a book to be consumed and more as a space for reflection.

What stood out to me was the opportunity to consider the archetypes women are often associated with, and how those archetypes influence expectations, self-concept, and relational dynamics. The book reinforced something I believe deeply: being curious about the stories that move us—whether myths, novels, or cultural narratives—can reveal how we understand ourselves and others.

Why Stories Matter

Stories don’t just entertain us; they shape our frameworks for meaning. They help us make sense of identity, suffering, resilience, and connection. Paying attention to the myths and themes that resonate with us can deepen empathy, expand perspective, and offer language for experiences that are otherwise difficult to name.

Women Who Run with the Wolves doesn’t offer universal answers—and that is part of its value. Instead, it invites reflection, curiosity, and a willingness to listen to what stories evoke within us.

Closing Thought

The stories we carry influence how we see ourselves and how we understand the lives of others. Staying curious about them—especially the ones that linger—can be a powerful act of self-awareness and cultural understanding.

We are called to give birth to more and more wild women—within ourselves, and within the generations that follow: our daughters, nieces, granddaughters, and all women we encounter who are ready to be enlivened by this life-giving spirit. We live in a time of rare opportunity, one where the conditions are fertile for reclaiming what has long been suppressed or forgotten. Clarissa Pinkola Estés reminds us that this work is both ancient and ongoing: to be what we know in our bones how to be, to tend the stories of our own lives, and to allow them to shape us. As she writes, “I hope you will go out and let stories, that is life, happen to you, and that you will work with these stories from your life—water them with your blood and tears and your laughter till they bloom… That is the work. The only work.”