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Ripening

Why Women Need Fairy Tales Now

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Ripening

By: Sharon Blackie
Narrated by: Sharon Blackie
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'Fairy tales matter because at the heart of every one of them is transformation.'

In a world in which all the old certainties seem to be crumbling, it's hard not to feel we have lost our way. In Ripening, Sharon Blackie insists that fairy tales are precisely the stories we need for such times.

Long before they became bywords for people-pleasing princesses, these old stories – passed down to us through generations by our peasant ancestors – told us everything that women need to learn about the world. They might be set in difficult and dangerous times, but they require their heroines to face the unfaceable and dig deep for previously unimagined inner resources. They teach us to be savvy, inspire us to grow in confidence, show us how to be bold and claim the future we dream of.

More than anything, fairy tales are soul-food. They show us how to take hold of our own personal narratives and transform them into stories that might begin with trauma, but end with empowerment. They offer us images of startling resonance and beauty, whilst showing us how to recognise and make use of the possibilities that rise to the surface when broken systems are cracked open.

©2026 Sharon Blackie (P)2026 Duckworth Books Best of 2026 (so far) Gender Studies Personal Development Personal Success Self-Esteem Social Sciences Women Fiction Fantasy Magic
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This book is life changing for those of us struggling to accept our own life stories. It has given me a starting point for coming to terms with my difficulties.

Beautiful and inspiring

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This book is richer in interpretation and the ‘uses of enchantment’ than others, and I felt this gave it depth. The protean nature of fairy tales enables them to be interpreted in a feminist way, and one that is supportive to older women, though sometimes this reading is hard to disentangle from older (and often modern) societies’ real view of young and beautiful = good, and old and clever = malicious. It takes an effort of will to ignore the obvious sometimes, and to find them as sustaining as one might want and need.

Probably her best so far

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I picked this as a free book and was really surprised by how interesting and engaging the book was. I have already recommended to a couple of friends.

A pleasant suprise

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Unexpected book for me, was just browsing and I liked the description. I have even picked up Grimms fairy tales again to revisit all the tales I read as I child. This book enticed me with the childhood tales but also is helping me revisit where I am in my own life and what I am happy with and what I need to think of changing. I think I will buy this again in paper, and have recommended to alot of my friends.

loved this

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I loved it all. It spoke to make as a woman in midlife. Superb insightful.

So thought provoking

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