Wyrd Allies
Gothic Image (Glastonbury, England), 1996; ISBN 0-906362-32-6
Probably still in print - it's impossible to tell with Gothic Image. It's apparently still on display in their bookshop and listed in their current catalogue, but it's never made it to Amazon or to most regular distributors. I have copies for sale at Aus$15 + p&p, or wholesale by arrangement -
contact me direct for details.New: an EBook edition
in Acrobat .PDF format is now available, priced at £3.00: see http://www.web-orama.com for details.This is the second, interpersonal part of the 'Wyrd' series, and extends the basic concepts of wyrd as a personal-development tool - as developed in Positively Wyrd - into the interpersonal arena. (For more details, see the sample chapters via the Contents page.)
The basic theme is the same as in Positively Wyrd - "there's always a choice, there's always a twist" - but the publisher obviously felt that the book's somewhat weird approach to interpersonal issues was relevant to the current gender-issues debate, because that's how it's been marketed. The initial response to the book was... interesting, shall we say... but a lot more positive than expected, from both men and women. In some ways this book was a bit of a risk, but it looks like it'll have paid off - for all its readers. The book's cover-copy states:
No matter how hard we try, we can never control our relationships with others. Whether those relationships are personal, social or professional, there's always a hint of chaos and confusion. And sometimes it can seem that life goes in circles and cycles: the faces and places may be different, but in some weird way a different relationship can seem very familiar.
Breaking down the complacent gender-stereotyping which has developed over the last two decades, this book takes a refreshingly honest look at relationships, and how these new stereotypes have, in fact, imprisoned us again.
Merging ancient mythology and modern chaos theory with the subtle insights of transpersonal psychology, Wyrd Allies shows how we can work with the wyrd (weirdness) in our relationships with others, moving beyond the chaos of control and manipulation, to a way of relating that empowers everyone.
Here we learn how every person can be an ally, whatever it may seem like, and every relationship can be a way of finding out more about our wyrd purpose in life.