Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Clarissa Pinkola Estes is a renowned psychoanalyst, poet, and author of multiple research-backed best-selling books on human psychology, personal growth, and spirituality. Estes’ work is aimed at helping individuals on their journey to spiritual and emotional healing, including her most popular book, Women Who RunWith the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1945, Estes experienced a tumultuous early life. After a difficult childhood and adolescent that included roles in both family and faith, she found solace in literature, education, and helping others. She received a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s in clinical psychology from Loyola University of Chicago before continuing her graduate studies in psychoanalytic and Jungian psychology at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland.
Estes spent more than a decade as a private psychoanalyst and clinical director, working with a broad range of clients from all over the United States and Europe. As her interest in, and understanding of, human psychology grew, she began to develop a style of psychoanalytic practice that combined traditional models of analysis with the study of ancient wisdom, mythology, and storytelling. During this time, Estes wrote her groundbreaking self-help books, fueled by her rich understanding of human psychology and her belief that personal healing requires a spiritual journey.
Women Who Run With the Wolves is arguably Estes’ most notable work. It introduces the reader to the Wild Woman archetype, a concept the author popularized, which posits that all women – regardless of nationality, class, or cultural background – have an instinctual “wildness” inside them. Estes argues that accessing this untamed power, as represented by the Wild Woman, is the key to self-discovery, passion, healing, and joy. The book has sold over 3 million copies since its release and is widely recognized as a classic of jungian and feminist literature.
In addition to Women Who Run With the Wolves, Estes is the author of multiple other popular works, such as The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale About That Which Can Never Die, The Gift of Story: A Wise Tale About What Is Enough, and Women Who Call Forth The Sacred: Sisters of the Earth. Each of these books combines Estes’ own brand of psychoanalysis and personal growth with the ancient storytelling and wisdom of various indigenous cultures.
Estes’ books have been hugely influential in fields such as psychology, anthropology, women’s studies, and literary criticism, helping to influence the current narrative around self-care, inner healing, and personal growth. Estes has appeared on Oprah and traveling workshops throughout the United States and around the world, and continues to deliver inspired lectures and workshops. Her unique approach to understanding and helping individuals heal and explore the depths of their psyches has helped millions.
