The Bone Woman was retold by Clarissa Pinkola Estes in "Women Who Run With The Wolves" - one of my favorite books. I couldn't remember the specifics to retell it myself without looking it up again, but recognized it immediately in this article. That phrase "Flesh to bone, flesh to bone..." was in my dreams after surgery (though I could NOT have told you where it came from at the time - just a fuzzy memory). I had to recover from surgery without painkillers so it was really, really long and crazy hard, and I still visualize it on painful days (again, not cognizant of the source when I do - it's like a reaction). The weird thing is, it feels like a curse when it starts repeating in my head. But then it stops feeling quite so hellish - all of it. I can't really tell you how it helps, except that when that cycle of repeating slows down it's later, or the next day and it's... well it's the next day, something I had doubts about making it to. It's a small thing but somehow it helps me get to the other side. Maybe it's not what the tale was meant for but it's what it has meant to me.

Really enjoyed this! Thank you Terri (& Howard). Wishing Howard a lot of foolery (on his terms) and that the tricksters are on his side for his journey.

Oh yes, I've been following these. Definitely worth a visit. Some months I really loved and saw glimpses of myself in the articles too. Wonderfully different. Wishing you healing rest, joyful spaces and increasing wellness.

This is one of those posts in which you start putting in bold all those phrases that resonate and find there's more bold than not when you're done. I wish I had a wall big enough to write it all on so I would see it and be reminded every day... I have to go re-read Once Upon A Time again. I'm due - thank you for the appetizer! Thank you also for including that quote from Lynda Barry! She's a modern transformation coach (fairy godmother?) - her perspective on creating fantasy worlds "not to escape reality... (but) to be able to stay" speaks so much to why fairy tales are so very important right now, and why so many people are turning to them. Thank you for this.

I really liked reading all the comparisons - thank you! I will admit I was reading to see what you thought of Cristophe Gans' Beauty and the Beast. It's not a perfect film, by a long shot, but I did a mini-experiment around the time Disney's live action film came out (oh the additional problems that introduced!), by lending my copy out to people who were either about to see the new Disney or who had just seen it. People still loved the live Disney but it was more of a nostalgic experience than being told a fairy tale. Without exception, though, they all talked about the story in the Gans one -some to compare,some not, some to criticize, some to wish Disney had included some (traditional) aspects as well, and some to talk through (the tale) issues. The Disney one was just fantasy and had very little to do with real life, and the conversation was pretty much about Disney doing Disney and how well it stood up against itself. The basic feedback I got from all who'd seen the Gans one was that, while clearly still very child friendly, it was perhaps a 'bigger' story, with long term repercussions - one that (with some magic) could have happened... It was interesting, especially as the Gans fim does not scrimp on the lavish fantasy visuals and effects!. I wouldn't say the Gans film was preferred. Most (though not all) preferred the Disney one to be honest, but even they said that's because it was 'safe' and just made them feel happy. (I kind of wished I could have done my informal experiment with Cocteau's film but, sadly, that was never going to happen.)

Thank you so much Terri. With the most recent challenges of this past month in living at the hospital with my son's frightening emergency and complications, and that compounding ongoing frustrations of less-than-full-health of mine, this couldn't be more timely. (Pun not intended but appropriate!) Rima's clocks actually helped me understand the concept too, so these images are perfect for this essay. The clock face on the underside of the mushroom spoke to me a lot - these beautiful fungi that appear overnight like magic when other things can't seem to grow... Thank you again.