The Soul of a Woman
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 26, 2021
Author Isabel Allende
Distributor: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 9781526630810
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing/Bloomsbury Circus
Release Date: March 2021
Website: https://www.bloomsbury.com
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If ever a book was released at the perfect time it is The Soul of a Woman from acclaimed writer and author Isabel Allende, She offers incredible insight into the very essence of what it means to be a feminist, what it takes to embrace the feminine, the inherent sexuality that it is to be woman, setting out what it really is that women want in today’s world, and did a want since the age of the Suffragette of more than 100 years ago.
From her vantage point of more than 74 years of age, with three marriages over the course her incredible life, the deep sadness of the loss of her precious daughter, the pride in her beloved son and the understanding that eventually comes to all women as they grow older, she offers her life journey to all women wondering which pathways to walk.
In so many ways it is a call to arms for women, a call to embrace who you are, to walk tall, to enjoy life and to understand that the intrinsic things women want, are all attainable; they are the rewards that are there for the taking that come with the understanding of just exactly what it is that makes up The Soul of a Woman.
Allende is not at all pretentious in her words, as they are all based on personal experience. Her mother was abandoned by her husband, leaving her to provide for three small children. This saw her become beholden to her Father, the head of the household, which in Chile meant just that. Women had their place and they were required to remain there which happened until she remarried some years later.
Always seeing life for what it was, Allende seemed to absorb ‘feminism’ from an early age, rejecting the demands of the Chilean family, rebellious, forward, determined never to be at the whim of the men in her life. This pathway led to a life rich in living, loving and learning, often the hard way. She writes as a friend, she writes as a woman of the world, as a mother, lover but most of all as a ‘feminist’.
The Soul of a Woman is a book for everyone, including the men in your life, as it sets out in clear terms what it is to be a woman. It is also a book that is perfect for the times in which we all find ourselves. The words call out for this generation to continue on with the work begun by their mothers and grandmothers over many years and as Allende says, there is still much to be done. She hopes her words will inspire the new generation to finally achieve what is rightfully theirs, in a single word, Respect.