The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday

Taking as her starting point the inspiration and wisdom that can be derived from myth, fairy tales, and folk culture, Dr. Sharon Blackie offers a set of practical and grounded tools for enchanting our lives and the places we live, so leading to a greater sense of meaning and of belonging to the world.

Enchantment. By Dr. Blackie's definition, a vivid sense of belongingness to a rich and many-layered world, a profound and whole-hearted participation in the adventure of life. Enchantment is a natural, spontaneous human tendency -- one we possess as children, but lose, through social and cultural pressures, as we grow older. It is an attitude of mind which can be cultivated: the enchanted life is possible for anyone. It is intuitive, embraces wonder, and fully engages the mythic imagination -- but it is also deeply embodied in ecology, grounded in place and community.

To live this way is to be challenged, to be awakened, to be gripped and shaken to the core by the extraordinary which lies at the heart of the ordinary.

DR. SHARON BLACKIE is an award-winning writer and internationally recognized teacher whose work sits at the interface of psychology, mythology, and ecology. Her highly acclaimed books, courses, lectures, and workshops are focused on the development of the mythic imagination, and on the relevance of our native myths, fairy tales, and folk traditions to the personal, social, and environmental problems we face today. As well as writing four books of fiction and nonfiction, including the bestselling If Women Rose Rooted, her writing has appeared in the Guardian, the Irish Times, the Scotsman, and more, and she has been interviewed by the BBC and other major broadcasters on her areas of expertise. Sharon lives on a smallholding in the mountains of Wales.