Maureen Murdock

Maureen Murdock, PhD, has always been interested in mythology and memoir, so she teaches and writes books on both topics. Her book The Heroine’s Journey: Woman’s Quest for Wholeness, which explores the rich territory of the feminine psyche, was translated into a dozen languages, and she has led workshops on the topic for women throughout the United States and Europe. Murdock was Chair and Core Faculty of the MA Counseling Psychology Program at Pacifica Graduate Institute and teaches memoir writing for the International Women’s Writing Guild. Her other books include Fathers’ Daughters: Breaking the Ties that Bind; Unreliable Truth: On Memoir and Memory; Spinning Inward: Using Guided Imagery with Children for Learning, Creativity & Relaxation; and The Heroine’s Journey Workbook. Maureen lives in California.

"Though the book is rich with examples drawn from myths and Jungian psychology, it is surprisingly easy to read. The journey requires serious, often frightening, wandering before one's true identity and power are known. Like the journey Murdock describes, there are no cheap, easy lessons. There are many rich, rewarding lessons, but these are gained only through integrity, courage, and the willingness to meet challenge with all the resources one can muster." —Creation

"Murdock's personal journey will surely speak to many women, but I hope also to those men willing to hear these newly awakened female voices—and of the feminine in their own souls." —Utne Reader

"Combining personal experience and painstaking erudition, Maureen Murdock's The Heroine's Journey shares with us the essence of the female journey. A fine, warm, and insightful book." —Carol Pearson, author of The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By

"The Heroine's Journey offers a map of the feminine healing process. Murdock writes in a clear and compassionate voice which draws inspiration from her experiences as a mother, artist, and therapist and from the collective wisdom of the community of women on the path of the goddess. This book speaks to each woman who longs for a spiritually alive feminine self, one who is actively engaged in the world, and who embraces the masculine principle as a mirror of herself. The Heroine's Journey guides the reader in reweaving the threads of her life story into a mantle of empowerment for herself, for other women, and for Gaia, the Planet Herself." —Patrice Wynne, author of The Womanspirit Sourcebook and cofounder of the Gaia Bookstore and Catalogue Company

"Maureen Murdock's important book on the heroine's journey contains a wealth of insight that is of great value to contemporary Western women. It explores a rich territory of the feminine psyche and opens an understanding of female development that relates not only to personal transformation but cultural transformation as well." —Joan Halifax, President of the Ojai Foundation

"A great roadmap for the changing landscapes of women's lives. It's assuring, rich in personal stories, and leads us securely to the Goddess." —Z. Budapest, author of The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries and The Grandmother of Time