Romancing the Shadow: A Guide to Soul Work for a Vital, Authentic Life: A Shadow Work Book

Who are we? Why are we here? Certainly these are existential questions that many of us occasionally ponder. And, still in the absence of clarifying our answers, we often feel anxious that, “we’re not being who we think we are” and that “we’re not achieving what we think we’re trying to do.”Intuitively, through the influence of our egos that are trying to stabilize our lives, we may feel inclined to control our shadow energies before our shadow energies control us. But, Zweig and Wolf suggest, there’s ‘gold to be mined’ through “romancing the shadow.” Do we need to be living within the limiting confines of our current lives … or are there greater potentials that we’ve yet to recognize and consider?In “Romancing the Shadow”, Zweig and Wolf explore, on one hand, how our ego steers us in the persona of our conscious life (in being who we think we are and doing what we believe we’re here to do) and, on the other hand, how our shadow energies inspire us in our unconscious life (fulfilling the call of greater potential of our Spirit).Romancing the Shadow is filled with illustrative examples from mythology and pragmatic cases from the author’s therapeutic practices. Repeatedly, readers will feel reflections of their own life experiences. Repeatedly, readers might ask themselves, “what might I find if I romance my shadow?”While Romancing the Shadow is certainly a powerfully moving read, it is not, by any measure, an easy read. Initially, we are asked to hold an inquisitive space. Consistently we are convincingly moved toward recognizing and accepting the suggested messages. Ultimately, we are inspired and encouraged to endure our romancing the shadow journey toward greater wholeness.Romancing the Shadow earned its Five Stars!

I think that understanding the Jungian concept of the Shadow is critically important for anyone who wants to be self-aware, and especially for anyone who is or plans to be a parent. In the simplest of terms: when we are growing up we receive both overt and subtle messages from our parents and society at large that some aspects of ourselves are not acceptable. We hide/bury those aspects in order to survive, but they don't go away. They fester in the darkness and emerge -- sometimes explosively -- to sabotage us later. This book provides a great introduction to the Shadow, how it is developed, and how it impacts us all our lives, in every facet of our existence.Unfortunately, the overall context of Jungian pscyhology relies strongly on undestanding the human psyche in terms of the gender binary and this book assumes "traditional" family structure and gender roles. It mentions same-sex relationships, but the case studies only mention a few gay men and no lesbians. And of course there is no mention of bisexual, asexual, pansexual, and/or nonbinary people, nor does it acknowledge polyamory as a legitimate relationship option. I also noticed that the introductory descriptions of women in the case studies include appearances, but that is seldom the case with the men. As I read, I began to suspect this book was written in the early 1970's, and was disappointed to find out it was published in 1997.The book also explains the concept of archetypes and illustrates how they manifest in our lives using the Greek gods as exemplars. (For a more in-depth exploration of this concept, I highly recommend Jean Shinoda Bolen's books "Goddesses in Everywoman" and "Gods in Everyman.") Since I am very familiar with Greek mythology, and read "Goddesses in Everywoman" in 1988, it was very easy for me to follow the discussion, but I'm not sure how helpful and/or challenging it would be for someone who lacks that familiarity.Bottom line: I strongly recommend that everyone learn about the Shadow, but this may not be the best book for doing so if your gender identity and/or your experience of growing up locate you outside the gender biases of this book. I haven't looked around for other options yet, but I hope they are out there.

Wow! Read Meeting the Shadow b4 reading this and was great backdrop. This book goes into quite a bit more detail and makes a good investigatory handbook for Journaling. Only for those courageous souls that want to do some real transformation.

Makes you think

definitely recommend helped me figure out loads

I found this after reading Zweig’s Meeting the Shadow and wishing for more on Jungian shadow work. Romancing the Shadow took me on a journey both profound and revealing. This book changed my perspective somewhat and has me looking within at my own shadow characters as a means to become a more integrated individual. It also gave me a clearer idea of what to focus on in my own development in relationships, work and midlife. I got so much out of this book. Kudos to the authors for this important work.

Doesn't overwhelm reader with technical jargon. Introduces many aspects of how shadow manifests in people's lives with useful case studies followed by practical questions that facilitate the reader's own shadow work.Great book for all types of readers. If you want a thorough but quick read, then skip all of the engaging questions. If you want to get the most out of the book then take your time & really work with the questions. You decide what & how much you want out of the book based on how much you put into the whole process.Not a substitute for a Jungian therapist, but a potentially powerful aid for people who want "to invite an unknown stranger [their shadow] to come out of the darkness, to make itself available for conscious relationship."

A really in depth examination of all the little ways we fool ourselves into to not living a full and authentic life. Interesting, accesablible and though provoking. Sun Tui [...]

Found it too hard going for my brain, didn't get to the end. perhaps in a year or two i might try it again

one of the best books on the Shadow

Broken down into useful chapters. Highly recommended for anyone wishing to look into their own shadow, or the subject in general.

This book was very interesting and certainly made me think quite differently about my own thought processes and others, wether they are close family or not.The kind of book you want to pass on to those you love. I Would recomend it.