In Greek mythology the Furies were 3 witches. This retelling also includes the story of Circe, the famous sorceress.

The Furies is a psychologically complex, dark and twisting novel about loss, obsession and the deep tragedies that can connect us to each other even as they blind us to our fate, from the bestselling author of A Thousand Ships After losing her fiancé in a shocking tragedy, Alex Morris moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Formerly an actress, Alex accepts a job teaching drama therapy at a school commonly referred to as "The Unit," a last-chance learning community for teens expelled from other schools in the city. Her students have troubled pasts and difficult personalities, and Alex is an inexperienced teacher, terrified of what she's taken on and drowning in grief. Her most challenging class is an intimidating group of teenagers who have been given up on by everyone before her. But Alex soon discovers that discussing the Greek tragedies opens them up in unexpected ways, and she gradually develops a rapport with them. But are these tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge teaching more than Alex ever intended? And who becomes responsible when these students take the tragedies to heart, and begin interweaving their darker lessons into real life with terrible and irrevocable fury? Published in the UK under the title The Amber Fury. "Steady pacing paired with well-timed foreshadowing and fully realized characters make this one compelling from the beginning. Fans of Donna Tartt's The Secret History (1992), Erin Kelly's The Poison Tree (2011), and Tana French's The Likeness (2008) will likely enjoy the new perspective Haynes' conversational style offers to similar material." —Booklist

A legendary story. An impossible choice. As heir to the throne in ancient Crete, Ariadne feels like a poor substitute for her heroic brother. She's wild, where he was brave. Impulsive, where he was noble. Restless, where he was steady. Things get complicated when a handsome, arrogant warrior arrives with the tribute from Athens and makes claims that threaten the shaky peace between their kingdoms. Ariadne's torn. Theseus is the enemy, but she starts to think he might be right. When her world starts to unravel, Ariadne is caught between loyalties. Should she trust Theseus, betray her father and risk losing everything? Or does her path lie with the reckless new god, Dionysus? "This is perhaps one of the best and the most entertaining young adult/mythology/epic novels I have read so far this year." - Readers Favorite Review

This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, Shlain reinterprets ancient myths and parables in light of his theory. Provocative and inspiring, this book is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.

Iron Goddess of Mercyby Lambda Literary Award winner Larissa Lai (for the novel The Tiger Flu) is a long poem that captures the vengeful yet hopeful movement of the Furies mid-whirl and dance with them through the horror of the long now. Inspired by the tumultuous history of Hong Kong, from the Japanese and British occupations to the ongoing pro-democracy protests, the poem interrogates the complicated notion of identity, offering a prism through which the term “Asian” can be understood to make sense of a complex set of relations. The self crystallizes in moments of solidity, only to dissolve and whirl away again. The poet is a windsock, catching all the affect that blows at her and ballooning to fullness, only to empty again when the wind changes direction. Iron Goddess of Mercy is a game of mah jong played deep into the night, an endless gamble. Presented in sixty-four fragments to honor the sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching, Iron Goddess of Mercy also borrows from haibun, a traditional Japanese form of travel writing in which each diary entry closes with a haiku. The poem dizzies, turns on itself. It rants, it curses, it writes love letters, but as the Iron Goddess is ever changing, so is the object of her address: a maenad, Kool-Aid, Chiang Kai-shek, the economy, a clown, freedom of speech, a brother, a bother, a typist, a monster, a machine, Iris Chang, Hannah Arendt, the Greek warrior Achilles, or a deer caught in the headlights. Finally, a balm to the poem’s devastating passion and fury, Iron Goddess of Mercy is also a type of oolong tea, a most fragrant infusion said to have been a gift from the compassionate bodhisattva Guan Yin. Summoning the ghosts of history and politics, Iron Goddess of Mercy explores the complexities of identity through the lens of rage and empowerment. This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A Simple book with few images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.

An award-winning classicist turns to Greek tragedies for the wisdom to understand the damage caused by suicide and help those who are contemplating suicide themselves In Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the Tyrant, a messenger arrives to report that Jocasta, queen of Thebes, has killed herself. To prepare listeners for this terrible news, he announces, “The tragedies that hurt the most are those that sufferers have chosen for themselves.” Edith Hall, whose own life and psyche have been shaped by such loss—her mother’s grandfather, mother, and first cousin all took their own lives—traces the philosophical arguments on suicide, from Plato and Aristotle to David Hume and Albert Camus. In this deeply personal story, Hall explores the psychological damage that suicide inflicts across generations, relating it to the ancient Greek idea of a family curse. She draws parallels between characters from Greek tragedy and her own relatives, including her great-grandfather, whose life and death bore similar motivations to Sophocles’ Ajax: both men were overwhelmed by shame and humiliation. Hall, haunted by her own periodic suicidal urges, shows how plays by Sophocles and other Greek dramatists helped her work through the loss of her grandmother and namesake Edith and understand her relationship with her own mother. The wisdom and solace found in the ancient tragedies, she argues, can help one choose survival over painful adversity and offer comfort to those who are tragically bereaved.

It has been over twenty years since the full manuscript of my book was edited for publication in 1998. I had begun writing it in the previous decade, the 1980’s... a period of flourishing women’s liberation movements against the patriarchal status quo. Books about women’s sexuality and spirituality were flooding the bookstores, and many writers were producing profound studies of the untold heroism of women throughout history. I was a pioneer in the burgeoning field of Sex therapy and education at the University of Minnesota Medical School’s “Program in Human Sexuality.” In addition, I conducted women’s self-enrichment groups and workshops in my private practice... “Woman’s Discovery Institute” ... where I also gave professional Astrology readings and classes. This rich mix of psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and a knowledge of the cyclic patterns of life shown by astrology created within me an avid interest in researching women’s unsung heroism throughout history. It brewed in me a heady fascination to stitch it all together in a circle montage that connects all women and all aspects of our multi-layered lives. I based my theory on the lunar cycle, which is eternally linked to women’s menstrual, emotional, and psychic cycles. With a friend, I created a series of workshops for women to celebrate their many-faceted selves and gain confidence to pursue their goals. Yet for various reasons my book manuscript remained in my own bookshelf, never getting published. Until now... the times again call for women to claim their autonomy and gain equality in an overly male-dominated and viciously callous world. I am blessed to find in Xlibris a publisher ready to take on the project with me. I am thrilled to finally see my “Life’s Masterwork” in print. You will find many divergent ideas in these two volumes. No single woman encompasses all that are described, but as you read and recognize these characters in yourselves and your friends, I hope it will help you gain a full appreciation of your own awesome erotic spirit and sacred sexual powers.