Speak with your voice

The passage of years destroys the brightest dreams, and one has to suffer more often than rejoice. How to deal with it? Maybe if a person realized in childhood that he was facing endless trials, he would perceive life more courageously? And would he have lived happier as a result?

To be honest, I opened this book with some apprehension: how many works in the world written by a woman and about women! But the book by Ekaterina Mikhailova, based on the psychological trainings that the author has been conducting for many years, stands out from the crowd. As much as the fabulous Vasilisa does not look like banal heroines like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. A happy happy ending awaits Vasilisa not because she is beautiful, meek or patient. And thanks to the fact that he does not wait for favors from the outside, he relies on himself and goes through fears and difficulties on his own. So Ekaterina Mikhailova urges women who find themselves in difficult situations not to give up in fear of changing the standard scenario of women’s life, but to preserve the ability to be surprised and start all over again.

The passage of years destroys the brightest dreams, and one has to suffer more often than rejoice. How to deal with it? Maybe if a person realized in childhood that he was facing endless trials, he would perceive life more courageously? And would he have lived happier as a result? Marriage, the birth of a child, aging change a woman’s life dramatically — it is also the loss of her former self. Such a loss is not easy to come to terms with. That is why, by the way, mothers cling so much to the hems of grown daughters and coattails of sons, do not let them out of the nest …

To be honest, what Mikhailova writes about the relationship between mother and daughter, I read with a special feeling. Because when my grown daughter returned from some trip, I always asked: “Did you miss me?” If she answered that not at all, I was terribly happy. She doesn’t think about her mother, which means she is happy, and it’s good without her. However, I rarely see this approach. And finally I found a psychologist who advises to let the children go in peace and not wait for gratitude. What kind of gratitude can we talk about if mothers have already received their bouquet of happiness while the children were growing up?

Another problem is the relationship with one’s own age, with old age: not everyone can accept it. Ekaterina Mikhailova is sure: nothing saves during this period like female friendship, communication with people of her generation. I have been writing all my life, writing is like a drug for me: I have paper and a pen — and I feel good. And for those who are deprived of an outlet in creativity, this recipe can be invaluable. After all, it is based on the same main call: look for an opportunity to speak with your voice and about what is important for you. And then you will find the strength to cope with any adversity.