COURAGE
The Heart and Spirit of Every Woman

Every woman possesses courage, but it doesn’t mean she must scale towering mountains, wrestle a faltering company to Fortune 500 status or rescue people from burning buildings.

Sandra Ford Walston, known for her dynamic seminars on interpersonal skills, moves beyond the commonly-held definition of courage. By re-examining the word’s origin from the Old French corage, meaning “heart and spirit,” she demonstrates how women can identify the role that courage plays in their own lives in ways they have never suspected.

The stories of the women interviewed by Walston enliven each chapter as they reveal how everyday courage not only enabled them to carry on, often under difficult circumstances, but also frequently transformed their lives.

Courage then is coping with the premature death of a spouse and raising small children alone, re-entering the job market in middle-age after having been away for years, being the only female in a male-dominated profession or being the only minority in an all-white organization. Courage might even mean adhering to a serious weight-loss program and then maintaining a healthy life weight.

The women interviewed agreed that courage enables a person to make necessary tough decisions both in family life and in the outside work world.

COURAGE isn’t limited to numerous inspirational life stories, however. Walston uses these as a springboard for her growth blueprint to show readers how to design their own courageous life plan. Through a series of exercises and guidelines, she leads readers on an inner journey through which they will draw from their own forgotten yet limitless reservoirs of courage.

Walston’s book fills a void in the arena of women’s studies where courage has usually been addressed only indirectly. Her well-crafted prose and smooth style make the book readily accessible to every reader, not just the scholar. As she deftly weaves historical and mythical trends throughout the centuries with stories of contemporary women, she grounds her book with a firm foundation. The logic of this approach draws readers easily into the chapters on self-discovery and transformation.

COURAGE: The Heart and Spirit of Every Woman shows women of all ages, from the girl to the octogenarian, how to reclaim their forgotten birthright and live more fully from their heart and spirit. In the process readers will learn not only how women can measure their growth in courage but also realize the personal consequences of ignoring their own reservoirs of this vital energy.

—Joan Hinkemeyer,Former/retired teacher of Women’s Studies