Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale about That Which Can Never Die

What in life is unconquerable? What survives no matter what? On The Faithful Gardener, Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés mines the rich storytelling tradition of her own family to unearth a series of lyrical stories that illustrate how faith is the one immortal force in our lives.

What begins as a simple tale from the lips of a child becomes the greater saga of Uncle Zovár, a quiet refugee from the Nazi slave camps, and his refusal to let bitterness darken his devotion to the earth. The final story, told in the form of a vivid old country tale about that which can never die, holds an unforgettable lesson about sacrifice and spiritual regeneration.

Raised by a family of refugee immigrants who revered stories as healing instruments, Dr. Estés relates these ageless tales that were first told to nourish, repair, and strengthen—whatever is most needed and wanted. The Faithful Gardener captures the spirit of a long-ago time, while deeply expressing our common desire to know that grappling with sudden and unexpected twists of fate and challenging transitions—however painful—is never in vain.

Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PhD, is an internationally recognized scholar, award-winning poet, diplomate senior Jungian psychoanalyst, and cantadora (keeper of the old stories in the Latina tradition). In addition to her international bestseller Women Who Run With the Wolves, Dr. Estés is a managing editor and columnist writing on politics, spirituality, and culture at the newsblog TheModerateVoice.com, and she is a columnist at The National Catholic Reporter online.