ARC review – Waking the Witch by Pam Grossman

WAKING THE WITCH: REFLECTIONS ON  WOMEN, MAGIC, AND POWER

Spirituality, Feminism, Memoir | 304 pages | 06.04.2019 | Gallery Books

5 STARS

I’ve been following Pam Grossman for a while and love her podcast The Witch Wave. I connect with her intuition and sensitivity toward spiritual subjects. I was elated when I received this ARC. I am a feminist but not very outspoken about it. I am spiritual in private and I am bookish and academic outwardly. Waking the Witch touched upon all of these aspects of me. I felt, it was well-researched and logically laid out. I enjoyed the many mentions of books, paintings, movies, talks, and music. Contemporary, as well as historical facts and trivia, were expertly interweaved with Grossman’s personal experiences and memoir-like tales.

Furthermore, it read easily. In fact, this may be the fastest I have finished a non-fiction book. At the end of the last chapter, I felt satisfied that I learned something. This book was educational to me without feeling like a textbook. It certainly is no in-depth guide to witchcraft or similar things but it appears to be a wonderful introduction to witches and their feminist aspirations. I love the idea that being a witch can have so many meanings and Grossman does an amazing job of being inclusive and open to other lifestyles, believes, and experiences. I walked away from this feeling seriously pumped of her interpretation of feminism and where we should go from here. This is a book that I will consult in the future when I might feel bleak about today’s society or when I might need some spiritual insight. You definitely don’t need to be a witch in the most literal sense to enjoy her writing and be inspired by it.

As a novice in this field (so take this with a grain of salt), I can see this book becoming a staple for people who seek mindfulness, spirituality, and/or a unique way of feminism. I believe this would be a fantastic book for book clubs and similar discussion groups as it has many jumping off points along the way.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.