#InDefenseofWitches by #MonaChollet - narrated by #AlixDunmore - "the legacy of witch hunts and how women are still on trial today."
I listened to this non-fiction audiobook in advance of publication thanks to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley. This was a 5 star read for me! The subject matter was not entirely about "witches" but about the demonization of women, particularly the women who strayed from the norm, who learned and healed others, who dared to live alone with out husband or children, or who were a threat generally to the powerful men around them. It spoke of feminism throughout the ages, and how women were made out to a species not to be trusted, that we are all hysterical, too emotional, too unstable. The book strays from witches and shows how the word is used against older women, detailing the differences between how men are perceived to age vs how women are, how our society worships youth and beauty but only so much as it can control it. The book speaks of women who choose not to have children, and how society frowns on this as if its not natural, but does not stigmatize men who choose the same. How society teaches women from childhood that being a woman means to be a mother one day, therefore traumatizing women who cannot bear children or demonizing women who choose not to. I found the subject of motherhood so interesting because, much like @gloriasteinem I too felt that my mother's life as an artist & traveler was stifled by her choice to be a mother to my sister and I. I know there are things she gave up for us; i know she felt they were "worth it" but i also think she had a bit of depression &threw herself so completely into the grand patriarchy and taught my sister and I to bend to it, which wasnt quite in our wheelhouse, to say the least. I wonder at times at women who are childless and couples who choose to be chhildless, how intimate and quiet and serene it must be, how wonderfully free they are. This book tackles all that, including the treatment of women in medicine, the discussion of the #metoo movement, & so much more. A fascinating discussion of history and how women are still suffering the effects of patriarchy today. Highly recommend!

At one time, women were held in reverence for their ability to heal and give birth. Over time that reverence turned to suspicion, fear and hatred. Across the centuries and around the globe, these women became a threat to the Church and the patriarchy, and in this way, witches were created. Chollet looks at the types of women who were accused of witchcraft, the independent woman, the childless woman and the elderly woman. Wha’s Chollet’s research reveals is that even today, these groups of women are harassed and shunned by society. In some countries they can still be executed. A stirring battle cry to women everywhere – we must stand up for ourselves and our sisters and return to our rightful place in our homes, workplaces, governments and communities. We are powerful when we stand together