When I first came across this book, I was in college and I was healing from a broken relationship.
At first, I didn't expect much from this book because of the title. I thought that i knew what it meant to be a woman. However, I didn't know what the author knew. Maybe there was something else to being a woman that I didn't know about? I was open-minded and began reading.
I was pulled into a new world as I continued to read on. I underlined practically every line in the book. I also added my thoughts to each page's margins. I looked at my mom and I saw the pain that she had gone through to incorporate all the types of women described in the book. Although my mom was unsuccessful for incorporating all four types, she still had a long marriage with my dad. But i knew that my mom was the exception. Most of the women that I knew had to incorporate all four into themselves to be happily married to a greater extent.
Now, three years later, I revisit this book and I can say with emphasis that this book is life-changing. All the wisdom she parts are valid. It's not easy to incorporate all four types of women into oneself, but it's necessary for sure.
I had slipped on being a Madonna and I felt the brunt of it. I was scarred emotionally. Then I recall being too strong an Amazon and I was condemned for ignoring her family's needs. SO in short, all four (Amazon, Mother, Madonna and Courtesan)need to be in balance to have a happy marriage. Although men don't have to worry about these four types, they have their own issues that they need to take care of. If you want to be sane, whole and healed, then this book is a must read.