The stories that shape us
Subtitle: contemporary women write about the West : an anthology
By: edited by Teresa Jordan and James R. Hepworth.
Contributors: Jordan, Teresa.; Hepworth, James, 1948-
Publisher: Norton
Published: 1995
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 396
Subjects: Women authors, American -- West (U.S.) -- Biography.; Women authors, American -- 20th century -- Biography.; Women -- West (U.S.) -- Biography.; Authorship.; West (U.S.) -- Social life and customs.; West (U.S.) -- Biography.
Genres: Biography.
Description: Over the past decade a rich chorus of women's voices has emerged from the West. The Stories That Shape Us is an extraordinary anthology of twenty-six personal essays by contemporary women writers, many being published here for the first time. Ranging widely across the cultures and the regions of the West, these women relate stories of family and community, of race and gender, of commitment and displacement, of grief and repair, of spirituality and connection to the earth.

Against the story of the Winning of the West, of men in (and against) the natural world, these writers propose a revised narrative, one more appropriate to a world facing stark limits and ecological disaster. Their stories are not new, but until recently we have been unable to hear them. The voices in The Stories That Shape Us have been shaped by their particular regions and cultures, but they speak to the nation, and they demand attention because they tell us what we need in order to survive.