The Mona Lisa Stratagem: The Art of Women, Age, and Power

Harriet Rubin empowers the woman within. Who we are on the outside doesn't always reflect who we are on the inside. Harriet gives us many role models who have achieved inner richness. Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Georgia O'Keefe come to the forefront. When one reaches this moment in her life, one doesn't look for acceptance from others because one has already accepted oneself with all one's blemishes and all of one's beauty. One doesn't look at the wrinkles on her face but looks within the beauty of her soul. One doesn't look at her uneven breasts or not so perfect body but one looks at the wisdom of newly found knowledge. By accepting oneself, one can better accept circumstances that might not be what one would want to choose. Physical deformities, slower mobility, slower thinking etc. One begins to realize that a person can develop other qualities that are sometimes more meaningful than 100% physical health and/or 100% mental health. Thank you Harriet for empowering us to become and evolve. Other books for your consideration: Firstlight: The Early Inspirational Writings by Sue Monk Kidd Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen by Matthew Fox Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential by Caroline Myss

If you've known or loved remarkable women, or if you are a remarkable woman grappling with the march of time, I believe you'll enjoy this book. What reading "The Mona Lisa Stratagem" did for me was it unpacked the code behind what I found so attractive in certain older women who I love, admire, or whose lead I find myself anxious to follow. In "The Mona Lisa Stratagem" glass ceilings are turned to ice and melted by an inner radiance. A warning - don't expect the typical business "how to" book. Harriet Rubin may be advising women, but she is also helping men to understand the force of attraction they feel from these women by illustrating the book with a series of mini-portraits of great women throughout history - from Eleanor of Aquitaine to Eleanor Roosevelt - from Ayn Rand to Jackie Kennedy. Of course there is also Harriet Rubin herself, I've also read and enjoyed some of her other books... The Princessa: Machiavelli for Women - Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambition - Dante in Love: The World's Greatest Poem and How It Made History