Clarissa Pinkola Estés Biography

An American poet, psychoanalyst, and post-trauma specialist, she was raised amidst oral and ethnic traditions now on the verge of vanishing. As a first-generation American from a rural village of 600 near the Great Lakes, her heritage is a rich tapestry of Mexican mestiza, Hungarian, and Swabian roots. Hailing from families of immigrants and refugees who were often illiterate or struggled with literacy, her work draws deeply from their ancestral occupations. These influences manifest in her writing, reflecting the lives of farmers, shepherds, and artisans from her family's past in the Old Countries.