With a gift for penetrating the shadows that darken our lives, Dr. Estés helps us grasp how the starvation for inner life corresponds with disastrous outer choices, and the way to recover and restore your critical inner balance. Using a fairy tale deeply rooted in our psyches – "The Red Shoes" – Dr. Estés illuminates how people are driven to excessive behaviors.In our culture, she begins, we may travel life's path in one of two ways: in handmade shoes – crafted with love and care according to the unique needs of the individual soul; or in red shoes – initially promising instant fulfillment, but ultimately leading to a hollow, painful, split existence. Drawing from real-world examples, Dr. Estés analyzes the deep-seated hunger that leads to addictions and explains how to tap instinctual forces that offer strength and life direction.