Book Review: Truth or Dare

Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority and Mystery by Starhawk. Published by Harper & Row, 1987.

Starhawk is a well-known pagan author, activist and speaker, and one of the founders of the Reclaiming Collective. In Truth or Dare, she weaves the story of the Descent of Inanna with stories about challenging the structures of power-over that permeate the modern world. This book is a wonderful resource for those who want to understand how society become one of power-over, what the difference is between power-over and power-with, and how we can find ways to re-create our world as one of interdependence rather than dominion.

Starhawk also challenges the culture of war as a tool of the power-over model, and offers ways that we can deprogram ourselves from the internalized Judge, Conqueror, and Censor. Included are exercises, rituals and meditations that can be used by individuals and groups who want to understand how their encounters with Mystery can lead them to create sustainable communities of empowerment.

I recommend this book to anyone who is ready to take the dare and face the truth!