Two Truths and a Lie

You might know this about me already, but I love to read. As in, I do it every day and would much rather read a book than watch TV or do pretty much anything involving a screen. 

One of my favorite genres is historical fiction which means I have a lot of random, sometimes interesting or even useful pieces of information floating around in my head. Here are some things I thought you might find fascinating too…

#1 - I read The Blood Countess by Shelley Puhak recently. It was actually really boring and I don’t recommend it. But it was about Elizabeth Bathory who was alleged to have been the world’s most prolific female serial killer. The thing is though… she wasn’t.

She likely wasn’t even a killer at all. She was, however, rich, smart, and owned a lot of land. And an enemy of some people in power and religious leaders. So they started elaborate rumors about her torturing and killing girls in order to undermine her and steal her land. 

This was also the playbook for every witch trial ever. Even for the women who were witches the reasons they were accused/burned/drowned/hung had less to do with their actions and more to do with what others wanted to take from them.

#2 - The word spinster originally referred to women who made their own money through sewing using a spinning wheel. It only took on a derogatory meaning when men started using it to generally refer to a woman who didn’t need to depend on a man. As if that was a bad thing.

#3 - There is a secret group of rich men in power that runs the entire world outside of politics or justice systems.

Ok this one might not be true. It’s the plot of The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller which I really enjoyed and do recommend. But I have eyes, ears, and live in 2026 so I’m also not going to tell you it’s NOT true.

But in the book the evil group of men is taken down by a group of undercover witches. (Not much of a spoiler, you should still read the book.)

Here’s the takeaway…

The stories you have that tell you it’s selfish to take time for you or make you feel guilty when you do are like the 18th century manosphere guys turning the perfectly respectable job of spinster into a derogatory term. It’s not based in reality.

And whether the evil group of men is an actual organized thing or just the ongoing horror that is the patriarchy, you take it down by being powerful on your terms.

This is exactly what I do with my clients, so if you’d like to learn more, book a Life Strategy Call so we can talk about how I can help you.