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Introduction
Shoes Stories from Women's Soles to Women's Souls
Inspiration can come from the most unlikely places. Need we look only to our feet to find it? That's what I started to wonder after my chance encounter with a roomful of passionate shoe talkers. As I traveled around the country for my speaking engagements, I started to ask women everywhere to share their shoe memories and mishaps. And the more tales I collected, the more I came to believe there is a sole-soul connection. That is, the stories of women and their shoes provide humor to lighten the day, encouragement to keep us going, or even nuggets of wisdom for living more meaningful lives.
Like most women, I love my shoes. The number of pairs I own puzzles my husband, and from what he says, many men share his perplexity.
"I can understand you owning a few pairs, but why so many shoes, why the obsession?" he asked with genuine curiosity.
My reply is simple: "Women see in color, men in black and white."
But there's really no one answer. It's about ownership, about defining who you are, about the hunt, the excitement, the rush of acquiring. It's about showing off to your girlfriends, feeling sexy, walking tall, looking good, and feeling good. It's about style and color, highs and lows-heels and flats-about choice and change and satisfying oneself. It's also about being comfortable with one's femininity and sexuality; it's about color, beauty, and touch.
