Helpful Score: 7
Sue Monk Kidd is a former Christian author who began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. *Dissident Daughter* is a wonderfully touching memoir of her search for the sacred feminine, and a way to retain her heartfelt connections with Christianity while embracing that sacred feminine.
I absolutely loved this book! It gave me "permission" to look beyond what is preached in the church to find a connection to the sacred for myself, without requiring me to give up everything I have known and believed my entire life as a Christian.
I absolutely loved this book! It gave me "permission" to look beyond what is preached in the church to find a connection to the sacred for myself, without requiring me to give up everything I have known and believed my entire life as a Christian.
Helpful Score: 5
This book was quite eye-opening, especially in terms of a father/daughter relationship. Not a light read, but recommend this from the author of The Secret Life of Bees.
Helpful Score: 4
I think if I was older I may have gotten more out of this book (I'm 25). I started reading this book about 6 months ago as part of a Lenten journey. I have drifted away from the Church and wanted to help grow closer in my faith, whatever form it ends up taking. Since I haven't gone through a lot of experiences similar to Monk, I couldn't relate as well. I also have to say I rarely read non-fiction and that is probably why I put it down for four months before I picked it back up to finish. Overall, I think it's a good story about personal-growth that some women will be better able to relate than others.
Helpful Score: 3
Monk's spiritual journey as she begins to question the patriarchal structure of mainstream Christianity and seeks the Feminine Divine is an honest and well-crafted story of one woman's spiritual journey, yet it never transcends itself. Lots of source material is cited for those who wish to dig deeper.
Helpful Score: 2
I did not finish reading this book. I found for me that I couldn't get into it because I had a hard time relating to a lot of what Kidd said. I think it mostly related to being in different stages of life.
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this account of Sue Monk Kidd's journey from patriarchal Christianity to the feminine divine. Any woman who is or has been struggling with the Christian church approach to the deity and the marginalization of women in the process will learn a lot from this book.
A woman's journey from Christian tradition to the sacred feminine.
Possibly one of the most lucid and important books for women to read with regard to religion, faith, and our place in the universe.
A spritual memoir
Debra O. (honestaccountant) -
From the author of "The Secret Life of Bees"
Sue Monk Kidd was a "conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother" with a thriving career as a Christian writer until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore to monastery retreats and rituals in the caves of Crete, Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening. Retaining a meaningful connection "with the deep song of Christianity," she opens the door for traditional Christian women to discover a spirituality the speaks directly to them and provides inspiring widsom for all who struggle to embrace their full humanity.
Sue Monk Kidd was a "conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother" with a thriving career as a Christian writer until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore to monastery retreats and rituals in the caves of Crete, Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening. Retaining a meaningful connection "with the deep song of Christianity," she opens the door for traditional Christian women to discover a spirituality the speaks directly to them and provides inspiring widsom for all who struggle to embrace their full humanity.
I did not read this book. It wasn't what I thought it was.
