A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

Words cannot express how much I loved this book, but I'll give it a shot!  Rachel Held Evans is a nationally known blogger committed to promoting theological conversation and advocacy, especially for women and others who may find themselves oppressed by the traditional evangelical church.  I've read her blog for a couple of years now, and have really respected her views, her way of asking great questions, and her theological mind.  I was really excited when her book was released this past fall, but if I'm honest I didn't pick it up right away because I was a teensy bit wary of how "heady" it would be.  I love her blog but sometimes it's a bit over my head--the conversation gets a bit deep for me --not that I can't follow it but some of her posts take a lot more thought and concentration to get through than I often can contribute!  I downloaded it to my Kindle and there it sat for these past 3 months.

I started reading about a week ago and let me just say I am glad to be finished--because I have gotten NOTHING accomplished around my house this week!  I. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.  I devoured this book.  So many times my husband found me laughing hysterically laying in bed reading, and at other times I found myself tearing up as she shared stories.  This is by far one of the best non-fiction books I have read in a long time and I can't recommend it enough.

Rachel grew up in the "bible belt" and spent most of her life hearing about being a "biblical woman."  Sermons were preached on being a biblical woman, Christian book stores have entire sections devoted to helping women be "more biblical," and Christian colleges around the country often encourage their female students to pursue "biblical womanhood."  The problem though is that no one seems to agree or even really know what that means.  So Rachel chose to dig deeper.  She devoted an entire year to pouring over scripture and living out as literally as possible every command given to women or about women--both in the Old and New Testaments.  She studied every female in scripture thoroughly and then studied evangelical Christian culture to understand what they mean when they talk about being a biblical woman.  It's not a shock that what scripture actually says about women and what Christian culture often requires of women don't exactly line up.

She writes with candor, honesty and vulnerability as well as with a great deal of humor.  She brings to light many of the texts we ignore--and helps unpack some of the biblical and Jewish culture that surrounds scripture.  I promise, if you pick up this book you won't be disappointed!