The Dance of the Dissident Daughter:
A Womans Journey from Christian
Tradition to the Sacred Feminine
(Plus) by Sue Monk Kidd
Extremely Powerful Story Of A Woman's Journey To The Sacred Feminine. Well
Researched, Well Written, This Book Changed My Life.
I was amazed to find that I had no idea how to unfold my spiritual life in a
feminine way. I was surprised, and, in fact, a little terrified, when I found
myself in the middle of a feminist spiritual reawakening. ––Sue Monk Kidd
For years, Sue Monk Kidd was a conventionally religious woman. Then, in
the late 1980s, Kidd experienced an unexpected awakening, and began a
journey toward a feminine spirituality. With the exceptional storytelling
skills that have helped make her name, author of When the Heart Waits
tells her very personal story of the fear, anger, healing, and freedom she
experienced on the path toward the wholeness that many women have lost
in the church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban
drugstore, to monastery retreats and to rituals in the caves of Crete, she
reveals a new level of feminine spiritual consciousness for all women – one
that retains a meaningful connection with the deep song of Christianity,
embraces the sacredness of ordinary womens experience, and has the
power to transform in the most positive ways every fundamental
relationship in a womans life– her marriage, her career, and her religion.
This Plus edition paperback includes a recent interview with the author
conducted by the books editor Michael Maudlin.
This book is a must read for any woman. Even non spiritual or non-
religious women will learn from it. It delves into the history of women in
Christianity; in religions that pre-date Christianity by centuries; and how
attitudes about women throughout the millennia are still well entrenched
and what we as women need to understand how to change such thoughts.
Some might view these thoughts as controversial and unchristian, but if
you really read her book, you will understand that she is not male bashing
nor religion bashing but attempting to show how things were different and
that to understand the present, you must learn the past.
The books starts out with a scene where her daughter is on her knees
stocking shelves at her work when two men made comment about that is
where a woman belongs: on her knees. Something in her snapped. At
that point in her life, all the little (and big) things regarding treatment of
women gelled and her journey (albeit haltingly) began. She was much
nicer in her comments than I would have been.
I would and have questioned organized religion when told that I was not
worthy to be a minister because I was a woman. I, like Mrs Kidd,
questioned the very roots of being female delving deep into the mysteries
of the Bible, ancient writings to include literature from pagan religions. My
experience, while not as fascinating as hers, resulted in a similar plane.
Her open minded husband is a real plus.
What makes this book so readable is the fact that when she documents
her thoughts and her readings, she ties them into what she is doing at the
moment and where she is in her spirital growth. She also provides an
extensive bibliography to that readers can read the source documents for
themselves. She doesn't use a lot of highbrow words and can be read
easily.
I read this book rather fast the first time and the second time I read it,
actually stopped reading to think about what she said and felt. While her
belief in God matured, she never denied being a Christian. Her journey
made her into a better Christian as she learned of how to weed out the
manmade trash that is in most religions and concentrated on Christ himself
rather than rules made by humans for religious beliefs.
She has the courage to look beyond the here and now to listen to the
voices of the past and learned to understand how it affects her life in the
present. She found that in ancient lore, goddesses were acknowledged
and worshiped and women during that time had more freedom, respect,
authority during the ancient times. However, as male dominated religions
took hold, it was like women became vermin only to be tolerated for
childbearing. Smart women were feared. Goddesses... well they were
almost completely wiped from human memory. Her journey allowed her
the courage to understand modern female predjudice and to overcome
such prejudices.
I know these spiritual awakenings are often frightning. You are venturing
into new and sometime forbidden territory of exploring pagan readings,
participating in rituals, comparing it to Biblical readings, allowing your
thoughts to stray off the "normal" path of Christianity, etc. It takes years of
study and prayer to reach these goals, sometimes grasping ideas, other
times, the thoughts are just outside of reach. I admir e the fact that she
never gave up and after she reached one level, continued onward.
Most people who never look beyond the clouds never truly learn to fly with
angels. She leaned how to free herself from manmade thoughts and find
her own. I wish her only the best in her continuing journey.
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