Brought up in a church that supported “traditional gender roles” for men and women, Rachel Held Evans takes us on a journey to investigate what ‘biblical womanhood’ really might look like in the 21st Century. Described as “an exercise in scriptural exploration and spiritual contemplation”, Held Evans pursues a different virtue each month (gentleness, obedience, beauty, silence, submission), wrestles with Scripture and shares her stories with a great mixture of humor, compassion and detail. She pays particular attention to Proverbs 31, challenging how some churches have interpreted this passage and questions what it truly means to be a ‘woman of valor’ (a series she continues to investigate on her popular blog). A fun, thought-provoking and insightful read.
Book review by Alice Hague.