The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine (Plus)
by Sue Monk Kidd
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Thank you Lord for helping me FINISH this book.
I, of course, wanted to read this because I've been such a fan of Sue Monk Kidd's earlier nonfiction. This was the last I hadn't read and her story of religious transformation from Christianity to what she calls a worship of "the Divine Feminine."
I can say that she is very expressive, well-researched author. She was extremely through, pulling in many different sources and, as her previous non-fiction books, she did a good job of we...more
I, of course, wanted to read this because I've been such a fan of Sue Monk Kidd's earlier nonfiction. This was the last I hadn't read and her story of religious transformation from Christianity to what she calls a worship of "the Divine Feminine."
I can say that she is very expressive, well-researched author. She was extremely through, pulling in many different sources and, as her previous non-fiction books, she did a good job of we...more
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Read in March, 2008
I'd like to rate this higher, because I think the topic is an important one, and the author really tries to make it accessible by telling her own story, but I had a hard time with a lot of it, and not because of the subject matter itself, but because of the way it was presented. In the introduction, Kidd says that every person who undertakes a journey to seek out the feminine divine will have her or his own unique experience, and that she only aims to tell her own individual story; but througho...more
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Read in October, 2006
recommended to Gina by:
My good friend Chrisrecommends it for: Any woman, especially young women
While I hadn't given the male slant in Christianity much thought of late, (I stopped attending a traditional protestant church in my early 20's & was now attending a liberal church), reading this book reminded me why I couldn't have been born in an earlier time.
It reminded me of the stifling, oppressing man from a former relationship. Had I read this book then, I may have had the courage to end the relationship sooner.
Looking to a feminine higher power isn't a negation of a male god...more
It reminded me of the stifling, oppressing man from a former relationship. Had I read this book then, I may have had the courage to end the relationship sooner.
Looking to a feminine higher power isn't a negation of a male god...more
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recommends it for:
open-minded christians
There was a brief period in my life when I went to church, and praticed Christianity. However, I discovered that this faith created more questions then answers in my life. Such as, what is the cultural signifigance of Eve being the personification of man's fall? Why is God masculine? If the Bible encourages Christians to "walk in love" why are they often so unaccecpting of gays and women's rights :( their pariticipating in the clergy, abortion, and the female recognition of divinity)?...more
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
spiritual women
I appreciated this book on several levels. Just interesting food for thought. Sue Monk Kidd makes some great points that I hadn't considered before. Some of the imagery and metaphors have really stuck with me. Sue spins away from Christianity towards more pagan rituals. While "alternative" rituals and myths don't necessarily resonate with me, it was fascinating to hear about them. She wrote this before "Secret Life of Bees" and you can kinda see similar lines of thought in bo...more
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Read in January, 2007
One of my favorite books on Goddess Spirituality. Sue Monk Kidd evolved from a life steeped in Christianity, a Christian women's writer, wife of a Baptist minister, daughter of a Baptist minister... to discovering what was missing in all that and found again in Goddess Spirituality. Such a moving autobiography. And the frequent mentions of excellent works in women's religious and spiritual writing, and feminist histories makes this an extensive study guide and launching point into so many great ...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
any and every woman
When I read the last page, I wanted to turn to the first and start again. More than any other book thus far, Dance of the Dissident Daughter has had the strongest and most life-giving impact on my spirituality. Period. Kidd verbalized both my struggle with religion as a woman and my unending desire for authentic connection with the Divine. Kidd describes her journey as she explores a deeply healing and enlightening path of spirituality that honors the feminine. This book was a door and an invita...more
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Read in August, 2007
This book chronicles Sue Monk Kidd's journey from a Southern Baptist church to a spirituality focused on what she calls The Feminine Divine. She leaves Orthodox Christianity after coming face to face with the sexism in the church and, as she sees it, in the whole Christian religion. Kidd articulates a lot of feelings and questions I myself have had as I have explored what it means to be a woman in the Church. I do not think I come to the same conclusions she does or that I will follow in her ...more
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Read in January, 2008
I think I would have enjoyed this book much more years ago, when I was much more interested in the idea of the sacred feminine and spirituality in general. It didn't really appeal to my currently atheistic mindset.
Kidd is very involved in a Baptist church - her husband is a minister, and so on - and so her awakening into a feminine spirituality comes as a great shock to her, as she has never seen the patriarchal focus of her church before. Given my previous reading on the topic, and the f...more
Kidd is very involved in a Baptist church - her husband is a minister, and so on - and so her awakening into a feminine spirituality comes as a great shock to her, as she has never seen the patriarchal focus of her church before. Given my previous reading on the topic, and the f...more
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I refuse to rate this one. It would be like rating one of you. Not doing it. Everyone will experience this a little differently, just as everyone experiences each of you a little differently.
This is the story of Monk-Kidd's personal struggle with her Christianity. I'd say it was a feminist critique of Christianity, but "feminist" is too culturally loaded, and "critique" sounds so academic as to be deadly. She looks at mythology -- and I include Christianity in this genre ...more
This is the story of Monk-Kidd's personal struggle with her Christianity. I'd say it was a feminist critique of Christianity, but "feminist" is too culturally loaded, and "critique" sounds so academic as to be deadly. She looks at mythology -- and I include Christianity in this genre ...more
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Read in April, 2007
Opened my eyes to the patriarchal side of organized religion and how women have been (whether you realize it or not) systematically relegated to a lesser role in the church. Recognizing the power of our collective femininity and embracing it's spiritual aspects is very important. The book really called into question some of my deeply held beliefs/traditions relating to my faith and God, but I think as humans with finite understanding it is natural to do this and difficult to reconcile them. Si...more
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Read in September, 2004
On the day my daughter started Kindergarten, I had my first meeting with my spiritual director, which is mid-sabbatical for me. At the end of our meeting, she recommended this book and I drove directly to the Fuller bookstore and bought and sat in the cafe and read the prologue. And then I cried the whole drive home. This book will mess with you, especially if you are a woman who leads in the evangelical church. Read with care! I found this book to be the door into profound personal journey...more
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Read in October, 2005
recommends it for:
soul searchers
While trying to find "answers" to life, the author experience Fas many of the same frustrations with modern rituals that many of us feel.
Her questions are dittoes of those I have had, and she reinforces the beliefs that morality isn't found in confines of established religion.
As a mother of 3 daughters, I found this an empowering book...affirming what society has done to the female. Not the true women's lib, but certainly a realistic analysis of how women have been pounded in...more
Her questions are dittoes of those I have had, and she reinforces the beliefs that morality isn't found in confines of established religion.
As a mother of 3 daughters, I found this an empowering book...affirming what society has done to the female. Not the true women's lib, but certainly a realistic analysis of how women have been pounded in...more
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When I first started this book, I was really interested to see what SMK had to say about feminism and the church because I loved her other book "When the Heart Waits." I was impressed by the first few chapters as she describes her struggle to embrace a faith that has been, for the most part, wholly conceived by men. However, as I get deeper into the book, the tone is changing to sound more like a woman who has been disillusioned by what she believes because of the male influence in h...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommended to Samantha by:
kara
The first half of this book was stunning and provocative. This woman put into words what i'd felt growing up female- the expectations, disappointments, frustration and confusion. She begins to journal, thinking back on the experiences that gave her her female self- image. Consequently, the course of her life and understanding of religion/ Christianity is changed dramatically.
I was a bit disappointed with her conclusions (godess theory and such), so i didn't enjoy the second half of the boo...more
I was a bit disappointed with her conclusions (godess theory and such), so i didn't enjoy the second half of the boo...more
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Read in November, 2006
I struggled with some ideas in this book when I first read it, because I to was in a personal dilema with my religious beliefs while reading this book. I tried to be open minded at the time, but I still struggled. When I chose to be repectful of her journey and what I could relate to, I really found enjoyment in reading it. Now a year later, I am in a much different place personally. That being said I completely resonate with her journey and understand more than ever what she went through. ...more
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
women seekers
I hold this book responsible for enabling me to finish the theology program and get my master's. After my discovery of a women's movement in the Middle Ages and a new sensitivity to male-dominant liturgical language to which I can't relate, I felt so alienated in my church -- and foolish for having worked so hard at the degree program. Kidd's book helped me understand I'm not alone, I'm not a freak, and there are things I can do to make mainstream religion work for me. Learning about the desert ...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
any woman or man seeking to learn about real Feminism/the Divine Feminine
i loved this book. sue monk kidd takes the reader on a journey thru her life growing up as a "good christian woman" in a southern baptist church. the memoir finishes with the author in her late 50s (i think) but follows her throughout her "awakening" into the Divine Feminine Consciousness. She realizes that christianity does not support women and patriarchy is what our entire society has been based on for the last few thousand years. She wakes up to realize that Feminism ...more
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Read in January, 1997
This book vocalized a lot of issues I'd felt around growing up female in Christianity, and feeling the 'otherness' of that role. While she and I weren't on particularly common ground at the end of her exploration, I was nodding my head vigorously during her journey to get there. The book is a smart read, untaxing and well-written. Highly recommended to Christian women, or women who grew up in any religion, actually. I imagine her exploration of one religion would have a lot in common with plent...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
any woman who is feeling lost & is looking for strength within
My dear friend Becky mailed me this book to read. It is the second book I have opened by Sue Monk Kidd. She's a very powerful woman, and I can't wait for her to make a "'tiny explosion in my heart and make me see the thing I've hungered for all along as a woman.'
I'm reading this one slowly and making notes along the way. I hope to pass this book along to all the special woman in my life and that it has a profound impact on their precious lives.
I'm reading this one slowly and making notes along the way. I hope to pass this book along to all the special woman in my life and that it has a profound impact on their precious lives.
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