Sex and the City Uncovered: Exposing the Emptiness and Healing the Heartbreak

by Marian Jordan

Hookups, hangovers, and heartbreak
Popular TV series Sex and the City features four stylish New York women frequenting bars and talking bluntly about their broad range of sexual experiences. Awards lavished on the show suggest some redeeming values. But despite claims that it’s ultimately about the longing for a committed relationship, the glamorization of casual sex and so on can really mess with impressionable young women.
Just ask Marian Jordan. In Sex and the City Uncovered she admits, "A painful existence of ‘looking for love in all the wrong places’ is hidden behind images of couture fashion, witty dialogue, and beautiful people. I know this to be true because I’ve lived it."
Sharing her own storied past, Marian now celebrates an unfailing love she has found and helps struggling singles find this same joy by answering questions such as:
• Why can’t I have sex without regret or desiring commitment?
• Why do I need alcohol or food to make me feel better?
• Why do I go into debt to buy the latest designer items?
• Why don’t I feel good about myself around other women?

Endorsements
"An honest, engaging, and hopeful response to the dating dilemma. A must-read for every searching single!"  —Louie Giglio, director of Passion Conferences

"Marian does a fabulous job of exposing culture-generated lies about the endless pursuit of love and worth in a language that will resonate with young women today."  —Vicki Courtney, best-selling author and founder of Virtuous Reality Ministries

"Marian’s transparency and insights will be life-changing to women."  —Cliff Young, lead vocalist, Caedmon’s Call

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Christian Living

198 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Marian Jordan is the founder of Redeemed Girl Ministries (www.redeemedgirl.org), showing girls of all ages how to apply God's truth and promises to their individual circumstances. The author of Sex and the City Uncovered and Wilderness Skills for Women, she lives in and recently completed her master's degree at Southwestern Seminary, based in Houston, Texas."

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

LOVED sex and the city the show! NOT this .. could not get into this at all. so slow and boring!

[Knotty · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not my kind of book- I repeat, not my kind of book! I am an equal opportunity reader, and I was a little bit curious as to where this book would lead my thinking. I purchased it at the Christian bookstore in town. It lead me exactly where I thought- laughter! This book is a good read for women who have promiscuous sex for all of the wrong reasons i.e. low self esteem, no sense that MOST men use women, etc etc. Some may argue that women should not be promiscuous ever, but I am a follower of Samantha Jones thinking- women can have sex like men and shouldn’t have to feel like a whore or worthless for it. Granted, there are many women who need not live the lifestyle, but sex is never a black and white subject for anyone. And don’t forget, “God IS JUST that into you!” Good Grief.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

The crux of this book is a U2 lyric.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[Ashley Finfrock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a timely book for when I read it, as I had been a baby Christian who was already in her mid-20's, and therefore there were some lies of the world that I had that this book addressed.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found out about this book by reading the advertisements on the back of the toilet stall walls in a hall at my university. It really pulled me in solely because it exposed the media. The author actually came to speak at my university, but for some reason or another, I didn't go.

I honestly thought that the book would have been a bit different, but it's a bit simple minded. When I first read it, all I could think of was the Condescending Willie meme saying, "Tell me more." Many times my brain responded to the writing with "Well, no, duuuuh!" I don't mean to disrespect the author, but my thoughts were quite mean because I'm not her targeted audience. It's more geared towards college-aged women who actually keep up with today's media. The language is very casual, and it sounds like it's written by someone for someone who's very active in the social world.

The author approached the topic of media affecting people through a religious point of view. More specifically, she details her struggle and points out how the show Sex and the City can mislead some people into thinking it's a great lifestyle without problems. I honestly thought it would have more scientific facts, but it focuses more on a woman's relationship with God. Sometimes the examples she uses are a bit extreme, and she doesn't address the middle ground. Let's just say sometimes social drinking doesn't always lead to out of control hooking up and drug abuse and may not lead to emptiness. I also think that the author makes too many generalizations about women wanting to feel needed or desired by men to have worth. It's true that society, especially the media, places a lot of emphasis on women's beauty, but personally, I've never felt that being wanted by men makes me a woman. Sometimes it was hard for me to place myself in the shoes of her audience and actually accept her advice.

Overall, the book in itself is pretty complete, and the best part is that the author reminds every woman that she is worth something. I'd recommend it to young Christian women who want relationships, intimacy, friendships, and a place to belong. It's great that it warns women about the dangers of believing the media, but I think it sort of sells itself short solely relying on God. It'd be a lot more convincing if she cited more studies about the damaging effects of media and then mentioned how a pathway to God can help heal the damage. Either way, it made me consider my distant relationship with God and made me question if I was walking the right path although I'm not a party girl or an empty girl. The book does have some value, especially if it's read by the right audience.

[Emily R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because the majority of my career has been focused on counseling adolescents on healthier sexual practices (based on evidence-based behavioral models and scholarly research) and I was interested in hearing a Christian perspective. I listened to a few podcasts by the author while reading the book and found her speaking style more palatable than her writing style. Her writing style reminded me of an article I would find in Brio magazine (is that even still around?): watered-down, oversimplified, desperately trying to be relevant, but ignoring the raw, gritty desires that young woman often feel but do not know how to confess to Christian adults in their life. Why? Probably because they are afraid they will get a goofy, pat answer about "Jesus being so into you." Which is true, but young girls need to hear it in a way that doesn't sound so corny. Granted, it was 5-6 years ago that this book was written and I imagine that she has grown in depth and breadth of her knowledge and experience in relating to young women. Which also brings me to my other critique: This is a book written for 18-25 year olds and all of the references are to a show that ended in 2004, when most of these women were 9 or 10? There were also many other references to John Travolta, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, He's Just Not That Into You, and other asides that even for my 30-something-year-old self, were a little bit of a stretch for me to follow, simply because they were even OLDER than my generation. All in all, I'm really thankful for the work that she is doing with young women and I'm going to try some of her other books to see if her themes and style would be more relatable and useful for me.

[Cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all of the references this book had... References to one of my favorite songs "looking for love in all the wrong places", references to the ridiculous show "sex in the city" (obviously, from the title) and references to the silly but try-to-be serious book He's Just Not That Into You. Would definitely recommend this for girls just starting out in the dating scene. It explains what most women need to hear; and that is the love & security they're longing for is right there in God.

[Ginelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jordan explains how she turned into a 'party girl' in college. She tried to fill her need to be loved through sex, alcohol, and a number of other means. She describes how she realized her brokenness, and how God can heal that.

This book is definitely geared towards women who have similar life experiences as Jordan. As someone who didn't go through that phase in college, and has never really watched Sex and the City - I didn't really connect with her. However, I can definitely see how others could connect with, and get a lot from this book. I definitely appreciate Jordan's laid-back, casual style of writing. As well as her openness, and honesty with the reader.

[Lindey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Similar to another book from this author, it’s on the right track but is a bit dated and I have some disagreements. I understand she is “uncovering” the tv show, but it’s easier to unpack other people’s lives than your own experiences. With more characters in the show there was room for variety, but I wish she made it more personal. I also think that a lot of her examples and stories are two extremes, instead of ever mentioning some in-between.

[Amethystprincess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not my first choice of books that I would ever read, it is also not one of those books that I ever recomend to all of my friends. This is something that I read for myself and found myself enjoying.

http://romancebooksanonymous.blogspot...

[Els Bogema · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting but very good book that speaks about places were we are looking for love.
I real believe that this book can be an incouraging for others (christians and non-christians) to re-think again in what kind of ways we are looking for love to fill our emptyness.

It's a clear book, only wondering how it would look like if you read it as non-christian..

[Elizabeth Oates · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't know Marian you should visit her website, www.redeemedgirl.org. This woman is doing incredible things for the Kingdom and college girls are being saved by the drives thanks to her powerful message of the Gospel. And her writing ain't bad either. :)

[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never seen the show (and really have no desire to), so maybe that's why I just didn't get into the book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really opened my eyes to alot of situations that I had never really thought about before, if you are single I would really recommend this book to you.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book..

[Caroline Faucette]

I loved this book so much! I thought it wouldn't apply to me at all, but Marian makes it so that all girls can relate, not just those who party. SO GOOD!

[Faith Farris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Went into this book thinking it'd be the cheesiest thing ever, but it was surprisingly good. It was such a great and needed reminder that we are loved.

[Alycia Haynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! One of my favorite Christian authors.