Book Review: A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

A few of my peeps have pointed out to me that I seem to really think about Christianity a lot.  There's a couple of reasons why.

First, as a spiritual wanderer, I think about a lot of religions a lot.  I love to read stories about spiritual journeys, probably because whilst I was standing still in the path, the voice I was trying to listen to said, "Keep going."

"Hunh?" I said.  "Really?  Because, you know, the standing still and waiting for clarity and all that..."

"Seriously, dude," said The Voice.  "I told you to keep going down the path.  GAH.  No WONDER you have such a hard time with this whole spirituality thing!"   

My god is apparently not a Filing Cabinet, but a rather grumpy Park Ranger who wants me to keep wandering in the National Forest of My Soul.  And I'm going to just keep listening to him or her and stopping to admire whatever it is he or she puts in my path, like funny and timely books by Christian writers.  

Second, as I have said repeatedly, the culture in which I live is predominantly Christian.  I am frequently distressed by the words and actions of some of my Christian neighbors, and so finding writers like Ms. Evans is a relief, because she is well-read and funny and so absolutely in love with her god that she gives me hope that we won't descend into madness.

No pressure, Ms. Evans.  

Anywho, I found Ms. Evans because of a link that one of my Christian FB acquaintances posted about her response to Pastor Mark Driscoll's obnoxious comment about President Obama on election day.  (Several of my other FB Christian acquaintances simply posted his comment, much to my chagrin.)  (I'm not going to post any links to Mark Driscoll, because I find him odious and also, because I worry that any more attention on him might make his head explode.  Feel free to look him up yourself.)  Her response was pointed, foot-noted, and Biblically sound.  And it made me giggle.  I looked up her blog and found myself drawn in, even when her beliefs and mine were very different, mainly because she is so HUMAN about her faith.  

So when I went to the big bookstore in Macon this weekend to meet with a client, I also picked up  A Year of Biblical Womanhood.  (I grabbed Beautiful Creatures, too.  I'm WANDERING.)  I started reading it in the cafe of the bookstore, and by page one, I was laughing out loud.  

Basically, it boils down to this:  Ms. Evans decided that she would see if it was possible to "live biblically" for a year.  (Many, many things are either approved of or frowned upon in our culture based on whether or not they are "biblical," as Ms. Evans points out.)  She scoured the Bible for directives as to how a woman is to behave, she made some lists and calendars, and she went to work.  

The book follows her month to month, with each chapter focused on a month's particular goal.  Each chapter begins with a set of Scriptures that guided her month and includes a profile of an important biblical woman.  Along the way, Ms. Evans meets with Jews (because let's be honest, until the stone rolled away, the Bible is about a passel of Jews) and Christians who follow specific Biblical teachings that are unfamiliar to her.   Ms. Evans' writing style is conversational and to the point.  She is both self-deprecatory (my favorite!) and honest about her strengths, and she uses humor with a deft hand.   

Now, it would be easy to poo poo this thing as a publicity stunt, akin to the lady who cooked a Julia Child's recipe a month or the folks who had sex every day for a year.  And I think, probably, in many ways, it was.  But I also think that Ms. Evans learned something and, more than that, I think she has a lot to teach people of all faiths about women and our place in society.

Keep in mind, there is not doubt that Ms. Evans is a Christian.  Her exploration does not come from the standpoint of "Hmmm...wonder if I should try out this Christianity" thing.  Rather, it comes from the standpoint of "Hmmmm...as an Evangelical Christian, is it necessary for me to follow all of the tenets in regard to women from the Biblie--and is it even possible?"  The answer, poignantly, hilariously, and redemptively is NO.  It is not possible.   However, TRYING to follow those tenets lead her to a firmer grasp of her faith and her marriage and her place in this world.   (There is also no doubt that Ms. Evans is a thoroughly modern, feminist woman.  Interestingly, following the tenets helped give her a firmer grasp of that, too.)

All this sounds very futsy and foofoo and serious, but you should also know that there were times when I snorted with laughter.  Ms. Evans if fuh-ny.  (Case in point:  "Submission was something my mom did once in 1976, not something she did every day."  I'd tell you more, but I've already flung the book at one of my Christian ladies.)  And the issues she has with cooking, dressing modestly, and keeping a clean house are the same kind of issues that I wrestle with--she just has to cuss less while wrestling with them or risk paying in to her penalty jar.

I'll admit that there were a few times when I thought, "Oh, come ON, Rachel, you DON'T have to climb up on the roof or hang out in a tent while you're on your period or stand with a sign at the city limits praising your husband.  That's just for effect."  And I think that's true, BUT I also think that she has a scriptural basis for doing those things and it's fascinating to consider how messed up it seems for her to do this in modern times.  That's one of the big conclusions that Ms. Evans seemed to come to:  the Bible is a collection of stories and prophesies and letters and sermons handed down for generations and applied to a people over a period of thousands of years.  Of COURSE people should analyse it with an eye to the present time.  

Of special interest to me was Ms. Evans' conclusions about both Song of Solomon and Proverbs 31.  Both book and chapter have been distorted so much by our various cultures that what we have now are both clubs and measuring sticks with which to smack down and bring feelings of inadequacy to modern Christian women.  What's worse, if the religious right has anything to do with it, these biblical words would become the means by which all women in our country are measured.

It feels weird to recommend this book to my Christian women friends.  It feels a little pretentious:   "Hey, y'all.  I know you're all secure in your faith and I'm wandering around looking at Mushrooms of Divinity and Flying Squirrels of Piety, but for serious, this book will make you look at things in a whole new light."  BUT, I certainly do recommend it to my Christian women friends.  Moreover, I recommend it to anybody who likes to read well-researched and well-written books about spiritual journeys.  MOREOVER, I recommend it to anybody who hears the word "Christian" and automatically assumes the worst about a person.

Thank the Park Ranger, Ms. Evans is there to prove you wrong.  You can buy the book here:   and check out her website here .  Go do one or the other right quick.