Rating: 
Summary: I Saw Myself
Review: In her direct and personal style, Sue Monk Kidd tells the story of her journey into spiritual feminism. Fortunately her story is not hers alone. Her journey is the the journey many women today are making into themselves to discover what has been denied or lost to them in a patriarchial society. Many will see their own struggles and triumphs mirrored in her words. They will cry with relief as her story unfolds and they realize that they are not alone. Sue Monk Kidd has written what most of us do not have the gift to write- but do have the heart to feel and the soul to seek. Through this book Sue gives courage to other women who are seeking to heal thier own feminine wounds and walk the paths of our mothers before us.
Rating: 
Summary: Her story.....
Review: In THE DANCE OF THE DISSIDENT DAUGHTER, Sue Monk Kidd tells of her journey from mainstream Christian to devotee of the Sacred Feminine. You may recognize Kidd's name. She is now writing fiction. She was forced to give up many things during the six years covered in her book including a successful career as an Christian inspirational writer, but she also discovered there really is life beyond the one you lead. I won't tell you how things turned out with her Southern Baptist husband - she says that's 'his story'. Kidd certainly is a knowledgeable person who seems to have read many of the key books associated with the Sacred Feminine. One other reviewer described her as 'almost Wicca' but I don't think that is not quite accurate, and I don't know that Kidd would agree. I can imagine some members of Wicca would disagree with that interpretation. (See DRAWING DOWN THE MOON and THE SPIRAL DANCE for an overview thinking on Wicca.) If Kidd is a member of Wicca, she hadn't come out of the broom closet as of the writing of this book. Many of us who grew up in the Christian tradition have found the going tough as we became older. Some people can remember where they were the day JFK was killed in Dallas. I can too, but I can also remember exactly where I was when the pope issued 'Humanae Vitae' (sp). That encyclical upheld traditional RC thinking on birth control. As one who had been pregnant six times in four years using the "approved" church method of "rhythm" (we had a lot of rhythm and no control as the saying goes) that encyclical was the last straw. Many of us have a moment of crises when we make a decision to stay with the religion of our birth or go on to another path. I chose the latter. Reading Kidd's book I had a sense of recognition. I found myself laughing a crying along with Kidd. She found a new path, a better path for her. I hope when she is in her sixties (which I am) she will revisit the topic. I'd like to know where else she's been.
Rating:
Summary: It changed my life
Review: Like Sue Monk Kidd, I was (am) the wife of a Protestant Minister. Unlike her, I was absolutely miserable for twelve years. I was unhappy and unsuited for the role, and found the expectations of the small Methodist congregations impossible to my independent nature. When my husband left the pastorate to take a special appointment primarily because of my nervous breakdown, I felt as if I had failed my religious family and friends. I floundered, confused and depressed for some time until I happened on DANCE OF THE DISSIDENT DAUGHTER. The accounting of Ms.Kidd's search for her place in a patriarchal religious south and her discovery of the power available within when embracing her own feminine nature and the sisterhood of other women gave me hope. I knew that I would encounter considerable impediments if I traveled that road so when I met her at a book signing in Atlanta, I had one question: "Is it worth it?" She looked me in the eyes and said one word---"YES!" And it has been. This book is of immeasureable value for any woman searching for a path to a personal spiritual awakening not filled with the platitudes and martyrdom usually found in Christian Women's books. I would especially recommend it to wives and daughters of Pastors and Ministers who are finding their husband's and/or father's profession personally difficult. Be warned, it is forward thinking and revolutionary, but you may find spiritual depths that give you and your families a new and powerful source of strength.
Rating:
Summary: A Christian author's journey exploring feminine spirituality
Review: On a rainy autumn afternoon, Sue Monk Kidd's teenage daughter is on her knees stocking shelves at the local drugstore. Two middle-aged men walk by and one comments, "That's how I like to see a woman...on her knees." They laugh. The author, observing from another aisle, does not. Thus begins a slow, arduous, and painful epiphany for this well-known Christian author as she journeys the 'road less traveled', exploring feminine spirituality and its sudden impact on her life. I found this engrossing book well-documented, painful, and provocative. If you are a woman questioning the present social mores and your role in life, or a man who wishes to honor his wife and/or daughter(s), this book will give you a fresh perspective on the importance of female spirituality
Rating: 
Summary: Not eveyone's truth
Review: Sincerely written, this book shares a deeply personal experience, probably with good intent. Despite having run "all ahead full" into gender bias, as a professional,this reader tired of the repeated indictment of all things male and the whining about the implications and consequences of patriarchy. For those of us who have known and cherished wonderful human beings, who happend to be male, this book is not helpful. For those of us who had fathers, brothers, husbands and friends who were essential to our being encouraged to be who are, and who can be, this book denies our reality and truth. Neither gender embodies perfection and both are absolutely essential. Both patriarchy and matriarchy can be stifling and repressive. The seeming honesty with which the author shares is admirable but is truth for her and other's with like experiences, not universal.
Rating:
Summary: A profound read for spiritual seekers
Review: Sue Monk Kidd has created a masterpiece... a highly personal and yet relevant journey of one woman who suddenly realized the historically patriarchal nature of the Christian church. As a woman and a mainline protestant minister myself, there is no doubt that she has named the pain of generations of women who suddenly woke up and realized they were not fully included. Her journey is beautiful, deep, and heartfelt. Another Christian reviewer wrote, "not my Journey". Well, Kidd's experience is not mine either... I have chosen to work within the church rather than leave the value I find there. Yet her journey is both understandable, and fully her own. When I was in seminary in the early to mid 90s, this book was definately required reading for all the female pastors-to-be. I have recommended it to women in my church who are struggling with their desire for a more feminine spirituality, who question the status quo and their own assumptions about the nature of the divine. I love this book not so much as a guidebook to a post-
Christian place, or even a feminist manifesto, but as a how-to for spiritual searching. Highly recommended for both male and female seekers!
Rating:
Summary: One woman's journey into feminist spirituality
Review: Sue Monk Kidd spent approximately her first forty years in the Baptist church, where women are exhorted to submit to their husbands and where she heard the phrase "second in creation, first to sin" countless times. She was disgruntled with the church's stance on women, but never felt moved to rock the boat much, until one day she walked into her daughter's work and found two customers sexually harassing the girl. Something snapped inside her, and she began to question her religion's assumptions about gender and to seek a more feminist spirituality. Her journey took her to ancient mythology, the Gnostic gospels, and to dark places in her own life as her quest caused trouble in her marriage and her religious life. She tells us how she got through her troubles, and her story seems very human and touching. She would feel uneasy, drop the whole subject for months, but her longing always resurfaced. And in the end, she seems to have found peace, and some interesting insights. This book will be interesting to Christian women trying to figure out how to reconcile religion with self-respect. It was also interesting to me, as a pagan of several years and an agnostic before that--it helped me see value in Christianity that I had not seen before. My only gripe about it is that sometimes Kidd generalizes too much. The book is at its best when she tells her own story, but sometimes she slips into saying things like "A woman feels X when Y happens". Everybody's journey is slightly different.
Rating:
Summary: A text book of "Family Values" that gives a daughter hope!
Review: Sue Monk Kidd's touching and honest story of her journey toward wholeness is an comfort to women who have made similar journeys and an inspiration to women who are just beginning to explore the boundaries of patriarchalism. It is also a "must-read" for men who love women: and who believe that the gift of life abundant the creator offers belongs to both genders. As a pastor and preacher, I find "The Dance of the Dissident Daughter" meets the criteria for the best of inspirational reading: it both comforts the afflicted, and afflicts the comfortable. Highly recommended for everyone.
Rating:
Summary: A must read book!!!!
Review: Thank you Sue Monk Kidd for writing this book. It was an affirmation that the journey I'm on is where I am suppose to be. I could identify with most everything you shared. It is not easy to face this journey, so if we increase by number we will begin to make change. I belong to a Circle of Women and we celebrate 2 years of sharing in ritual. It is empowering to grow with women following the same path. Because I have conveyed that you can find your higher self and your sacred feminine, others want to know how. This book should be on the BEST SELLERS LIST. It is a must read to change the conditioning of every male and female on this earth. I am doing my part to pass it on. Thank you Sue for writing this book. EKD
Rating:
Summary: An absolute MUST READ!
Review: The way I was led to this book was uncanny...but as I began reading it I thought, "OH MY GOSH - this is MY STORY!" I have been in the "unlearning, awakening" state that Monk Kidd talks about...and it is a LONELY road. The most difficult thing about evangelical christianity is that nobody (especially a woman) can ask any "hard questions" or they are labeled "not a christian" or "backslidden." I was raised in NO religious setting but joined the evangelical movement in my late 20s and was solidly rooted there... until I began an academic journey at age 40. College studies (sociology, women's studies, anthropology) made me thirst for MORE but "the church" didn't like that. I so needed a friend like "Betty" (Sue's friend in the book). I couldn't put the book down but it was a library book and I couldn't write in it either! SO I ordered a bunch of them... so I can re-read and write in mine... and share it with many ladies who I know will appreciate it.
| 
