The Dance of the Dissident Daughter

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.

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.

Rating:
Summary: THIS IS THE STORY OF ONE WOMAN'S JOURNEY
Review: The women who gave this book negative reviews failed to understand that this is the journey of one woman. The author had to tell her story as it was true for her and she does an excellent job. I am a loner and understand the need for time and space that is mine. Why is that such a threat to some people? Some times our journeys take us to places we couldn't imagine if we tried. We just have to follow our inner guidance, inner voice and trust. This is what the author did and I applaud her for it.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful and inspiring work
Review: This book is a must-read for any women and men out there who are questioning their Judeo-Christian roots. Kidd does not dismiss traditional religions; she calls us to question, challenge, and develop our conceptions of them. She guides the reader on a spiritual journey she experienced, illuminating the possible steps other women and men can make in their own search for the feminine divine.

Rating:
Summary: A Provocative and Revolutionary Book
Review: This brilliant, provocative book is revolutionary. In sharing her firestorm about feminine spirituality Sue Monk Kidd gently guides us through our own awakening. "The Dance of the Dissident Daughter" not only reveals the sacred feminine in the Christian tradition but shows how patriarchal spirituality is ultimately a flight from the earth. Sue's awakening to the knowledge that we are connected with everything lead her to a dawning awareness that the earth is alive and divine. Her question: "How big is your 'we'?" challenges us to move from the little "we" of humankind to the larger "we" of all creation. She rightly points out the future of the planet depends on how we answer that question.

Rating:
Summary: A Provocative and Revolutionary Book
Review: This brilliant, provocative book is revolutionary. In sharing her firestorm about feminine spirituality Sue Monk Kidd gently guides us through our own awakening. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter not only reveals the sacred feminine in the Christian tradition but shows how patriarchal spirituality is ultimately a flight from the earth. Sue Monk Kidd's awakening to the knowledge that we are connected with everything lead her to a dawning awareness that the earth is alive and divine. Her question: "How big is your 'we'?" challenges us to move from the little "we" of humankind to the larger "we" of all creation. She rightly points out the future of the planet depends on how we answer that question.

Rating:
Summary: spiritual journey/growth for women
Review: This is an excellent book for developing your personal growth. I used this book as part of a class called "Women's Spiritual Journey", in which a group of women read and discussed this and several other books. We all seemed to get something a little different out of it. Following the class, I sugested this to my womens book group, and now I am reading it again, and finding new insights! Well worth the effort to read.

Rating:
Summary: One Womans Journey
Review: This is one womans journey, but could be the journey of many of us. The book is well written and insightful. Full of knowledge,and extrememly poignant. I am a fan of memoirs, and especially like the writings of Sue Monk Kidd.
As Memoirs go, I would also like to point out Nightmares Echo,Beauty For Ashes and Lucky:A Memoir....as well as and not the least of Sue Monk Kidd's other wonderful book The Secret Life Of Bees

Rating:
Summary: Life changing book
Review: This life changing book allowed me to say Goddess without fear. Kidd cogently articulates the concept of the feminine divine and the damage that a strictly phallic god has inflicted on women and girls. If you read only one book on the feminine divine, read this one. I continually reread and refer to this book. It deserves 10 stars. The two reviews that rate this book less than 5 stars are unfair. Kidd is white. This book is essentially an autobiography of her spiritual journey. To criticize her for not writing from the viewpoint of a black woman is absurd. And the "Christian" woman's review makes me wonder whether she read the book. The divine clearly remains a phallic deity to her. Kidd did not abandon her husband. To return full circle to accept only a phallic concept of the divine requires that one disavow their feminine soul. Christian patriarchy has been built on the degradation and abuse of women. After reading this book, I cannot accept the Christianity with which I was raised. Kudos to Kidd for a book that spoke from her soul. She threw away her career as a Christian writer by publishing this book. I am grateful for her courage in doing so.

Rating:
Summary: What happens when a traditional Baptist discovers Wicca?
Review: Well, not exactly Wicca, but here's this woman who has been a writer of Christian literature, wife of a Baptist preacher, a fundamentalist - and she undertakes a spiritual journey that is bound to rock the cradle, not to mention the family.
Sue Monk Kidd's memoir of her discovery of her feminine soul, her pilgrimage from her Southern Baptist roots to a new place of Self Awakening is one that will strike a chord with many modern women.