Moon Mother, Moon Daughter: Myths and Rituals That Celebrate a Girl's Coming-of-Age

Rating:
Summary: Male sneaks peek at chick book
Review: OK, I cheated. I'm a male and I read a chick book.

I read a chick book by, for, and about chicks. I know: I'm not supposed to. The cover is pretty damn clear-lots of red and purple (none of it associated with sunsets, gun barrels, or violent bloodshed), loosey goosey fonts and title, women authors, and a foreword by someone that wrote the woman's comfort book!

This all screams new age chick stuff that by gender, inclination, and cultural boundaries I avoid.

My excuse? I have a preteen daughter and another coming up in her shadow with all the subtlety of a heat-seeking missile. Everyone around our house is busy. Life is on fire, and right smack in the middle of it all, these girls of mine are growing up.

So I picked up MoonMoon (as I started calling it) and tried to squelch my private image of women's moon groups as gatherings where they drop their drawers in a semi-circle and moon the moon so to speak.

Even overlooking my stumbling male entrance, the authors were not prepared for me. They write, as I mentioned above, for and about chicks in the form of mothers and daughters (as if men never had daughters). But without belaboring my own passage into and through the book, I'll just say that I started getting some of my (Dad) needs met as soon as I hit the first chapter.

The blending of content the authors used was effective. Instead of dragging me through long diatribes on new age coming-of-age theology (if you will), they interlaced their philosophies with cookbook recipes for events and practices, individual and family experiences, and demystifying retellings of pivotal female myths.

It remains, cover-to-cover, a chick book, but I still gleaned what I wanted for my daughters and myself. I exited at the Moon end with some excellent ideas about what I can do with my daughters, what I can steer them towards and away from as they pass through these years, and a good list of things to tell the little wife to do, as well (yeah, right!).

I assume for chicks it's a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Resource
Review: This book is wonderful! The authors give tips, ideas and suggestions on how to celebrate a girl's coming-of-age. Menstruation is of course discussed, but it is the spiritual and emotional side, not the biological side (there are plenty of other books for that). The authors give their own personal stories with their own daughters as examples also. Chapters include Awakening Inner Wisdom and Intuition, Exploring your Dreams, Expressing your Creativity, Honoring your Body, Celebrating Coming-of-Age, plus much more. The book is full of mother-daughter activities, Goddess myths, practical advice and wisdom, from women who have been there. Though there is a short Goddess myth in each chapter, this book is for women of all faiths, even though it does have an Earth based spirituality slant to it. One of the authors mentions being raised Catholic, and one of the coming-of-age stories involves a young Jewish girl. From the first few pages:
"This book is a spiritually focused book for mothers whose daughters are coming of age. Although this book is primarily intended to be used with girls ages ten to thirteen, many of these activities, concepts and messages can be shared with girls who are older...this book restores the timeless understanding that the coming-of-age process is one that should be honored and celebrated. This book is intended as a source of wisdom and support throughout the coming-of-age years....each of the twelve chapters introduces a key concept, such as the importance of finding a mentor, creating a supportive and loving community, spending time in nature, understanding natural cycles and rhythms, honoring your body's innate wisdom, using and trusting intuition, and being true to yourself. Each chapter also discusses opportunities for self-discovery and activities for greater awareness....the unique format of this book combines ancient wisdom, practical advice and fun activities designed to lend support to girls as they reach adolescence."
This is a very important, very well written book. I shall treasure it for many, many years to come. Bottom line: buy this book.