Book Review: The Dance of the Dissident Daughter

nBook Description

n Sue Monk Kidd was a "conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother" until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening. This PLUS edition includes an interview with the author and a study guide. The author's journey to capture her feminine soul and to live authentically from that soul makes a fascinating, well-researched and well-written story. Kidd's successful pilgrimage from her Southern Baptist roots and away from the patriarchal and fundamentalist Christian religious systems surrounding her is an account of anger turned to courage, creativity and love. A mid-career realization that she had lived without "real inner authority" and with "a fear of dissension, confrontation, backlash, a fear of not pleasing, not living up to sanctioned models of femininity" produced in Kidd the new mindset that made her journey possible. Additionally, her extensive knowledge of many subjects, including theology, mythology and the arts, made possible the copious references and cross-references that will prove invaluable for readers who wish to follow her in this same search. While Kidd cautions that each woman's path will be unique, there is no question but that many women will find in her book a mirror of their own present conditions and a hopeful call to self-discovery.