Customer Reviews

The Dance Of The Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine

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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.

Where to start. I'm a little miffed that this book has just now taken off, when I was reading it MONTHS ago and touting its significance to everyone. Seems like I was right once again, just as I was with McCrae's CHILDREN'S CORNER and the ever popular LIFE OF PI. That said, here's what you should know about DOTDD, as I call it: 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. This is an important book and certainly one with more meat on its bones than some others. This is one not to be missed.

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.

I highly recommend this book, which I found after reading Secret Life of Bees and searching for more by this author. It's amazing to me that so many of us can be 50+ years old and yet never have really absorbed how much our patricarchal society affects how we see ourselves and act. I found the early section somewhat difficult to get through, but worthwhile for all the information contained there. Sue's treatment of the subject is more meaningful considering her Christian background and the evident research. Thank you, Sue for having the courage to write this book.

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.

I am one of those seekers who joined a mainstream (Protestant) church with a Catholic background in my family history. I have spent years exploring both Catholic and Protestant faiths, trying to figure out which path will help me reach the religious life I desire but have been missing. Neither practice has worked for me, despite my intense efforts and study -- and good intentions and faith.
This book helped me pinpoint what was bothering me (and hurting) for ages, but like many women expressed here, could not quite figure out. Both Protestant and Catholic traditions left me feeling like something was missing, and that something was WRONG with ME. It has been so painful. Thank you, Sue Monk Kidd, for helping me discover why I've felt like I was on the other side of a huge wall, trying to reach God and not finding Her/Him.

What can be said about a writer as good as Kidd? I have been following Sue Monk Kidd since those days when she was a contributing writer to Norman Vincent Peale's Guideposts magazine. As another woman who has come to embrace the Divine Feminine, I admire her courage in relating her spiritual journey, especially in giving up those associations through which she had acquired fame and recognition. Would also recommend a book titled "The Bark of the Dogwood--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens" as it is equally well written and full of ideas.

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

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.

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.