Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us [Paperback]

Donna Freitas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2004

Today’s young women are smart, educated, career-oriented, and maybe a little bit fashion-obsessed. So where does the spiritual life fit in? With InStyle magazine on one nightstand, and Julian of Norwich on the other, author Donna Freitas has her finger on the pulse of a new generation of women and understands the spiritual issues that most concern them. Drawing on the stories of popular heroines such as Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw, Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise illustrates how our life choices can have a profoundly spiritual dimension—in the bedroom, the boardroom, the beach, and at Barney’s. Freitas combines wisdom from a variety of spiritual traditions and with a generous dash of humor, giving modern women a new model for the spiritual journey.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For the increasing base of 20- and 30-somethings (particularly of the single variety) who have forged their circle of friends into substitute families, created social events of television series finales and count fictional characters among their role models, here is the perfect book on spirituality. Donna Freitas, a professor of spirituality, has, like an increasing number of the new crop of Ph.D.s, found a way to legitimize our pervasive pop culture. For years, Madonna has been the subject of college classes and the Simpsons have had a recent spate of publishing attention—why not Bridget? Freitas's impressive collection of resources includes everyone from St. Augustine (Confessions) to Dorothee Soelle (Thinking About God), Grace Jantzen (Becoming Divine) to Peter Brown (The Body and Society). Directed at a generation of women born of women who marched in the streets in a desperate escape from their June Cleaveresque mothers, she emphasizes that the "challenge today is to anchor our personal journeys toward Inner Poise within the communities that already surround us, exploring the spiritual possibility in the rituals we already practice and the spiritual leaders we already are." Throughout, Freitas delights with her Bridget-inspired voice (the Bridget-speak is fun, but over the top) while seamlessly showing her prowess as a student and teacher of spirituality.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

For the increasing base of 20- and 30-somethings (particularly of the single variety) who have forged their circle of friends into substitute families, created social events of television series finales and count fictional characters among their role models, here is the perfect book on spirituality. Donna Freitas, a professor of spirituality, has, like an increasing number of the new crop of Ph.D.s, found a way to legitimize our pervasive pop culture. For years, Madonna has been the subject of college classes and the Simpsons have had a recent spate of publishing attention--why not Bridget? Freitas’s impressive collection of resources includes everyone from St. Augustine (Confessions) to Dorothee Soelle (Thinking About God), Grace Jantzen (Becoming Divine) to Peter Brown (The Body and Society). Directed at a generation of women born of women who marched in the streets in a desperate escape from their June Cleaveresque mothers, she emphasizes that the "challenge today is to anchor our personal journeys toward Inner Poise within the communities that already surround us, exploring the spiritual possibility in the rituals we already practice and the spiritual leaders we already are." Throughout, Freitas delights with her Bridget-inspired voice (the Bridget-speak is fun, but over the top) while seamlessly showing her prowess as a student and teacher of spirituality. (Oct.) (Publishers Weekly, September 13, 2004)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (October 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787976288
• ISBN-13: 978-0787976286
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,452,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for anyone lacking in their spiritual department, December 9, 2004

By 

Jenn "Jenn" (Jenn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us (Paperback)

Reading this book has been such a relief! Thank you Donna Freitas! I, like many others, have been struggling to identify my own definition of spirituality. In "Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise", Donna Freitas uses an informative-- yet, contemporary and humorous approach to this very ambiguous subject that has been itching to be addressed from a contemporary and professional standpoint. Key word: contemporary; meaning, something that women (and men) of this era can relate to. In a very professional but cool fashion, chapter by chapter Freitas tackles the every day issues and struggles which keep us from attaining spiritual bliss. It's a must have for anyone that has been lacking in their spiritual department and doesn't know why. Donna Freitas is a true pioneer for this new era of spirituality. Her new book will make ever reader feel as though they are on the brink of a new spiritual movement!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Women with Inner Poise! Yesssss!, October 29, 2004

By 

Julia V. (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us (Paperback)

I read this book with my book group, and we all LOVED it. It's SO funny and SO smart. I've always thought of myself as a spiritual person, even though I've never been much of a church-goer. I read a lot of spirituality books, but they're always by women my mother's age. While these writers have good intentions, their spiritual insights aren't very relevant to my life. Finally, here is a book that speaks to me and women like me -- smart, stylish, creative women in their 20s and 30s who are pursuing careers, looking for Mr. Right (or Mr. Right Now), and relishing close friendships with other fabulous women. With a Ph.D. in spirituality and a dangerously funny sense of humor, Donna Freitas is able to incorporate wisdom from a variety of spiritual traditions, and even feminist scholarship, to talk about how young women's lives today are already deeply spiritual. She redeems (to use a spiritual term) everything from our shoe obsessions and chocolate obsessions, and she shows how our lives already have sacred rituals -- like evenings of food, wine, and conversation with our best friends. After reading this book, I have a new understanding of how to nurture my spirituality (and not feel guilty about drooling over the latest Jimmy Choos!)

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, March 19, 2005

By 

Jenna Daniels (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us (Paperback)

Like so many young women I know, I've struggled for years to maintain my own sense of spirituality in the face of outdated (and let's face it, often anti-feminine!) spiritual traditions. I grew up in a relatively religious household, but as I've gotten older, I've found that traditional religion offers practically no guidance for the kinds of personal and career struggles my girlfriends and I deal with on a daily basis. Whoever thought that a little pink book could fill such a huge gap?? A girlfriend of mine who read "Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise" in her book group recommended it to me, and to my surprise, it's made a huge difference in my life. By looking at Chick Lit characters as spiritual role models for modern women (not nearly as crazy as it sounds), Donna Freitas is able to talk intelligently about everything from body-image issues to career choices to sex to going out with the girls for martinis in a way that is both spiritually validating and incredibly funny at the same time. In fact, this book was so easy to read, I'm honestly not sure what book the reviewers below were reading. (I've never read a dissertation, but if they were anywhere near this entertaining, my guess is that there'd be a lot more Ph.Ds!) My guess is that most women will see this book the way my girlfriends and I see it: as a welcome relief, a v. fun read, and a long-overdue look at the very real spiritual journeys women of our generation are taking every day.