Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics [Paperback]

Carol L. Flinders (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 11, 1993

Astonishingly relevant portraits of the lives of seven women mystics

Known to more than a million readers as the coauthor of the classic vegetarian cookbook Laurel's Kitchen, Carol Lee Flinders looks to the hunger of the spirit in Enduring Grace. In these striking and sustaining depictions of seven remarkable women, Flinders brings to life a chorus of wisdom from the past that speaks with remarkable relevance to our contemporary spiritual quests.

From Clare of Assisi in the Middle East to Thérèse of Lisieux in the late nineteenth century, Flinders's compelling and refreshingly informal portraits reveal a common foundation of conviction, courage, and serenity in the lives of these great European Catholic mystics. Their distinctly female voices enrich their writings on the experience of the inner world, the nourishing role of friendship and community in our lives, and on finding our true work.

At its heart, Enduring Grace is a living testament to how we can make peace with sorrow and disappointment and bring joy and transcendence into our lives.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It's deeply and beautifully appropriate that this book by the author of the classic cookbook Laurel's Kitchen should begin with a quote from one of our greatest writers on food, M.F.K. Fisher. "It seems to me," Fisher writes, "that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others. So it happens when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it...." So too with Carol Flinders. Her preface describes her own journey from the kitchen to this very personal series of reflections on these seven women mystics (Saint Clare of Assisi, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Julian of Norwich, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Catherine of Genoa, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Saint Therese of Lisieux), in each case giving us both an intimate and yet objective sense of the person and of her spirituality. Writing with grace, in a style that is both personal and informed (Flinders has a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Berkeley), Flinders brings to this project a scholar's authority along with a very large heart. The result is a real gift: a delightful introduction to these extraordinary women. --Doug Thorpe

From Library Journal

Flinders (religious and women's studies, Univ. of California, Berkeley) exhibits a contagious passion for her subject as she shares her research on feminine spirituality. She unshrouds the true lives and voices of six Catholic medieval women mystics who were marginalized by a male-dominated Western culture over the centuries. In very human portraits, she connects contemporary women to the nourishing and sustaining wisdom and example of St. Clare of Assisi, Mechtild of Magdeberg, Julian of Norwich, St. Catherine of Genoa, St. Catherine of Assisi, and St. Teresa of Avila. Female listeners will learn how "inwardness" and "enclosure," central to the lives of these remarkable women, can help them realize their deepest longings, attain freedom, and find God. A treasure for religious and women's studies collections.?Barbara J. Vaughan, State Univ. Coll. at Buffalo Lib., N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: HarperOne; (18th) edition (June 11, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060626453
• ISBN-13: 978-0060626457
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Roman Catholicism

More About the Author

Carol Lee Flinders received a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in medieval studies. She then spent fifteen years writing about natural foods, co-authoring the popular Laurel's Kitchen cookbooks and writing a weekly syndicated newspaper column.

In 1990 Carol returned to her field of study and wrote Enduring Grace: Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics. Subsequent books include At the Root of This Longing: Reconciling a Spiritual Hunger and a Feminist Thirst, Rebalancing the World, and Enduring Lives. She has taught courses in mystical literature at UC, Berkeley, and at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Carol is a Fellow of the Spirituality and Health Institute, Santa Clara University, and serves on the Board of Advisors for the REVEAL conference. She is currently adjunct faculty at the Sophia Center in Culture and Spirituality, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA, where she teaches courses on mysticism and contemplative spirituality.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An exquisite book which informs and charms March 14, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I have read this book several times just for myself, and was enchanted with it. I have used it with theology students (university level) who respond well to it and like it very, very much indeed. A good introduction to women in the Christian tradition and in the mystical tradition, one recommended to anyone, especially the intrigued non-specialist.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Positively inspiring! April 19, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

A wonderfully inspiring book that makes one hungry for more! There is enough here to provide a good picture of each of the women described, but inevitable, you will want to go out and get more material on your favorite one or two (in my case, Teresa of Avila and "crazy" Mechthild.) The work is not at all full of feminist "prejudice" (though its modern perspective was obviously too much for fearful conservative "Frances" below). On the contrary, it shows excuisite respect for the full potential of a compassionate, truly "Catholic" -- all-embracing -- Christianity.

38 of 41 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars pros and possibly cons April 15, 2006

By sobepeace

Format:Paperback

as a quick glance at the other reviews will demonstrate, this book can elicit widely varying responses from readers. why so much disagreement among reviewers? i can't say for certain, but here's my guess.

on the plus side, this is a short and informal introduction to seven brilliant female mystics of the middle ages. there are few books that bring together the lives of such compelling and powerful women under one cover, as any one of them can--and have--form the basis for a detailed individual biography. in fact, at least one of my stars reflects the importance of and accessibility to these phenomenal mystics. it is clear that the author deeply (and rightly) respects and admires each of these magnificent women, and has done a good deal of homework in learning about their lives and times. she writes with an amiable voice and attempts to give a flavor of the process involved in historical research.

on the not-so-plus side (or is it?), the author is not a scholar of either medieval history or feminist theory, though these are the main scholarly fields from which she attempts to draw a picture of her subjects. if you enjoy a more casual approach to learning about people in history, you may group this point with the pluses. although the chapters are not overlengthy (the whole text itself is not much more than 200 pages), there is less organization and more meandering than is the norm in biography. again, this informal arrangement may be a plus for some readers, a no-no for others. although there is not a great deal of fresh insight concerning the lives of these remarkable mystics, and not a wide sampling of their writing, you do get an initial taste (this is meant to be an introduction, after all). the writing style is not the most inspired or graceful (and sometimes the author's intended use of vocabulary seems to get away from her), but some readers may prefer a more plain approach. one more significant con: there are, as another reviewer noted, plenty of generic feminist ideas sprinkled about. while an informed and involved feminist view would be fitting in this context, here there appears not to be much independent reflection behind the statements, and so they add little of import and at times feel a bit tacked on.

in a nutshell, this is a congenial, but not profound, book about truly life-altering women, which can make a big impact on those seeking concise portraits and who prefer a less formal and scholarly approach. if this is what you seek, you may feel like a well-informed and intelligent friend dropped in to chat with you about some truly great people. on the other hand, this is not the book for those who seek revelatory insights into the mystics, masterful writing, or a practical framework for bringing a mystical understanding into one's life. if this is what you seek, you may feel instead like you are reading a book report by an enthused, diligent, and well-intentioned friend. (for those who would like to incorporate selections of women mystics' writings into a spiritual practice, Mary Penrose's "Refreshing Water from Ancient Wells: The Wisdom of Women Mystics" is one good starting point).