The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women [Paperback]

Laura Swan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

In The Forgotten Desert Mothers, Laura Swan introduces readers to the sayings, lives, stories and spirituality of women in the early Christian desert and monastic movement, from the third century on. In doing so, she finally sets the record straight that women played an important and influential role in early Christianity, indeed a role that has been long overshadowed by men.

She begins with an exploration of the historical context and spirituality of the desert ascetics. Then she weaves together the sayings of the major desert ammas, or mothers, along with commentary that invites readers to reflect on their own spiritual journey as they share their wisdom. The book then journeys between desert, monastery and city to reveal the stories of ascetics and solitaries whose stories are rarely heard, organized in the author's own alphabetical collection.

The Forgotten Desert Mothers demonstrates, like no other work, that women have long had a history of leadership in Christianity. This engaging, eye-opening and insightful work targets all faith seekers looking to reclaim the history and spirituality of the women who came before them, as well as to understand their own inner journey. It will be a welcome addition to courses on early church history, women's studies and religious studies.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Despite the very substantial and continuing interest in women's issues in Christianity and the ceaseless stream of publications for, by, and about Christian women, there has been astonishingly little about the early generations of female ascetics the Ammas of the desert. Swan's fine accessible and scholarly work here should help to repair that lack. She includes not only a good overview of the ascetic background but also a fresh translation and commentary on the Ammas' known sayings, an account of lesser-known Ammas, and a calendar of feasts for the Ammas. An excellent starting-place for the study of women in religion, women in the Church, and asceticism, this is highly recommended.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A needed and incredibly insightful resource...Swan has rendered us all an invaluable service. -- Values and Visions Reviews Service

A valuable addition to religious scholarship, painting a more inclusive picture of early Christianity. -- The Olympian and Tacoma News Tribune

In collecting and telling these stories, Laura Swan has given us a great gift. -- Friends Journal

This clear, well-written treasure brings to life the stories and spirituality of women in early Christianity. -- Catholic Library World

You will find yourself turning to this book often for inspiration. -- Spiritual Book News

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Press (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809140160
• ISBN-13: 978-0809140169
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #32 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Monasticism

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Buy it for the sayings of the Ammas, June 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women (Paperback)

The sayings of the desert mothers (the Ammas) are worth the purchase of the book. They are starkly beautiful and fresh. However, Laura Swan's commentary is predictable, dull and full of religious jargon and psychological cliche. Often the commentary loses sight of a particular Amma's "saying" entirely. Swan has a knack for missing the humor or irony in many of the sayings. I soon gave up reading Swan and simply read the Ammas' sayings -- and was more than rewarded.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating introduction to little-known women, October 12, 2002

By 

Janet Knori (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women (Paperback)

This is a wonderful resource book for anyone interested in the history of spirituality. We have heard about the desert fathers, but here is a well-documented, readable, sometimes quirky look at their female counterparts.
Swan relates the writings of the desert matriarchs to her own life and thought, which helped me think through some of the issues, such as asceticism, marriage, leadership, and changing views of women, society and spirituality. Read it! It is full of plums!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stories never told, and really fascinating, February 6, 2009

By 

mianfei - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women (Paperback)

Ever since I bought it, Laura Swan's "The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives and Stories of Early Christian Women" has proved a very interesting read for a person caught up in the mundane life of inner-city Melbourne.

Laura's Swan's stories of these women from mostly very wealthy backgrounds who turned to the simplest and most stringently ascetic lives never fail to stir my own imagination. The way in which some ammas would go so far as to wear hairshirts and sleep on hair mats is particularly stirring because it suggests to me that these people must have been remarkably devout and had deep emotional ties to God.

They stories form, even for someone like myself who has never had the self-discipline to be a religious practitioner of any kind, stories that have a true beauty in their simplicity and the manner in which the desert ammas would not only teach numerous disciples but also help the numerous very poor people of their time. The way in which many widows become ammas is particularly fascinating for someone of my generation.

There are also a great many interesting sidelights on how the desert ammas communicated with much better-known theologians such as Jerome, plus a good deal of interesting stories of how the ammas resisted persecution by anti-Christian forces in the first three centuries of Christianity.

Swan, a Benedictine nun, also offers detailed, easy-to-read analyses of both the sayings of the desert ammas and what the ammas offer as an alternative to today's stressful, fast-paced life.

All in all, this is an impressive book with very surprising information that will add a great deal to your knowledge of early Christianity or serve perfectly as a purely inspirational work (as with myself).