The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible [Paperback]

Joan Chittister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

Looking deeply into biblical stories of female friendships in order to extract greater truths, this compelling work explores the sacred dimension of friendship through the lenses of faith, tradition, and scripture, revealing the often overlooked voices and experiences of women in the Old and New Testaments. Recovering and reclaiming the witness and wisdom of such women as Lydia, Prisca, Phoebe, Martha, Deborah, Esther, Rachel, Ruth, Veronica, Elizabeth, Anne, and Mary Magdalene, and drawing a highly inspiring message from each of these women's lives, the book embraces friendship as it is embodied by women, between God and all of creation, and between all human beings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joan D. Chittister is an internationally known writer and lecturer, and the executive director of Benetvision, a resource and research center for contemporary spirituality. She is the past president of the Conference of American Benedictine Prioresses and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. She is the author of In the Heart of the Temple, Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope, and Wisdom Distilled from the Daily. She lives in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Bluebridge (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933346027
• ISBN-13: 978-1933346021
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Chittister, OSB (1936- ) is a Benedictine Sister of Erie, PA. She is the author of over 40 books--ten of which have won Catholic Press Association Awards (the latest 2011: God's Tender Mercy). Her book, The Monastery of the Heart: an invitation to a meaningful life, is prelude to a movement for all seekers: Monasteries of the Heart, recently begun by her Benedictine community. Sister Joan is an international speaker who inspires both her audiences and readers with her passion for justice, for equality and for peace, especially for women in both society and the church. Her PhD is from Penn State University in Speech-Communication Theory. She serves as Executive Director of Benetvision, a research and resource center for contemporary spirituality.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspiration and helpful book for women, June 1, 2006

By 

FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible (Paperback)

The introduction of this book is worth the retail price. It's an essay in itself. A sample sentence: "To have a friend is to acknowledge that some part of someone else's life which we have held tenderly, trustingly in our own hands might well die with us." Okay, it's a sentence you may have to read twice. But then you "get it," and you reflectively pause before continuing.

A pleasant complexity in the writing sets THE FRIENDSHIP OF WOMEN above its competition. Chittister's style is more graceful than but reminiscent of the early work of Henri Nouwen, in that she reflects on very personal themes but not in a first-person ("I") voice. As helpful as anecdotes are to ground a book, in this case they would seem superficial. Chittister's descriptions of what we need and want in friendships are framed in a spiritual, rather than a self-help, context. The back cover calls it "the sacred dimension of friendship."

Though this is a book for and about women, Chittister draws heavily on interesting, classic quotes about friendship, most of them written by men, including Ambrose, Aristotle, Augustine, and that's just the beginning of the alphabet. Admittedly, as Chittister notes, men have written most of the classical literature, and Chittister wants to broaden that base.

A Benedictine nun, Chittister has written extensively, often with a hard-hitting and discomforting message, but here her text is, well, comforting. She titles each chapter with the name of a woman who has a role in the biblical story, though two of 12 are extrabiblical --- saints revered by Catholics but virtually unknown to conservative Protestants: Anne (the mother of the Virgin Mary) and Veronica (who showed kindness to Jesus on his road to the cross). As short as this volume is (fewer than 100 pages), it is expanded from an earlier work (published in 2000) that covered only New Testament women. (Old Testament additions are Deborah, Esther, Ruth and Miriam.)

But what do we really know about the friendships of these biblical women? Not much, so Chittister focuses on personality traits found in their stories and relates them to personal relationships. The first half of each chapter reflects generically on the chapter theme, before turning to the biblical story. She acclaims Prisca's sense of self. Esther's leadership abilities. Elizabeth's acceptance of the friend at her door. Miriam's joy.

In a good friend we need Deborah's wisdom. "The Deborahs in our lives know us as well as we know ourselves. The difference is that they also help us see beyond ourselves." To be a good friend we need "the Phoebe dimension of friendship," the "quiet constancy" that "requires us to be self-contained: she became an independent woman, but not self-centered." And Veronica? "With the Veronicas of friendship, it is the staying power that counts." She is the one "to whom a woman turns to understand the gravity of all the trivia of her life."

If you're looking for a book that gets beyond the trivia of friendship, try this one --- for group discussion or for personal help in getting and keeping friendships on track.


--- Reviewed by Evelyn Bence

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Loving Reflection on the Meaning of Friendship!, March 5, 2007

By 

D. Horan "Franciscan Friar" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible (Paperback)

In a day and age where individualism and self-sufficiency is prided as characteristics of success and power, a voice that reminds us of the true role and import of friendship needs to be heard - and Joan Chittister offers one such voice. Using women biblical figures as a springboard and chapter mastheads, Chittister develops a short reflection on what the true meaning of friendship is and how is should be cultivated today.

From a refreshingly feminine perspective, Chittister approaches the topic of true friendship from the projected experience of the women for whom each chapter is named. While in no way a scholarly or academic work (most observed in the lack of authoritative scripture references, scholarly endnotes/footnotes or exegetical analysis of implicit scriptural references - although she does list the biblical passages at the end of the book where each woman could be found mentioned in scripture), this book is a wonderful meditative tool for one's own reflection on friendship.

In the spirit of full-disclosure, I should note that I am a male in religious life (in contrast to the author, a female in religious life, and the audience which appears to be primarily women). This perhaps limits my ability to fully appreciate the impact this work has on a female reader. I can attest to the fact that two very close women friends have read and recommended this book to me and they have found great solace and inspiration from it. I enjoyed it very much and it has allowed me to reflect on both friendship and women in the Bible in new ways.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Catholic woman's review of The Friendship of Women, March 12, 2007

By 

Judy Chun (Concord, Ca United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Friendship of Women: The Hidden Tradition of the Bible (Paperback)

This small book is packed with information about the women in the Bible and how each personifies as aspect of friendship. There is a chapter on Ruth, a chapter on Anne, and some women that have received very little attention. There are interesting thoughts about each of them and how they represent different aspects of friendship. I am enjoying it so much that I only allow myself a chapter at a time to read and ponder. I think this will be the book I give to women friends this year. This is a keeper.