Jonalyn Fincher wants to show that women can be both fully human and fully feminine. Traditionally, femininity has been a role women play, a role defined by culture and simplistic sermons. The author encourages women to look at the feminine roles or boxes that pinch their souls: mother, fashion devotee, working wife, intellectual. Does God treat femininity as a role, a curse, or a gift? And when Jesus redeemed women, what was it exactly that he redeemed? Even after Eden, Fincher points out, God planned to redeem both men and women. But for centuries, women have been taught to devalue the very aspects of their souls that are unique and irreplaceable. Femininity itself runs deeper than aprons, frills, or romance. It begins with feminine souls who are living cameos of the triune God. In Ruby Slippers, Fincher takes a fresh, direct look at the challenges she faced on her search for the feminine soul. She goes step by step through what it means to be a woman and how to cultivate her soul, choosing not to shy away from psychology, theology or personal transparency. In her journey she discovers an understanding of femininity that is timeless and groundbreaking. The roles melt away into something like Dorothy's ruby slippers, something women have always had---the souls to walk today with freedom and femininity.
Jonalyn is a passionate apologist and cultural critic committed to helping others become more appropriately human.
She and her husband Dale travel nationally as a husband-wife speaking team addressing schools, churches, camps, and conferences on behalf of their non-profit, Soulation (www.soulation.org). Jonalyn combines her background, a double Bachelor's in literature and history from the University of Virginia and a Masters in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics from Talbot School of Theology, to speak and write on how women are distinctly and fully made in God's image. Her work has appeared in Kyria, Marriage Partnership, Gifted for Leadership, Radiant, Fullfill, Today's Christian Woman, UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity, and more recently Apologetics for a New Generation. Her first book Ruby Slippers: How the Soul of a Woman Brings Her Home (Zondervan, 2007) offers a defense for women's uniqueness and dignity. Her first book with Dale, Coffee Shop Conversations: Making the Most of Spiritual Small Talk, will debut April 2010 (Zondervan). She regularly updates her blog (www.jonalynfincher.com) sharing her insights about women and spirituality.
Jonalyn and Dale love to ski together and hike with their three Welsh Corgis in their hometown of Steamboat Springs, Colorado. They have recently moved into an 800 square foot cabin in the Rocky Mountains that affords them more time to walk in the aspen forest and write. They eagerly anticipate the arrival of their firstborn in February.
[If you use Facebook, feel free to add Jonalyn as a friend!]
Updated February 2010
