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.
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I'm telling everyone I know: read this book! -- Siri Mitchell, Author, of The Cubicle Next Door <br><br>
From the Back Cover
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 judgement, 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.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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!]
Fincher attempts to address a question that has long puzzled men--and women. What is a woman? What makes a woman a woman? Though (as she will tell you herself) she planned to write with a formulaic approach (A+B+C=the complete woman), the end product is anything but predictable. Questioning the stereotypes presented by the Christian culture and western culture at large, she presses past the flip answers and opens the door to really ask questions like: What traits do women share with men? What is unique to women? Are women innately inferior to men? How is a woman to handle her femininity?
Using her mind, Fincher explores psychology, philosophy, theology, and science to address the questions from all angles. Ruby Slippers is neither an angry anti-chauvinist rant nor a bitter accusation against all who fall short of the "Proverbs 31 woman." Instead, it is an invitation. Fincher asks you to explore womanhood alongside her, by looking at questions such as: How does God ascribe dignity to women? How does God identify with women and reveal Himself through women? Which of our ideas of femininity are based on what woman was created to be? Which are based on the image of fallen woman? By daring to ask difficult questions, Fincher allows the reader the freedom to search herself. By being open to non-traditional answers, she discovers and shares insight that is both thought-provoking and challenging. Even if you do not agree with her, you will be impressed by her extensive research (which you may also investigate, thanks to her footnotes) and the careful thoughtfulness that she displays. If you ever have the opportunity to meet the author (which I did at a conference), you will find that she is every bit as sensitive, rational, and real in person as she is in her writing.
I do not think that I have ever so eagerly awaited the arrival of a book as much as i have Jonalyn FIncher's book Ruby Slippers. When it finally arrived I tried to dive into it and read it as fast as I could. Just a few pages in I knew that I had to take it slow and really embrace what Jonalyn had written. One of the reason i knew that i would need to read it slowly has her words penetrated much deeper then surface level. As the subtitle says, she is aiming at bring women's souls home, and her words hit the deep regions of my soul stirring my soul to try and really embrace what feminity really means. Her previous schooling in philosophy shines through in this book and causes the reader to try and grasp the finer points of Christianity in order to grasp what it truly means to be a female Christian. Jonalyn refuses to let you get by with just giving you a list she has created to being this "ideal Christian woman," but instead ask you to search your own soul to find what it means for you to be a female. She wrote in way to make the reader think about what exactly she is saying. She dares to stand up against traditional thinking about feminity and begs the reader to not force oneself into the premade corsets of our Christian and worldly society. Jonalyn's book has been much needed in this time and age where the world tries to define a gender with a specific physical image of the female, Jonalyn tries to help believers see that one must find the meaning of feminity as a soul before we can ever fully understand our feminity as a physical being.
I bought this book because I was intrigued by the title - "How the soul of a woman brings her home". The soul of a woman? What did this mean exactly? Jonalyn Fincher has done a wonderful job of making "the deep things of God" (2 Cor 2:10)accessible to the average reader. I have eagerly rushed through this book, knowing that I will be reading it several times. This book is a wonderful example of the solid, gentle but challenging teaching that God has equipped women to provide, and it has fed my soul. If you only read one book this year, this should be it!
I ordered Jonalyn Grace Fincher's Ruby Slippers with some misgiving, especially when I noted the subtitle: How the Soul of a Woman Brings Her Home. I hoped this book wasn't another worn-out rehash of "the Proverbs 31 woman" or a trip down the "yellow brick road" equating Christian femininity with Suzy Homemaker, June Cleaver, and "married with children." It isn't. Carefully integrating philosophy, psychology, theology, history, women's studies and "my own walk with Christ into a primer on the woman's soul" (p. 193), Ruby Slippers is a much-needed and long overdue look at God's ideas about womanhood. It shows how women are unique bearers of the imago dei and celebrates the soul of a woman within a thoroughly sound context of biblical truth.
Intelligent and incisive, Ruby Slippers is alert, agile, and penetrating without being pompous or trite. It avoids strait-jacketed "Christian stereotypes" and clears the way of narrow definitions, presumptions and prejudices to find out what makes women different and precious. Through careful biblical exegesis, meticulous research, thoughtful analysis and a well-rounded philosophical approach, Fincher shows us the real soul of a woman and its inestimable worth as a unique reflection of God's nature.
Early on, Fincher issues "one important caveat: I am not claiming to have the final words on women" or "an exhaustive index on femininity or the only biblical model for Christian womanhood," leaving the door open for further discussion. She also provides "Soul Care" questions at the end of each chapter for further thought.
In terms of writing style, Fincher's is generally tight, crisp, and lean.... She shares personal anecdotes and experiences and analyzes vast quantities of data through a biblical grid. The author also brings an essential that's often lacking in many "women's ministry" paradigms and "women's Bible study" authors: demonstrable expertise and impeccable educational credentials. She's done her homework and has the background and qualifications to give this book gravitas. (Fincher holds a double Bachelor's degree in English and history from the University of Virginia and a master's degree in philosophy of religion and ethics from Talbot School of Theology, my alma mater.)
Sumptuously sprinkled throughout the main text are relevant observations from such Christian luminaries as C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, G.K. Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers, to name a few. The material bogs down momentarily in Chapter 2, Uncorking the Soul, with a somewhat overlong discussion of soul and spirit, but it picks up steam thereafter. The discussion on The Same Planet in Chapter 3 regarding "gender roles", "equal without being identical" and "similar though not the same" is delicious.
Further on, Fincher masterfully deconstructs John Gray's "men are from Mars, women are from Venus" mythology, and the inadequate, incomplete "helper" rendering of Genesis 2, among others: "... contrary to popular pagan myths, contrary to Goddess Earth myths, and contrary to much Churchianity, God makes Woman to provide and offer the hope, the ezer for Man."
Other myths put to rest include: "East of Eden" femininity, "godly submission," "the weaker vessel" and "boutique form(s) of gnosticism and neo-paganism" which glories "fertile, female bodies over female souls."
More stand-out sections include Prescription Lists, Corsets and Slippers that Don't Fit (pp. 14 - 18), Why the Trinity Dignifies Women (pp. 156 -158), Natural Femininity (pp. 102 -140), Learning from Women (pp. 159 - 164) and Jesus in Female Form (pp. 185 -186).
As beautifully and as nimbly crafted as the Emerald City, Ruby Slippers is a ground-breaking work with much to offer in the on-going discussion of gender theory, cultural stereotypes and authentic Christian femininity. This fine work is perhaps best summarized in Fincher's own words: "I am becoming more free. Not free to live out my dominations or check off my lists or squeeze into a corset. But free to be more like the triune God, the way he has redeemed me: fully female, fully human."
Indeed, these Slippers are as welcome as Glinda's "Toto, too." Five stars.Read more ›
