A Few More Books

Book Club 2 - "Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
"On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.
"Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers."

As depressing as this book may seem, I really enjoyed it.  It was such an interesting read and really eye-opening to just think about your interactions with people.  The smallest thing can be a big thing to someone else.  I think about what would it feel like to be one of the people on this list who gets the tapes and how would that change your own way of thinking.

 Book Club 1 - "Strong-willed and independent, Rachel Held Evans couldn't sew a button on a blouse before she embarked on a radical life experiment--a year of biblical womanhood. Intrigued by the traditionalist resurgence that led many of her friends to abandon their careers to assume traditional gender roles in the home, Evans decides to try it for herself, vowing to take all of the Bible's instructions for women as literally as possible for a year.

"Pursuing a different virtue each month, Evans learns the hard way that her quest for biblical womanhood requires more than a "gentle and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:4). It means growing out her hair, making her own clothes, covering her head, obeying her husband, rising before dawn, abstaining from gossip, remaining silent in church, and even camping out in the front yard during her period.

"See what happens when a thoroughly modern woman starts referring to her husband as "master" and "praises him at the city gate" with a homemade sign. Learn the insights she receives from an ongoing correspondence with an Orthodox Jewish woman, and find out what she discovers from her exchanges with a polygamist wife. Join her as she wrestles with difficult passages of scripture that portray misogyny and violence against women.

"With just the right mixture of humor and insight, compassion and incredulity, A Year of Biblical Womanhood is an exercise in scriptural exploration and spiritual contemplation. What does God truly expect of women, and is there really a prescription for biblical womanhood? Come along with Evans as she looks for answers in the rich heritage of biblical heroines, models of grace, and all-around women of valor."

I think this was an interesting read, but it's not one that will go down as a favorite for me.  I am sorry that I missed out on the discussion to see what the other ladies in the group felt about it.  This is definitely not an experiment I would ever think about doing and don't think that I could follow through with it if I had.
 

 Reality Check -
"We've all heard the old adage "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." But who is the beholder? Women today are bombarded by harmful messages in society about their bodies and appearance. We often feel inadequate and overwhelmed by the impossible-to-achieve ideals touted in the media. And sometimes our harshest critics are the eyes looking back at us in the mirror. No matter the source, when our image of personal beauty is threatened, it's important to remember who the rightful beholder of true beauty is—is our Heavenly Father. The adversary, ever jealous of our bodies, wishes for us to forget that our bodies are temples. He wants us to resent them as prisons and abuse them with unhealthy words, unrealistic views, and harmful behaviors. But the scriptures help us remember that "the body and the spirit are the soul of man" (D&C 88:15), "the worth of souls is great in the sight of God" (D&C 18:10), and that to discover our royal heritage, we mush look inside, "for the kingdom of God is within [us]" (Luke 17:21). By accepting these truths we are freed to see true beauty in and around us.
The essays in this uplifting compilation, much like their authors, come in every shape and size, but each reaches toward the same conclusion: beauty is truth. And the truth is that everything God created is beautiful, your body included—freckles and all!
"Compiled by BYU Women's Services, this volume includes chapters by the following contributors:

• Cynthia L. Hallen
• Jana Parkin
• Jennifer Blaylock
• Ron Bartholomew
• Wendy Ulrich
• Kathryn Soper
• S. Michael Wilcox
• and many others"

Some great essays on our own worth and value, so to speak.  I think there is true power and beauty in being able to truly accept who you are and work with what you have instead of constantly comparing yourself to others or hoping for something different.  I loved reading about how some of these amazing people came to those same beliefs.

General Authority - "Adapted from the talk titled “LDS Women Are Incredible!” given in General Conference April 2011, this delightful booklet shares a powerful message for women from Elder Quentin L. Cook."

Very quick read and very empowering.  There is a power behind being a woman and embracing all that this entails.