Women who inspire

10 WOMEN WHO OVERCAME THEIR PAST
By Dayspring MacLeod
Christian Focus. 192 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 527 107 878

What on earth is a man doing reviewing a book written by a woman and clearly targeted at women?

Fair question. That is certainly what 10 Women Who Overcame Their Past appears to be. It is finished in a dusky pink and contains the stories of ten remarkable women, mostly well-known, and their testimonies of fighting the flesh (physical and spiritual) in this fallen world.

The lessons, however, are universal. This man enjoyed reading them (the book is well-written) and benefitted from the lessons. More than this, they were lessons I needed to hear; that every believer needs to hear.

Hearing their voices

MacLeod writes well. She includes quotes (sometimes long) from the women about whom she is writing so that you hear their voices, but these, for the most part, add to rather than detract from the stories. Her style is quite chatty, which makes each chapter straightforward to read and easy to digest. The teaching is always gently encouraging, never sharply didactic.

The chapters are arranged around ten female characters, each with a lesson – ranging from sexual sin and identity through to singleness (an excellent c h a p t e r ) , illness and self-righteousness. As members of a universal family of believers, it is right and proper to learn from the lives of others, especially when their stories are rooted in the teaching of Scripture.

It would be a mistake, therefore, to pick this book up in a store or put it in your online basket thinking it will only benefit a woman. It will do that, of course, and as an objective reader I strongly commend it to my sisters. I hope you will allow a man to do that. But brothers, I implore you to read it too. Be encouraged and be challenged as you seek to live for Christ in a broken world.