Brave: Women of the Bible and Their Stories of Grief, Mercy, Folly, Joy, Sex, and Redemption

Women are essential to the biblical story--they bear life, lead communities, and testify to God's power and presence. Some of their names we know, others we've only heard, and others, tragically, go unnamed.

Following the success of her beloved book Fierce, pastor and provocateur Alice Connor introduces us to a whole new group of women from the Bible, including Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Esther, and Lydia. Connor invites us to see them not as players in a man's story--as victims or tempters--nor as solely morality archetypes who teach women to be better wives and mothers--but as brave foremothers of the faith. Skillfully drawn by the author, these women's stories are messy, challenging, and beautiful. When we read their stories, we can see not only their particular, formidable lives but also our own.

Download the free Brave Study Guide: Questions for Contemplation and Discussion

In stock
Kindle - Nook - Google
Quantity discount
- # of Items Price
- 1 to 9$18.99
- 10 or more$14.24

$18.99

Publisher Broadleaf Books
Format Paperback
ISBN 9781506463964
eBook ISBN 9781506463971
Age/Grade Range Adult
Dimensions 5.5 x 8.5
Pages 180
Publication Date November 16, 2021

Endorsements

"Alice Connor's retelling of the biblical story--fanfiction, as she calls it--is half stand-up comedy, half soul-piercing truth. She spins the ancient tale in startlingly fresh ways, bringing the women of Scripture to life in a way that is both authentically relatable and unapologetically feminist. With each chapter I felt the anticipation of reading a brand-new story, even when it was an account I'd heard a thousand times."

Kyndall Rae Rothaus, author of Thy Queendom Come

"Alice Connor is so friendly, funny, and adept at making biblical scholarship accessible. Reading it felt more like taking a long walk with a wise woman than undertaking some gnarly challenge to overturn centuries of male-centric commentary. And yet she gracefully does some immensely valuable overturning. Connor writes as a pastor with a clear heart for those longing for a spark of freedom to become more fully themselves."

Debbie Blue, author of Consider the Women: A Provocative Guide to Three Matriarchs of the Bible, Consider the Birds, and Sensual Orthodoxy

"Brainy, hilarious, and unapologetic, the book is every bit as courageous as the biblical women Alice Connor brings to life. Don't read it unless you're willing to reevaluate what you think you know about the Bible and gender."

Jana Riess, author of Flunking Sainthood and The Twible

"Some studies of biblical women gloss over contextual and interpersonal challenges and inconsistencies, leaving us with sappy platitudes and surface conclusions. Connor takes us deeper into the stories and their contexts. With her candid and conversational style, she reveals dimensions and aspects of women we malign, misunderstand, marginalize, silence, or ignore in our preaching and teaching. In the end, Connor shows us women who mirror who and what we are--sometimes flawed, misguided, ill-advised; yet also wise, clever, creative, subversive, and, you know, brave!"

Rev. Barbara J. Essex, author of Bad Girls of the Bible: Exploring Women of Questionable Virtue

"A consistently surprising and almost gleefully subversive reexamination of the very human side of our most sacred stories. Alice Connor's explorations of these tales and those who inhabit them ask us to question all the familiar elements we have taken for granted for so long, and to shine a much overdue light on perspectives we may have never considered. In the end, we emerge better from the experience."

Matt Kish, illustrator of Moby-Dick in Pictures