A Church Of Her Own

By Sarah Sentilles.

(Disclaimer: this was sent to me by an agent.)

This is an EXCELLENT book. Even if you are not Christian, even if you are not religious, I would highly recommend reading this. It's fascinating.

(God, I have a hard time reviewing nonfiction. It's not like I can detail the plot exactly...so pardon me while I can't manage to do this book justice.)

The author dropped out of becoming an Episcopal priest, so the difficulties women face in becoming ordained clergy in Christian religions is very personal to her. She interviews all kinds of women (and transgendered folk) who have had various successes and failures in trying to get into school, get jobs, get along with coworkers, dealing with church communities...all while not fitting the traditional Old White Male mold.  She talks about how these women got "the call," their trying to get into schools and jobs and fitting requirements.

Their struggles are flabbergasting. And yet some women do manage to succeed against the odds. Heck, she even talks about God and craft, and interviews the founders of the Church of Craft, which made me pretty darned happy.

I'd like to quote a paragraph from the end of the book that sums it up:

"When I began writing this book, I was extremely angry. I was grieving. I wanted to write a book that would reveal how terrible religion is, how much it hurts women, how dangerous and exclusive it is. But the women I interviewed changed my mind. Their stories, their energy, their commitment converted me. I began to feel strangely, unexpectedly hopeful. These women and men are transforming the church, renovating Christianity, altering the world. The Church of England can refuse to consecrate women as bishops, the Southern Baptist Church can ban women from teaching Sunday school, the Roman Catholic Church can excommunicate womenpriests, but, in Laurie's words, 'the train has left the station.'"

Five stars. WOW.