Permission to Matter: Reclaiming Women’s Humanity & Authority at the Invitation of Jesus

by Bekah Stewart

Much has been said of the spiritual journey….for men. Our most utilized frameworks, models and roadmaps were made by men, for men, where men are central, set against the backdrop of an apparently male God. As Mary Daly said, “If God is male, then male is God.” As a result, women are typically given two play a supporting role in the male journey, or attempt to plug their female self into male spirituality.

But what if there is a distinct spiritual path for women? One informed by women, for women, where women are seen as central figures, and with a God who, biblically, is also represented in the feminine. Bekah Stewart not only believes this path exists but that it’s essential for healing a faith system that remains broken and in need of transformation. Drawing on the gospel story of the Dying Girl and the Bleeding Woman as an archetype for the female journey, Stewart invites women to embrace Jesus’ radical invitation to Wake Up, Stand Up, & Come Out of Hiding.

Informed by her experience as a Vocational Coach, Spiritual Formation Pastor, and Spiritual Director, Stewart offers a fresh and subversive alternative to the traditional male models as she guides women to listen to their lives, reclaim the fullness of who they are, and locate themselves on the female spiritual journey.

With a tone that balances tenderness and strength, Permission to Matter serves as a trusted guide–one who sees, believes in, and invites you to step into the fullness of who God created you to be.

Genres: Spirituality

208 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2025

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to be an advance reader of Bekah Stewart’s book because I think she is an incredibly important voice in today’s world.

To be honest, I no longer identify as a Christian, or maybe it’s truer to say that I no longer solely identify as a Christian. I could best be labeled a Christian Universalist, or some kind of Universalist who most fluently speaks Christianity. Therefore, I only resonate so much with the stories Bekah uses as archetypes in this book, which are the gospel stories of the bleeding woman and the sleeping girl. Bekah addresses this in her book, but I am one of those readers that gives the Bible only limited authority after being raised to treat it as God, and I no longer use to it to give myself “Permission to Matter.”

That said, as Richard Rohr would say, “truth is truth wherever it comes from”, so I appreciate that for many readers, the underlying truths these stories point to will have greater authority because of their biblical origins. What I appreciate the most is that Bekah invites the reader to locate the source of authority within themselves, not outside of themselves.

I don’t know if Christianity can be rescued from its millennia of patriarchal formation, but if so, I know that it will take a complete overhaul of its institutions and rituals. I also know that this book is something I wish had existed when I was first deconstructing my faith 20 years ago, and I’m so grateful that female writers and faith leaders like Bekah are at the forefront of building something new!

[Juli J Dimos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Showing up in my fullness and my muchness as a woman is a journey I have been on for a while and more intensely recently. Bekah writes as beautifully insightful as when she speaks and gets to the heart of a woman. Especially the parts when we turn down the dimmer switch on who we were created to be. As Bekah walks the reader through the story of the woman who touched Jesus’ robe and was healed and the girl who was dead who he told to stand up she helps us imagine what it would have been like to be there, what it would have been like to be these women, what it would have felt to have been the people bearing witness. This is what I crave from our spiritual leaders is to understand the fullness of the story and our place in it. Bekah helps us understand the invitation to turn up our light to full blast.

[Kelly Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Amazing and so enlightening for women and reclaiming our voice and intuition. If you are looking for something to challenge and bring you to your highest potential on your spiritual journey, this book is a great tool! I have loved Bekah's candid voice and stories of her own life that she shares. It is relatable as well as disruptive, but so important to reclaiming our fullest selves. I had no idea how engrained our patriarchal view of the world is and I have now been noticing it everywhere. Men and women should read this!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I’d agree with the author’s viewpoint and enjoy her writing from following her on Substack. I didn’t know I would find an incredible new resource for my counseling center and primer tool for women discovering (or recovering) their place in this world. This is an accessible entry into psychology that stems from Bekah’s story - digested and appropriately offered to readers. I can’t wait to read it again with pen in hand and time to reflect alongside a friend or two in a similar stage of life.

[Amy Malskeit · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are living in a time where so much of what is called Christianity is tangled up with image and power: lots of things that Jesus wanted no part of. In this book, Bekah shares pieces of her journey toward realizing that the feminine and masculine spiritual journeys are different, and inviting women to find themselves invited to a fullness of life at Jesus's invitation that so many believe can't be theirs. This book will challenge your assumptions and invite you to wrestle with your cultural inheritance, welcoming you to live into a fuller expression of who you are. I highly recommend.

[Joy LaPrade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book met me at just the right time, as I’ve been processing the impact of the “biblical womanhood” movement on my own life. Those teachings gave me permission to perform a very narrow range of roles in my marriage, my career, and the church. I’m grateful for the ways I’ve started moving away from these beliefs, but “Permission to Matter” encouraged me to step back and take a more comprehensive look at my spiritual journey. Using the framework of Jesus’ interactions with the dying girl and the bleeding woman, Bekah Stewart suggests there is a distinct path for women that involves setting aside the messages of a patriarchal culture and following Jesus’ invitation to become who he created us to be. I loved this book! I wrote a longer review and reflection here:

https://open.substack.com/pub/joylapr...

[Jessica Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me this book supports the journey I have been on the last several years, yet nervous or better yet uncertain how to fully step into.

“She will come face to face, not with her limits-but instead with the enormity of her potential that has been pushed under ground and put to sleep. She must confess the god-like status she has given patriarchy…She must head in a new direction-one that faces a God who is truly for her, reflects her true self, and invites her into a journey of becoming most fully who she is created to be.Now she can begin the journey of ascent, courageously taking up space that was designated for her for eternity.”

[Rebecca Tredway · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is much goodness to chew on in Stewart’s book. I’ve earmarked page after page where her insights cut like a knife. And then there are pages where I find myself disagreeing with her assessments—but that never felt scary or confrontational. Stewart’s experience with guiding, pastoring, and directing comes through in each chapter by her gentle, kind-hearted probing. This is a book that ought to be read with a journal and pen right next to you. I plan to go back and work through the author’s questions and prompts at a later date. Lots to consider here!

[Maggie Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bekah’s words are powerful and timely. For those of us who has been made to feel small and unworthy, for those of us who have been told that we’re too much or too loud or too… fill in the blank, for those of us who are desperately trying to relearn how God sees us and made us to be - this book is for you.

[Tonya Jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this wise, insightful book about the female spiritual journey. The chapters come with reflection and discussion questions so it would be perfect as an individual development tool or in a group of friends.

[Dawn Klinge · Rating 5 out of 5]

For every woman who has ever felt too much, not enough, or unsure whether her voice belongs in the sanctuary.

Reading Permission to Matter felt like being handed a map home—back to my body, my voice, and the God who’s always been for me. Bekah Stewart has written the kind of book I didn’t know I was waiting for: a wise, tender, deeply honest invitation to wake up from the sleepy scripts of patriarchy and return to the truth that we matter—fully, wholly, fiercely.

This book doesn’t waste words. Stewart moves through theology, personal story, and embodied reflection like a practiced guide. She writes with the clarity of a teacher and the compassion of a soul-friend, gently deconstructing the inherited lies many of us have breathed in for decades and pointing us toward the expansive, generous love of a God who made us very good.

I found myself nodding, underlining, and even tearing up as she named what so many women know deep in our bones but struggle to say aloud: that the Church often asks us to play small, deny our knowing, and outsource our permission. But here is a voice reclaiming permission—offering it back to us not as something we must earn, but as something that’s already been given by the God who dwells within us.

If you’ve ever wrestled with the tension between your faith and your feminism, if you’ve ever wondered where you fit in the grand story of God, or if you’re simply tired of shrinking in spaces that were never meant to hold your fullness—read this book. Read it slowly. Read it with a pen and a journal. Better yet, read it with a circle of women and see what Spirit does among you.

Bekah Stewart isn’t just giving us permission to matter—she’s lighting the way toward a fuller, freer, more beautiful gospel. One where women don’t just belong, but lead, speak, embody, and rise.

[Sarah Butterfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before picking up this book, I was well aware of the patriarchal waters we swim in, but I had never given any thought to what that meant for the female spiritual journey (vs. the male one). This was an enlightening read for that reason!

If you are looking for Christ-centered female empowerment, look no further. Bekah guides us through two stories in the Bible--the dying girl and the bleeding woman--and explores God's call for every woman to wake up, stand up, and come out of hiding. The church (and the world at large) desperately needs women who own their Belovedness and their God-given authority and agency. This book is a guide to help you do exactly that. I was impressed by her meaningful journal prompts and her deep reflection questions. Perfect to work through on your own or with a small group of women!

[Lauren Cibene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bekah Stewart’s book Permission to Matter is a reckoning and a remembering.

On every page, Bekah names the ache we’ve all carried in silence: the missing language, the spiritual fatigue, the internalized belief that only certain kinds of strength are sacred. She makes space for softness and power, for mystery and theology. She invites us to reimagine what it means to belong to ourselves, to each other, and to a God who holds it all.

If you’ve felt the strain of a one-sided faith, if you’ve longed for permission to come home to yourself, to listen to your body, to trust the voice within—you need this book.

[Lynsey Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

To the woman who thinks she is not enough. Or too much. May you take the time to read, reflect and soak in the words in this small, but mighty book. Bekah is a trusted guide - I can speak for my personal experience of her guiding myself through this exact journey. Because of Bekah's experience as a Spiritual Director she asks poignant, open ended questions that require thoughtful reflection from the reader about your own journey of how to Wake Up, Stand Up, and Come out of Hiding.

If you are curious about the ways patriarchy has unconsciously weaseled its way into your life - start here. Be open and willing to listen to Spirit guide you into so so much more. I am not exaggerating when I say this book changed my life. Thank you, Bekah!

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bekah is a bold and compassionate guide into a deeper understanding of the female spiritual journey. This book, however, is in no way for women alone; to understand God's feminine aspects as strongly as God's masculine aspects would certainly shape all humans and the church in transformative ways. This book calls those who are asleep to themselves to wake up and live.

[Gabrielle M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bekah’s outlook and wisdom are just what the world needs right now. While reading this book I learned more about myself, found affirmations I didn’t know I needed, and stretched my idea of what I want to be in this world. I am so deeply thankful for this book.