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When We Were Eve: Uncovering the Woman God Created You to Be
“We are walking back to the Garden of Eden together and trying to remember who were when we were Eve.”
In When We Were Ev e, Colleen Mitchell draws on the creation story in Genesis to show women God’s gracious plan for their whole body and soul in harmony with themselves, others, creation and their Creator. Through her own story and those of other women, she explores the many ways women struggle with their bodies and the way a biblical understanding of what it means to be a woman can bring them peace and joy.
“Eve in Eden is woman in her perfection,” writes Mitchell. “The last note of the creation song states that the man and his wife were both naked and they were not ashamed.… This is the perfected state of our humanity—vulnerable, open, aware of our bodies and ourselves and understanding of others. Intimately free to be who we are before God.”
Through the stories of Eve (before and after the Fall), Bathsheba, Hannah, the woman of Proverbs 31, Sarah from the Book of Tobit, the hemorrhaging woman in Mark’s Gospel, the synagogue leader’s daughter, and the bride from the Song of Songs, she helps readers find new perspectives on what it means to be a young, old, single, married, mothers, nurturers, strong and vulnerable, loving and being loved.
Questions for reflection encourage readers to deepen their own awareness and a final section offers prayers for the many seasons and circumstances of a woman’s life.
The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via
In When We Were Ev e, Colleen Mitchell draws on the creation story in Genesis to show women God’s gracious plan for their whole body and soul in harmony with themselves, others, creation and their Creator. Through her own story and those of other women, she explores the many ways women struggle with their bodies and the way a biblical understanding of what it means to be a woman can bring them peace and joy.
“Eve in Eden is woman in her perfection,” writes Mitchell. “The last note of the creation song states that the man and his wife were both naked and they were not ashamed.… This is the perfected state of our humanity—vulnerable, open, aware of our bodies and ourselves and understanding of others. Intimately free to be who we are before God.”
Through the stories of Eve (before and after the Fall), Bathsheba, Hannah, the woman of Proverbs 31, Sarah from the Book of Tobit, the hemorrhaging woman in Mark’s Gospel, the synagogue leader’s daughter, and the bride from the Song of Songs, she helps readers find new perspectives on what it means to be a young, old, single, married, mothers, nurturers, strong and vulnerable, loving and being loved.
Questions for reflection encourage readers to deepen their own awareness and a final section offers prayers for the many seasons and circumstances of a woman’s life.
The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via
- GenresChristianity
208 pages, Paperback
Published December 19, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 20, 2018
I went into this book with an open mind, not realizing when I downloaded it that it was from a Catholic perspective (I'm Evangelical) and included teachings from the apocrypha. I wanted to give it a fair chance regardless. There were some good viewpoints and lessons here and I appreciated the unique approach. I was able to enjoy the parts I agreed with theologically and set aside the parts I didn't. Worth a read, and will be perfect for the Catholic woman.
December 18, 2017
Mitchell's book explores what it would've been like to be Eve prior to the Fall: what it would've been like to be in harmony with God, our bodies, and our partners.
This book knocked out Praying the Rosary Like Never Before as my favorite read of 2017. My review could be summarized quite simply as every woman should read this book.
Almost every chapter of the book is organized in the same way. Mitchell begins with a personal story and then expands on it to a general experience to which nearly any woman can relate to in some way. Amidst these excellent reflection lies a story from Scripture. Mitchell makes strong connections between these passages and the theme of the chapter while exploring the human emotions that may have been occurring at that time. The chapter ends with a story from a different woman and some questions to carry the message further. This layout draws the reader in and educates while also making it both a spiritually enriching and relatable experience.
The content of this book was fantastic. Mitchell made great connections between the body and soul. She provided a number of perspectives that challenged the idea that our bodies are bad and only our souls are good. She also didn't shy away from the hard topics like sex, mental illness, and weaknesses of members in the Catholic Church. Mitchell took these on delicately while also giving them their due attention. All the issues she discussed in this book were in desperate need of being addressed, and she did so in a way that was theologically sound without being intimidating.
Mitchell's writing style was also amazing. It would be easy to be intimidated by the wisdom in this book if it weren't complemented with the vulnerability Mitchell shared. I didn't feel like I was being talked at; I felt like I was working through these topics with here. Sometimes, our attempts to discuss body issues for women ends up being too shallow; we talk about women being beautiful daughters of God without really digging into the brokenness. However, this book explores that brokenness, digs into it, and opens it up, enabling us to be filled with the goodness of God's mercy. Overall, the book was beautifully written. It was relatable, and there were many times I found myself highlighting quotes to come back to later or resisting the urge to cheer "yes! someone else gets it."
I cannot recommend this book enough. Though I would love for every woman to read this, the content is obviously most appropriate for Christian women, namely Catholics.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.
This book knocked out Praying the Rosary Like Never Before as my favorite read of 2017. My review could be summarized quite simply as every woman should read this book.
Almost every chapter of the book is organized in the same way. Mitchell begins with a personal story and then expands on it to a general experience to which nearly any woman can relate to in some way. Amidst these excellent reflection lies a story from Scripture. Mitchell makes strong connections between these passages and the theme of the chapter while exploring the human emotions that may have been occurring at that time. The chapter ends with a story from a different woman and some questions to carry the message further. This layout draws the reader in and educates while also making it both a spiritually enriching and relatable experience.
The content of this book was fantastic. Mitchell made great connections between the body and soul. She provided a number of perspectives that challenged the idea that our bodies are bad and only our souls are good. She also didn't shy away from the hard topics like sex, mental illness, and weaknesses of members in the Catholic Church. Mitchell took these on delicately while also giving them their due attention. All the issues she discussed in this book were in desperate need of being addressed, and she did so in a way that was theologically sound without being intimidating.
Mitchell's writing style was also amazing. It would be easy to be intimidated by the wisdom in this book if it weren't complemented with the vulnerability Mitchell shared. I didn't feel like I was being talked at; I felt like I was working through these topics with here. Sometimes, our attempts to discuss body issues for women ends up being too shallow; we talk about women being beautiful daughters of God without really digging into the brokenness. However, this book explores that brokenness, digs into it, and opens it up, enabling us to be filled with the goodness of God's mercy. Overall, the book was beautifully written. It was relatable, and there were many times I found myself highlighting quotes to come back to later or resisting the urge to cheer "yes! someone else gets it."
I cannot recommend this book enough. Though I would love for every woman to read this, the content is obviously most appropriate for Christian women, namely Catholics.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts are my own.
August 27, 2018
This book really made me appreciate what being a woman is. The author started with Eve being made perfectly by God. Of course, then came the fall. Adam and Eve left all man- and- woman- kind in a sinful state that only a young teenage woman, Mary, could save by her fiat YES. Then the author uses other biblical women to state her case about what being a woman really is. She uses Bethsheba, Sarah and Tobit, Hannah, and, in the New Testament, Jairus's daughter and Peter's mother-in-law. The last two show God's special love for young daughters and older women. She also intersperses the stories of modern-day women among the chapters. This is a truly inspiring book for any woman to read.
April 4, 2020
While I found some of the author's thoughts to make me uncomfortable, I appreciated what she was saying. She made me think about some things I'd never before considered and offered a completely different view of certain topics. I did have trouble discerning exactly what she was getting at with some of her questions at the end of each chapter, but still found this to be a worthwhile read and the questions interesting enough to take some time to ponder.
February 22, 2019
A beautiful book that I think would make excellent Lenten reading, because Colleen asks us to consider how God sees us, and then apply that to how we treat ourselves. The whole book is sort of an extended meditation on Adam and Eve in Genesis (as the title suggests), but it's also so much more than that. It's sort of hard to describe, but trust me--you want to read this.
September 16, 2020
There's a lot to this book...at times I found myself deeply moved and at other times not so much. I have a feeling the reflections contained within it are a proverbial two-edged sword when the reader is in a particular state of openness, and at other times only strike a glancing blow. This has less to do with the author than it does with the state of mind & heart of the reader. I found myself digging in deeply enough on one or two chapters that I expect to revisit the book sometime down the road.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews