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Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality
Women are often told by their communities that being a mother will complete or define them. But many mothers find themselves depleted and spiritually stagnant amid the everyday demands of being a mom. They long to experience a rich inner life but feel there is rarely enough time, energy, or stillness to connect with God in a meaningful way.
This book takes the concept of rewilding and applies it to motherhood. Just as an environmentalist seeks to rewild land by returning it to its natural state, Shannon Evans invites women to rewild motherhood by reclaiming its essence through an expansive feminine spirituality.
Drawn from the contemplative Catholic tradition and Evans's own parenting experience, Rewilding Motherhood helps women deepen their connection to God through practices inherent to the life they're living now. Topics include work-life balance, identity, solitude, patience, household work, and mission for the common good. Throughout, Evans encourages women to see motherhood as an opportunity to discover a vibrant feminine spirituality and a deeper knowledge of God and self.
This book takes the concept of rewilding and applies it to motherhood. Just as an environmentalist seeks to rewild land by returning it to its natural state, Shannon Evans invites women to rewild motherhood by reclaiming its essence through an expansive feminine spirituality.
Drawn from the contemplative Catholic tradition and Evans's own parenting experience, Rewilding Motherhood helps women deepen their connection to God through practices inherent to the life they're living now. Topics include work-life balance, identity, solitude, patience, household work, and mission for the common good. Throughout, Evans encourages women to see motherhood as an opportunity to discover a vibrant feminine spirituality and a deeper knowledge of God and self.
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2021
197 people are currently reading
3552 people want to read
About the author
Shannon K. Evans
10 books125 followersShannon K. Evans is passionate about exploring deeper ways of contemplating God so that our experience of the Divine grows further loving and curious, rather than static and complacent. She is the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and the author of the books “Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Life” and “Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality.”
With interest in ecofeminism, contemplative practice, and social change, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion.
Having previously lived in Indonesia for two years, Shannon loves to travel, but is happiest at home on the Iowa prairie with her family and beloved chickens.
With interest in ecofeminism, contemplative practice, and social change, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion.
Having previously lived in Indonesia for two years, Shannon loves to travel, but is happiest at home on the Iowa prairie with her family and beloved chickens.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
August 30, 2021
It’s time to “reimagine motherhood as the spiritually empowering experience it should be.” --Shannon K. Evans
I’ll be honest--I typically avoid Christian books on motherhood.
When Rewilding Motherhood popped up in my available advance reader copies, I quickly dismissed it.
Most Christian books on motherhood are too sappy, too gender-stereotyped, too shaming.
Rewilding Motherhood is not your mama’s Christian motherhood book.
It is feminist. It is gutsy. It is contemplative. It will cultivate a deeper spiritual practice for mothers who want to engage their hearts and spirit in the midst of the demands of motherhood. I even think it will encourage non-mothers who want to grow in contemplative practices too.
I highly recommend Rewilding Motherhood for any woman who is spiritually hungry for more.
I’ll be honest--I typically avoid Christian books on motherhood.
When Rewilding Motherhood popped up in my available advance reader copies, I quickly dismissed it.
Most Christian books on motherhood are too sappy, too gender-stereotyped, too shaming.
Rewilding Motherhood is not your mama’s Christian motherhood book.
It is feminist. It is gutsy. It is contemplative. It will cultivate a deeper spiritual practice for mothers who want to engage their hearts and spirit in the midst of the demands of motherhood. I even think it will encourage non-mothers who want to grow in contemplative practices too.
I highly recommend Rewilding Motherhood for any woman who is spiritually hungry for more.
June 12, 2021
Thank you to Brazos Press, Shannon Evans, and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
The titular premise of Rewilding Motherhood centers on the idea of rewinding mothers as one would rewild a place. That is, to return her to her natural state, one that is spiritually rooted, firm in self-awareness and identity, socially connected, and powerful. Though written from her own perspective as a Catholic woman and mother, Rewilding Motherhood is thoroughly ecumenical and, I believe, accessible to women of all faith backgrounds and traditions. Evans writes expansively and inclusively, organically ushering her readers through a journey of prioritizing their efforts to grow inward that they may be whole humans. Her chapters flow in that way, structured in two parts, one focusing on growing inward, one on flowing outward, and within each part, chapters ranging from integration and maintaining boundaries to staying curious, becoming gentle (especially in regards to one's own self-talk), and finding the divine in everyday life.
I will be honest and say that I find most books on "Christian motherhood" overly saccharine, glazing over the real, lived experience I have walked through myself and seen in other mothers-- the angry moments, the moments of struggling to prioritize one's own passions in the context of family life, balancing work and restful solitude, the whole gamut.
This book is not that. Evans cites everyone from Lady Gaga to St. Teresa of Avila to zen mother and priest Karen Maezen Miller. She does justice to the depth and breadth of motherhood, being ecumenical and inclusive while offering her own experience as a Catholic, never in an overly preachy tone.
My personal faith background is complicated and I'll profess to being more than a little skeptical about the premise of the book. Too hokey? Too woo? Too spiritual in ways that press against tender bits of my past? I was really pleasantly surprised to see how wide the table was in this book for someone like me.
If you're remotely spiritual and a mother-- Buddhist, Jewish, agnostic, Quaker, Catholic, mainstream Christian, or any combination, I think you'll get a lot out of Rewilding Motherhood.
The titular premise of Rewilding Motherhood centers on the idea of rewinding mothers as one would rewild a place. That is, to return her to her natural state, one that is spiritually rooted, firm in self-awareness and identity, socially connected, and powerful. Though written from her own perspective as a Catholic woman and mother, Rewilding Motherhood is thoroughly ecumenical and, I believe, accessible to women of all faith backgrounds and traditions. Evans writes expansively and inclusively, organically ushering her readers through a journey of prioritizing their efforts to grow inward that they may be whole humans. Her chapters flow in that way, structured in two parts, one focusing on growing inward, one on flowing outward, and within each part, chapters ranging from integration and maintaining boundaries to staying curious, becoming gentle (especially in regards to one's own self-talk), and finding the divine in everyday life.
I will be honest and say that I find most books on "Christian motherhood" overly saccharine, glazing over the real, lived experience I have walked through myself and seen in other mothers-- the angry moments, the moments of struggling to prioritize one's own passions in the context of family life, balancing work and restful solitude, the whole gamut.
This book is not that. Evans cites everyone from Lady Gaga to St. Teresa of Avila to zen mother and priest Karen Maezen Miller. She does justice to the depth and breadth of motherhood, being ecumenical and inclusive while offering her own experience as a Catholic, never in an overly preachy tone.
My personal faith background is complicated and I'll profess to being more than a little skeptical about the premise of the book. Too hokey? Too woo? Too spiritual in ways that press against tender bits of my past? I was really pleasantly surprised to see how wide the table was in this book for someone like me.
If you're remotely spiritual and a mother-- Buddhist, Jewish, agnostic, Quaker, Catholic, mainstream Christian, or any combination, I think you'll get a lot out of Rewilding Motherhood.
September 1, 2021
This is such a beautiful read, and so comforting during this weird season of having become a mother during the pandemic. So many parenting books talk about balance and scheduling and etc., but this one addresses the parts of our spirits that can get a little bruised or neglected in the service of our families, and how to tend to them. That sounds kind of "woo-woo" but the perspective of the book is really grounded, practical, loving, and nurturing. This is the pocket "mom friend" I needed during this season of my life and I am really grateful that I got an ARC of this wonderful book. I will definitely be revisiting it from time to time as I parent my freshly-minted toddler.
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April 24, 2022I’ll start my review with the caveat that I could not get through the entire book. And have no intention to. It is a type of new-age feminism that I cannot swallow. Only halfway through and I have had more than enough of the whiny excuses for why the author is done selflessly giving of herself. That is what the book boils down to.
I will not disagree with the fact that there must be balance in one’s life. The tired adage, “you can’t give what you don’t have” is central to the author’s thesis of finding yourself (she calls it self-actualization). But what the author fails to understand is that it’s not about “finding ourselves” at all but rather losing ourselves in Christ. We become His hands and feet and as the living Body of Christ become more of who we are in Him and in community. But the author vehemently rejects this, quoting Dr Christina Cleveland who writes, “Self-
sacrifice as the pathway to significance' is one
of whitemalegod's most impressive
deceptions. He's constantly demanding our
self-sacrifice because what better way to keep
people in bondage to white patriarchy's
dehumanizing hierarchy than to teach them
that the more they sacrifice on behalf of the
whole, the more significant they will be."
The overwhelming experience of this book is a woman looking to escape the definite hardships of parenting, particularly young children. She gives personal examples for why women need to excuse themselves from merely giving to others and places blame stolidly on the shoulders of white male patriarchy. Evidence includes (1) her rejection of perpetual daughterhood because “she tends to become the image of a woman that the cultural father idealizes”, (2) the blame on religious spheres that “inundate with messages that glorify the sacrificial nature of motherhood” (the only exception being the homily preached by a woman pastor who was a mother herself), and (3) the reclaiming of virginity because “whenever someone stands up for themselves, the virgin archetype comes out.”
Do not waste your time with this book. Instead turn to Edith Stein’s “Essays on Woman”, John Paul II’s “Letters to Women”, or pick up Butler’s “Lives of the Saints” for true examples of womanhood.
I will not disagree with the fact that there must be balance in one’s life. The tired adage, “you can’t give what you don’t have” is central to the author’s thesis of finding yourself (she calls it self-actualization). But what the author fails to understand is that it’s not about “finding ourselves” at all but rather losing ourselves in Christ. We become His hands and feet and as the living Body of Christ become more of who we are in Him and in community. But the author vehemently rejects this, quoting Dr Christina Cleveland who writes, “Self-
sacrifice as the pathway to significance' is one
of whitemalegod's most impressive
deceptions. He's constantly demanding our
self-sacrifice because what better way to keep
people in bondage to white patriarchy's
dehumanizing hierarchy than to teach them
that the more they sacrifice on behalf of the
whole, the more significant they will be."
The overwhelming experience of this book is a woman looking to escape the definite hardships of parenting, particularly young children. She gives personal examples for why women need to excuse themselves from merely giving to others and places blame stolidly on the shoulders of white male patriarchy. Evidence includes (1) her rejection of perpetual daughterhood because “she tends to become the image of a woman that the cultural father idealizes”, (2) the blame on religious spheres that “inundate with messages that glorify the sacrificial nature of motherhood” (the only exception being the homily preached by a woman pastor who was a mother herself), and (3) the reclaiming of virginity because “whenever someone stands up for themselves, the virgin archetype comes out.”
Do not waste your time with this book. Instead turn to Edith Stein’s “Essays on Woman”, John Paul II’s “Letters to Women”, or pick up Butler’s “Lives of the Saints” for true examples of womanhood.
August 31, 2021
In Rewilding Motherhood, Shannon K. Evans takes the concept of rewilding and attempts to apply it to feminine spirituality. For years, women have been told that motherhood will complete them. But many women still long for a deeper spiritual connection with God. Evans encourages women to use motherhood as an opportunity to connect with a deeper knowledge of God and self. Topics include: identity, work-life balance, and solitude.
I was really excited about the premise of this book. I think there's a lot here to explore. However, the first chapter was so full of red flags. From the first page, the author asserts that society has told women that they'll be fulfilled from being mothers. This statement alone is completely contrary to today's view of motherhood which has been greatly devalued. Evan goes on to talk about how women have sacrificed themselves on the alters of their husbands and children. Not only did I find this statement offensive, but also untrue. There's was so many condescending statements just within the first few chapters of this book; I became so frustrated with the author that I just couldn't go any further. All in all, Rewilding Motherhood felt very poorly researched, very self-helpish, and incredibly judgmental. I just can't recommend this book for anyone.
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I was really excited about the premise of this book. I think there's a lot here to explore. However, the first chapter was so full of red flags. From the first page, the author asserts that society has told women that they'll be fulfilled from being mothers. This statement alone is completely contrary to today's view of motherhood which has been greatly devalued. Evan goes on to talk about how women have sacrificed themselves on the alters of their husbands and children. Not only did I find this statement offensive, but also untrue. There's was so many condescending statements just within the first few chapters of this book; I became so frustrated with the author that I just couldn't go any further. All in all, Rewilding Motherhood felt very poorly researched, very self-helpish, and incredibly judgmental. I just can't recommend this book for anyone.
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
October 30, 2021
I really wanted to like this book as I have appreciated Shannon's writing, but this was not my favorite. I would recommend Edith Stein's Essays on Woman, Kathleen Norris' Quotidian Mysteries, Abigail Favale's Into the Deep, or going directly to Julian of Norwich.
January 1, 2022
This book was what my heart needed. If you have ever felt that your personality was too big to be tolerated by the Catholic Church, this is the book for you. On each page, you are reminded of the gift you are and how much you are needed.
My college best friend shared this book with me and said, “It will make you proud to be a woman. You will feel powerful.”
Thanks for helping give power back to so many women.
My college best friend shared this book with me and said, “It will make you proud to be a woman. You will feel powerful.”
Thanks for helping give power back to so many women.
September 4, 2023
I wouldn’t recommend this to Christian/Catholic women. It’s marketed as a Christian living book, it definitely is not. While her experiences with motherhood and figuring out her place in that new role, was interesting, the majority of the book is laced with new age and every other ideology under the sun. It was very disjointed at best. I’m not sure if the author really knows what she believes or was trying to communicate in this book 🤷🏼♀️
February 26, 2023
I loved this book. It’s the first “mom book” (although it’s so much more than that) that didn’t make me roll my eyes or make me feel like I was reading a users manual. Am I going to pray under the light of the moon the next time I have my period, as Shannon suggests? Probably not, but perhaps one day. I love how this book intertwines motherhood and spirituality. There were parts that really touched my heart (dog eared the pages to go back to later- the sign of a good book!).
September 13, 2021
This book is so deeply nourishing and empowering, I really don't know where to begin. I loved the way the book was structured, first looking inward, and then outward to our relationships with our families and communities. This book is meticulously researched and does an amazing job of citing women, and especially women of color. I have been a mother for seven years, and I wish I'd had this book when I first started out, but I'm so grateful to have it now.
My first thought, even before I finished the introduction, was, "We should all be talking about these issues more." All too often mothers are urged to make what turns out to be a false choice, between family life and personal fulfillment, whatever shape that may take in each individual's life. That's why one of my favorite chapters was the one on patience, which beautifully discussed pursuing the things that make you come alive while also being full-heartedly present with your children. Each chapter has a wonderful set of questions or prayer suggestions for entering deeper into the themes discussed, and this, too, was one of my favorite parts.
Shannon is a very gifted writer, and this contemplative, thoughtful book is a generous gift, not just to mothers, but to all women.
My first thought, even before I finished the introduction, was, "We should all be talking about these issues more." All too often mothers are urged to make what turns out to be a false choice, between family life and personal fulfillment, whatever shape that may take in each individual's life. That's why one of my favorite chapters was the one on patience, which beautifully discussed pursuing the things that make you come alive while also being full-heartedly present with your children. Each chapter has a wonderful set of questions or prayer suggestions for entering deeper into the themes discussed, and this, too, was one of my favorite parts.
Shannon is a very gifted writer, and this contemplative, thoughtful book is a generous gift, not just to mothers, but to all women.
September 15, 2021
Shannon K. Evan's is a prophet of our era. A voice calling out to us individually, to look inside and allow the God-within-you to be fully alive and released, as She has been calling for you to let Her.
Shannon has an amazing way of using her story to illuminate your own false-narratives. Her writing is evidence of years of personal reckoning, and research and embodied wisdom from others. Never self-depricating, always holding grace and invitation. Rewilding Motherhood is a beautiful filling response to a colonial christian culture which has often left women hungry, longing, and upset they are not satisfied by that which promises to be life and to the full. Never stripping away what we find comforting in our current religious pratices, Shannon reclaims how Christ moves and breathes in our own bodies and feminine spirits already - allowing one to not need to go out and make radical changes to appease a never attainable God, but rather to calm and center on who one really is and where God is already meeting us in the everyday ordinary sacred moments.
A retreat for the mother who feels she never has a moment to spare. Every chapter ends with a new practice to rest, uncover, and discover who you really are and how God already is alive in you. A beautiful gift for new moms, experienced moms, or any feminine person immersed in christian norms.
Shannon has an amazing way of using her story to illuminate your own false-narratives. Her writing is evidence of years of personal reckoning, and research and embodied wisdom from others. Never self-depricating, always holding grace and invitation. Rewilding Motherhood is a beautiful filling response to a colonial christian culture which has often left women hungry, longing, and upset they are not satisfied by that which promises to be life and to the full. Never stripping away what we find comforting in our current religious pratices, Shannon reclaims how Christ moves and breathes in our own bodies and feminine spirits already - allowing one to not need to go out and make radical changes to appease a never attainable God, but rather to calm and center on who one really is and where God is already meeting us in the everyday ordinary sacred moments.
A retreat for the mother who feels she never has a moment to spare. Every chapter ends with a new practice to rest, uncover, and discover who you really are and how God already is alive in you. A beautiful gift for new moms, experienced moms, or any feminine person immersed in christian norms.
September 10, 2021
Where do I begin?! This book is a balm to my soul. I found myself nodding yes so often, reading words that I completely related to. If you are a mother or a mother-figure and find yourself wondering where the joy in this role went, this book makes you feel less alone with those feelings. It's the first book I've ever read that embraces the divine feminine from a Catholic perspective (though you absolutely do NOT have to be a Catholic to love this book). I love that Shannon calls herself a writer with a Catholic spirituality and an interfaith heart. Yes! I get that!!!
Buy this book. And then buy it for all the women in your life. It's a truly magical piece of writing.
Buy this book. And then buy it for all the women in your life. It's a truly magical piece of writing.
January 19, 2022
This is the most woke Catholic book I’ve ever read. At first had trouble vibing with it. Later, I loved it! Last few chapters have gold nuggets that I took pics of and sent to my friends. Love her incarnation/ecology faith section and the feminine side of God. This book actually challenged me. That doesn’t happen much. Maybe it’s bc I’m stubborn. I feel like I learned something. It was swag.
Note to self: buy for friends when they have kids so they know the church is cool and relevant.
Note to self: buy for friends when they have kids so they know the church is cool and relevant.
July 31, 2022
I love learning from people who think about faith in ways very different from how I’ve typically thought of them. Shannon is a Catholic mystic. She had such a unique voice and perceptive on topics. It makes me want to mull over and chew on some of the topics she discusses. I for sure want to journal pieces of it.
August 18, 2021
If you like Sue Monk Kidd, you’ll love this book! A great reminder of kindness to ourselves in motherhood & a beautiful gentle introduction to the divine feminine in Christian tradition.
“It makes sense that if the mystery of God is love, then the love we have for our children, coupled with our intimate connection to them, would be a powerful conduit of supernatural connection.”
While this book is primarily written to an audience of Christian mothers, mothers of other religions may also see beautiful wisdom reflected to them through the author’s funny and loving millennial insight.
Thank you to Netgalley & the author for the advanced reader’s copy.
“It makes sense that if the mystery of God is love, then the love we have for our children, coupled with our intimate connection to them, would be a powerful conduit of supernatural connection.”
While this book is primarily written to an audience of Christian mothers, mothers of other religions may also see beautiful wisdom reflected to them through the author’s funny and loving millennial insight.
Thank you to Netgalley & the author for the advanced reader’s copy.
September 13, 2021
To be frank, as a Catholic woman and as a mother I am often disappointed and left wanting after reading books that attempt to be targeted to me but feel alienated from my sacred, messy reality. To read "Rewilding Motherhood" was such a gift and a relief — Shannon Evans bursts through the containers society puts mothers into and invites us into a process of openness, expansion, messiness, and embracing the holy wildness of being a mother.
Evans' writing is relatable, thoughtful, and spiritually profound. I loved the way the book moved from looking inward to looking outward, and the concrete, honest examples Shannon offers in every chapter made me feel less alone as a mom. One of the best parts of the book is the opportunity to "go deeper" at the end of each chapter with a variety of practices that I personally found spiritually nourishing and that felt doable, even as a working mother.
I plan on gifting this book to some new mothers in my life who I know yearn to have the complexity of their spirituality as mothers embraced and welcomed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Evans' writing is relatable, thoughtful, and spiritually profound. I loved the way the book moved from looking inward to looking outward, and the concrete, honest examples Shannon offers in every chapter made me feel less alone as a mom. One of the best parts of the book is the opportunity to "go deeper" at the end of each chapter with a variety of practices that I personally found spiritually nourishing and that felt doable, even as a working mother.
I plan on gifting this book to some new mothers in my life who I know yearn to have the complexity of their spirituality as mothers embraced and welcomed. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
August 4, 2021
This book was exactly what I needed during this spiritual dry season. I am at a place in my life that is overwhelmed with the needs of my small children, my body and mind are tired from my 3rd pregnancy in 5 years, and my stance on religion is burnt out from a hard year of vague direction from my spiritual leaders . I couldn’t put this book down because every chapter opened my eyes and made me reflect on what is going on in my head these days. I am a big fan of her work and have found that everything she writes deeply resonates with me. This book is good for any mother on a spiritual journey, not just Christian ones.
October 2, 2022
Wasn’t worth the read for me. Pretty disappointing writing style and message. For instance, so many unnecessary pop culture references, when she could’ve drawn from the saints or at least someone more profound than Lady Gaga (?). I thought this would be an encouraging Catholic book to help me shift perspective as I raise my young kids; it was not that. It also seemed super new-agey in many regards. Not my cup of tea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2021
This book spoke to me on a deep level. It both challenged and affirmed. I’m so grateful for Shannon’s beauty and mastery of faith but also the her willingness to climb into uncomfortable places and then help us down into them as well. This is a dynamic, beautiful work of art.
did-not-finish
November 22, 2025DNF 50%. I don’t think this book is for me- it seems to be for moms who had the assumption they’d be 100% fulfilled by motherhood, they were born to be a mom, and they lose their entire personality in motherhood. Granted I’m not a mom yet but I already don’t identify with her audience. Maybe I would get more out of it once I’ve been a mom a few years. Also there’s a big religious component which I wasn’t necessarily against but I think it contributed to her stance on motherhood.
December 1, 2024
Better than I anticipated after realizing it was a Christian based book. Thankfully, the religious references aren’t constant and what’s said is generally applicable and easy to reframe to whatever framework you believe in. Lots of small nuggets of wisdom. Nice, short read.
May 23, 2022
What an amazing book. Shannon simultaneously honors mothering as a Christian while asking deep reaching questions on how we can better balance the self sacrifice required as a mother (and by our traditionally patriarchal culture) and staying true to ourselves as spiritual women. Every chapter felt like a topic written specifically for me. I would recommend this book to any and all Christian mothers! Plus she’s an Iowan author which I love as I’m currently living in Iowa.
Read
September 3, 2021(Disclaimer: I received a free ARC e-copy of Rewilding Motherhood - opinions are my own)
I've been following Shannon K. Evans' writing since about 2015 and have purchased her other books (Embracing Weakness, Bearing Light) in the past so I knew I'd enjoy this one. Shannon is a Catholic convert, and though her writing is always centered pretty firmly within her progressive Catholic perspective, I knew that she was trying to embody a more ecumenical focus in her newest book (even choosing a non-Catholic publisher this time around), which made me even more interested in picking it up.
Rewilding Motherhood is just what I expected: an open-hearted, feminist, progressive Christian guide to reframing our conversations around what motherhood is and can be. Shannon's goal, as she puts it in her introduction, is to get us to step back from what decades (centuries?) of expectations about mothering (and, really, womanhood) should look like and to see how a spiritual recentering of our understanding of the blessings and burdens of motherhood can provide empowerment and fulfillment. Each chapter looks at a different facet of mothering, from patience to rage and everything in between; Shannon provides anecdotes from her own experiences and those of mothers she interviewed, quotations and research from other books on spirituality and theology, and her own analysis of scripture for each topic, then ends the chapter with suggested questions, journal prompts, or actions one might take to go deeper on the subject.
This is not a "how to" book, but more of a "how might we rethink this" book. "Rewilding Motherhood" is not a roadmap to a specified destination; Shannon's goal is to reconsider the routes we've been forced to take and to then give her readers a chance to find a new path. I think this book would work especially well when read in community with other women - a women's fellowship book group discussion jumps immediately to mind.
Something I love about "Rewilding Motherhood" is that all of the sources Shannon quoted and cited were written by women, ranging from Sue Monk Kidd to Terry Tempest Williams to Christy Angelle Bauman to Robin Wall Kimmerer. What a (shockingly) rare thing, to find a book on feminine spirituality that uses only books by women as source material!
My biggest complaint about the book is that the topics covered here are so numerous that Shannon had to keep her discussion of each quite brief. I think that, for women from certain Christian backgrounds, many of the things Shannon discusses will be brand new; most of what she says here was not groundbreaking for me. As a result, I found myself wanting to wade much farther out into the deep waters of some of what she just touches on here; the book is so broad in its scope that there simply isn't enough time or room for the kind of deep thought and research I was hoping for on some of the topics that most interested and challenged me. (None of this was a surprise, as it's clear from the jacket copy that this is exactly what the book sets out to be. I just hope Shannon might decide to choose one of these chapters and turn it into a whole book of its own the next time around.)
Shannon's writing style is poetic but linear; she is easy to read and follow and it is also a pleasure to read what she has to say. Though it is secular, the book "How To Be A Happier Parent" by K. J. Dell'Antonia is the best comparison I can think of: a book in the voice of a wise and friendly companion and a carefully researched look at a variety of aspects of day-to-day parenting realities and how we can reframe them to feel more fulfilled, more seen, and more connected to our children and to ourselves.
I've been following Shannon K. Evans' writing since about 2015 and have purchased her other books (Embracing Weakness, Bearing Light) in the past so I knew I'd enjoy this one. Shannon is a Catholic convert, and though her writing is always centered pretty firmly within her progressive Catholic perspective, I knew that she was trying to embody a more ecumenical focus in her newest book (even choosing a non-Catholic publisher this time around), which made me even more interested in picking it up.
Rewilding Motherhood is just what I expected: an open-hearted, feminist, progressive Christian guide to reframing our conversations around what motherhood is and can be. Shannon's goal, as she puts it in her introduction, is to get us to step back from what decades (centuries?) of expectations about mothering (and, really, womanhood) should look like and to see how a spiritual recentering of our understanding of the blessings and burdens of motherhood can provide empowerment and fulfillment. Each chapter looks at a different facet of mothering, from patience to rage and everything in between; Shannon provides anecdotes from her own experiences and those of mothers she interviewed, quotations and research from other books on spirituality and theology, and her own analysis of scripture for each topic, then ends the chapter with suggested questions, journal prompts, or actions one might take to go deeper on the subject.
This is not a "how to" book, but more of a "how might we rethink this" book. "Rewilding Motherhood" is not a roadmap to a specified destination; Shannon's goal is to reconsider the routes we've been forced to take and to then give her readers a chance to find a new path. I think this book would work especially well when read in community with other women - a women's fellowship book group discussion jumps immediately to mind.
Something I love about "Rewilding Motherhood" is that all of the sources Shannon quoted and cited were written by women, ranging from Sue Monk Kidd to Terry Tempest Williams to Christy Angelle Bauman to Robin Wall Kimmerer. What a (shockingly) rare thing, to find a book on feminine spirituality that uses only books by women as source material!
My biggest complaint about the book is that the topics covered here are so numerous that Shannon had to keep her discussion of each quite brief. I think that, for women from certain Christian backgrounds, many of the things Shannon discusses will be brand new; most of what she says here was not groundbreaking for me. As a result, I found myself wanting to wade much farther out into the deep waters of some of what she just touches on here; the book is so broad in its scope that there simply isn't enough time or room for the kind of deep thought and research I was hoping for on some of the topics that most interested and challenged me. (None of this was a surprise, as it's clear from the jacket copy that this is exactly what the book sets out to be. I just hope Shannon might decide to choose one of these chapters and turn it into a whole book of its own the next time around.)
Shannon's writing style is poetic but linear; she is easy to read and follow and it is also a pleasure to read what she has to say. Though it is secular, the book "How To Be A Happier Parent" by K. J. Dell'Antonia is the best comparison I can think of: a book in the voice of a wise and friendly companion and a carefully researched look at a variety of aspects of day-to-day parenting realities and how we can reframe them to feel more fulfilled, more seen, and more connected to our children and to ourselves.
July 28, 2021
Rewilding Motherhood is a much needed reposturing of what motherhood is and should look like. The same tired tropes about motherhood need to be reworked, and Shannon does a beautiful job of exploring these. Touching on ways, as mothers, we can transform inwardly to reimagine motherhood and how we can reshape society, this book shows us how to look at motherhood in a new light.
As a first time mother, I had felt in my soul but didn’t have the words to describe so much of what Shannon touches on. The ideas and stereotypes of motherhood we are given do no match the gut level feelings I have about what it truly is. Rewilding Motherhood is a beautiful and society-changing reimagining of what motherhood should be.
As a first time mother, I had felt in my soul but didn’t have the words to describe so much of what Shannon touches on. The ideas and stereotypes of motherhood we are given do no match the gut level feelings I have about what it truly is. Rewilding Motherhood is a beautiful and society-changing reimagining of what motherhood should be.
November 9, 2021
I know that she didn’t write this book to argue against all the positions in historic Christianity she no longer holds, but I found her quick dismissive ness toward many pretty widely held beliefs in the Christian tradition (certainly in the Protestant tradition and from what I understand of the catholic tradition as well) to uproot her basis for her claims? I’m sure there was more sophistication to how she came to her theological conclusions but the way it came across in the book was a little pick and choose-y which made it hard for me to connect with her reasonings. My wife just gave birth to our second child and I was hoping to glean some wisdom in how to come alongside her, but I didn’t really walk away with much new thought from this book.
December 13, 2021
Vulnerable, authentic, prophetic, compassionate. These are just a few words that come to mind to describe this book. I cannot recommend this book enough to those walking the path of motherhood and seeking a new, perhaps radical way to envision the journey. The author does a beautiful job of inviting readers into the journey. There is so much rich wisdom in this book and I will come back to it again and again.
November 4, 2024
Deeply concerning from a biblical perspective.
September 27, 2021
"For true generosity is love, and love wills for all to be free--yes, even you."
~Shannon K. Evans~
Several years ago I remember stepping outside and telling God I was in desperate need of another metaphor. I needed something else, some other word or concept besides "death" in order to help me make sense of my life. I truly expected God to answer that prayer. Some wild, obvious, incredibly mind-altering and life-changing word was going to appear out of nowhere that would make me wonder how I missed it, how I ever could've gone so long without seeing it. I was over the life of dying to self. Death never seemed to be able to live up to its promise. Death was supposed to lead to life and resurrection, but too much of my "new life" felt like sorrow and emptiness.
So Shannon K. Evans, a former evangelical missionary turned Catholic, was speaking my language from her very first chapter on forging identity. She says one of the greatest social myths of our day is that a woman can be totally fulfilled by motherhood. I'm not sure I would've described it as a myth of society, but rather more like a myth that collectively haunts our individual minds once we become mothers. The haunting didn't come from a belief that motherhood would fulfill us. He came like crumbs in the day, or in the cry of the night, when again we woke up and realized it didn't.
Contentment is a word I have often heard as a Christian woman. I honestly couldn't give you a quote or a source. The many books and blog posts are mostly a blur, but it seems like of the wide array of sins to choose from, discontent is particularly discouraged against. Shannon writes, "Mothers are fantastic at berating themselves for not being content. This discontent, we are certain, is indicative of spiritual immaturity, or ungratefulness, or cultivating a bad, worldly attitude." Perhaps a handful of times I have read something that was not condemning the notorious feminine "desire for more".
Shannon goes on, "Most mothers are not content; they are hungry--hungry for a deeper spiritual life, hungry for inner healing, hungry for intimate friendships, hungry for more of themselves. Yet we are immersed in a society that has always told us that the hunger of women is bad. Dangerous. Undesirable. We have been indoctrinated in every possible way to believe that our hunger will make us too big, too indelicate, too uncomfortable to be around...We long to follow that gnawing hunger, that instinctual knowing that tells us there is yet more transformation to lay hold of."
Though you are going to find remnants of Christianity in this book, I wouldn't say it was specifically meant to be Christian. The author acknowledges the many influences she's had from other spiritual traditions. These influences appear frequently throughout the book, including phrases like, "before patriarchy, before monotheism..." The author talked about Eve, the mother of the world's first unforgettable sin, and the way we as women have internalized her guilt. She mentioned reclaiming the snake as a sacred feminine symbol, which I thoroughly disagreed with. There was a line that really resonated when she quoted Helene Cixous, described by the author as a Jewish feminist who says, "We must learn to speak the language women speak when there is no one there to correct us."
I do tend to agree regarding learning from other faith traditions. I will admit that it did kind of make me sad when she said, "At the time I ingested my first Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin was a part of Catholicism I begrudgingly tolerated. Years later, she is what keeps me here." For the first time in my entire life, while reading this book, I actually felt sad about and wondered why women seem to be more left out of "His story". Why is it the men who get the overwhelming majority of the books of the Bible named after them? Why does there not exist a female deity? I understand the draw toward a divine feminine figure. While I have frequently heard both men and women bemoan the "feminization of the church" and the lack of involved men and fathers, I'm not sure I've ever heard anything from the more official church voices about the very real missing maternal wisdom and presence in our often isolated lives. I've spent years of my life gathering nuts and berries in silence. We want to be content, yes, but. There is something even more than comforting in having a real-life woman to converse with, in having anyone, who can in any way, relate to my life.
As women, Shannon writes, we "desperately need our lived experience reflected back to us in sacred ways." This, for me, is why I as a woman, found such a friend in Jesus in ways I never had before. It didn't matter to me that Jesus was a man, or that he'd never been married or given birth to any children. For when my eyes beheld the cross of Christ, I saw my life. I saw another person who had suffered deeply for the sake of love. I'm not sure I could tell you God has given me another metaphor. But what God has given me, little by little, day by day, is the faith to believe in a God who fills the hungry with good things. When I was tied up in the blessed life with my littles, when I was blindly starving myself and calling it my dutiful service to God, when I was caught in the hopeless death cycle of trying to figure out where I needed to die next, there was God's unmistakable voice, falling like rain from a cloudless sky, declaring it is Christ's death that liberates me, not mine.
If it were just me reading and rating this book, I probably would've given it 4 or 5 stars. But this review is for the reader who may have already read or heard about this book and had legitimate questions about the theology contained inside of it. Particularly during these mothering years, I have often looked to books as friends. While I no longer find myself reading much in regards to household management or motherhood devotions, I still like hearing from my peers and hearing how they are doing and doing it. We're not going to be friends with every book, and that's okay. The title is what originally drew me in. The reason I liked this particular book is because it encourages the wholistic care and feeding of the human being, namely, the individual person who is reading its pages. It spoke to me in this present season I am in, not just in motherhood, but also in life (Though I should add, to be clear, that motherhood and life cannot be separated).
~Shannon K. Evans~
Several years ago I remember stepping outside and telling God I was in desperate need of another metaphor. I needed something else, some other word or concept besides "death" in order to help me make sense of my life. I truly expected God to answer that prayer. Some wild, obvious, incredibly mind-altering and life-changing word was going to appear out of nowhere that would make me wonder how I missed it, how I ever could've gone so long without seeing it. I was over the life of dying to self. Death never seemed to be able to live up to its promise. Death was supposed to lead to life and resurrection, but too much of my "new life" felt like sorrow and emptiness.
So Shannon K. Evans, a former evangelical missionary turned Catholic, was speaking my language from her very first chapter on forging identity. She says one of the greatest social myths of our day is that a woman can be totally fulfilled by motherhood. I'm not sure I would've described it as a myth of society, but rather more like a myth that collectively haunts our individual minds once we become mothers. The haunting didn't come from a belief that motherhood would fulfill us. He came like crumbs in the day, or in the cry of the night, when again we woke up and realized it didn't.
Contentment is a word I have often heard as a Christian woman. I honestly couldn't give you a quote or a source. The many books and blog posts are mostly a blur, but it seems like of the wide array of sins to choose from, discontent is particularly discouraged against. Shannon writes, "Mothers are fantastic at berating themselves for not being content. This discontent, we are certain, is indicative of spiritual immaturity, or ungratefulness, or cultivating a bad, worldly attitude." Perhaps a handful of times I have read something that was not condemning the notorious feminine "desire for more".
Shannon goes on, "Most mothers are not content; they are hungry--hungry for a deeper spiritual life, hungry for inner healing, hungry for intimate friendships, hungry for more of themselves. Yet we are immersed in a society that has always told us that the hunger of women is bad. Dangerous. Undesirable. We have been indoctrinated in every possible way to believe that our hunger will make us too big, too indelicate, too uncomfortable to be around...We long to follow that gnawing hunger, that instinctual knowing that tells us there is yet more transformation to lay hold of."
Though you are going to find remnants of Christianity in this book, I wouldn't say it was specifically meant to be Christian. The author acknowledges the many influences she's had from other spiritual traditions. These influences appear frequently throughout the book, including phrases like, "before patriarchy, before monotheism..." The author talked about Eve, the mother of the world's first unforgettable sin, and the way we as women have internalized her guilt. She mentioned reclaiming the snake as a sacred feminine symbol, which I thoroughly disagreed with. There was a line that really resonated when she quoted Helene Cixous, described by the author as a Jewish feminist who says, "We must learn to speak the language women speak when there is no one there to correct us."
I do tend to agree regarding learning from other faith traditions. I will admit that it did kind of make me sad when she said, "At the time I ingested my first Eucharist, the Blessed Virgin was a part of Catholicism I begrudgingly tolerated. Years later, she is what keeps me here." For the first time in my entire life, while reading this book, I actually felt sad about and wondered why women seem to be more left out of "His story". Why is it the men who get the overwhelming majority of the books of the Bible named after them? Why does there not exist a female deity? I understand the draw toward a divine feminine figure. While I have frequently heard both men and women bemoan the "feminization of the church" and the lack of involved men and fathers, I'm not sure I've ever heard anything from the more official church voices about the very real missing maternal wisdom and presence in our often isolated lives. I've spent years of my life gathering nuts and berries in silence. We want to be content, yes, but. There is something even more than comforting in having a real-life woman to converse with, in having anyone, who can in any way, relate to my life.
As women, Shannon writes, we "desperately need our lived experience reflected back to us in sacred ways." This, for me, is why I as a woman, found such a friend in Jesus in ways I never had before. It didn't matter to me that Jesus was a man, or that he'd never been married or given birth to any children. For when my eyes beheld the cross of Christ, I saw my life. I saw another person who had suffered deeply for the sake of love. I'm not sure I could tell you God has given me another metaphor. But what God has given me, little by little, day by day, is the faith to believe in a God who fills the hungry with good things. When I was tied up in the blessed life with my littles, when I was blindly starving myself and calling it my dutiful service to God, when I was caught in the hopeless death cycle of trying to figure out where I needed to die next, there was God's unmistakable voice, falling like rain from a cloudless sky, declaring it is Christ's death that liberates me, not mine.
If it were just me reading and rating this book, I probably would've given it 4 or 5 stars. But this review is for the reader who may have already read or heard about this book and had legitimate questions about the theology contained inside of it. Particularly during these mothering years, I have often looked to books as friends. While I no longer find myself reading much in regards to household management or motherhood devotions, I still like hearing from my peers and hearing how they are doing and doing it. We're not going to be friends with every book, and that's okay. The title is what originally drew me in. The reason I liked this particular book is because it encourages the wholistic care and feeding of the human being, namely, the individual person who is reading its pages. It spoke to me in this present season I am in, not just in motherhood, but also in life (Though I should add, to be clear, that motherhood and life cannot be separated).
September 14, 2021
I have been a fan of Shannon Evans since I first encountered her. A seeker who challenges herself and everyone who reads her to go deeper, she is not satisfied with the status quo, and she won't let us be, either. This makes her books a soul challenge in the best of ways. Because isn't soul challenge, after all, what a life in faith is all about?
Rewilding Motherhood is pointed toward motherhood, but it was not so much as mother, but as woman that I interacted with this book. I am a traditional kind of gal who has been dragged by God, through life experiences, into a less traditional view of many (though by no means all) things surrounding faith. In Evans work I find myself looking at the familiar, but also taken beyond my comfort zone.
What does it mean for women of faith, having grown up in a structure where faith is defined by the male, not the female, experience? What if those male-driven norms train us to damage ourselves by more and more self-emptying instead of recognizing that without good mental health, we can't really nurture those in our care? What does our compulsion to control tell us about our inner life? Why do we insist we ought to be seeking contentment? What if our lack of contentment is a holy clarion call?
Rewilding Motherhood asks hard questions--at times liberating, at times resonating so deep, it's like a gong went off in my soul, and at times well beyond what I'm comfortable contemplating. Not everything in this book landed on fertile ground. Some of it I am not ready for. Perhaps I never will be. But faith is not here to make us feel good. It's here to challenge us to grow, and this book does that.
Rewilding Motherhood is pointed toward motherhood, but it was not so much as mother, but as woman that I interacted with this book. I am a traditional kind of gal who has been dragged by God, through life experiences, into a less traditional view of many (though by no means all) things surrounding faith. In Evans work I find myself looking at the familiar, but also taken beyond my comfort zone.
What does it mean for women of faith, having grown up in a structure where faith is defined by the male, not the female, experience? What if those male-driven norms train us to damage ourselves by more and more self-emptying instead of recognizing that without good mental health, we can't really nurture those in our care? What does our compulsion to control tell us about our inner life? Why do we insist we ought to be seeking contentment? What if our lack of contentment is a holy clarion call?
Rewilding Motherhood asks hard questions--at times liberating, at times resonating so deep, it's like a gong went off in my soul, and at times well beyond what I'm comfortable contemplating. Not everything in this book landed on fertile ground. Some of it I am not ready for. Perhaps I never will be. But faith is not here to make us feel good. It's here to challenge us to grow, and this book does that.
May 22, 2025
This book is somewhere between a 2 and a 3 rating.
While there are many good tidbits in & of themselves, overall it comes across as rather disjointed & I frequently could not follow the thread of logic leading the reader from point to point. This book is more a collection of musings on varying topics. The title is maybe the best part, I think…it got me thinking the most out of everything. I thought this book would be addressing more generic spirituality & maternal intuition, but it turned out to be much more Christianity-coded than I anticipated—but that’s on me for not reading the book blurb, I suppose. It was neat to hear a bit of another’s spiritual/religious journeying.
The reason I overall rounded down to two stars is because each chapter/topic was barely a drop in the bucket of each theological thought. I very much had to pull from my own previous religious studies knowledge & personal study to understand what school of thought the author was pulling from & what point she was attempting to bring to light. I bet a few of the viewpoints would be quite surprising & off-putting to someone (aka average devotional Christian) who doesn’t have the background learning on these matters, & this book does not explain well enough how the author came to these claims. (And is not the scope of the book, either.) I can perceive the amount of study the author has done, though, & recognize her attempt to convey a summarized version of the expansion she has received from it. It’s just not for me as I already know pretty much all of what she was bringing to the table & didn’t have an analysis on these concepts that I haven’t already heard. This book could be a baby step in getting someone curious to learn more on these discussions, though. I’m always a fan of Julian of Norwich exposure—she’s a real treat to discover in the history of women in religion.
While there are many good tidbits in & of themselves, overall it comes across as rather disjointed & I frequently could not follow the thread of logic leading the reader from point to point. This book is more a collection of musings on varying topics. The title is maybe the best part, I think…it got me thinking the most out of everything. I thought this book would be addressing more generic spirituality & maternal intuition, but it turned out to be much more Christianity-coded than I anticipated—but that’s on me for not reading the book blurb, I suppose. It was neat to hear a bit of another’s spiritual/religious journeying.
The reason I overall rounded down to two stars is because each chapter/topic was barely a drop in the bucket of each theological thought. I very much had to pull from my own previous religious studies knowledge & personal study to understand what school of thought the author was pulling from & what point she was attempting to bring to light. I bet a few of the viewpoints would be quite surprising & off-putting to someone (aka average devotional Christian) who doesn’t have the background learning on these matters, & this book does not explain well enough how the author came to these claims. (And is not the scope of the book, either.) I can perceive the amount of study the author has done, though, & recognize her attempt to convey a summarized version of the expansion she has received from it. It’s just not for me as I already know pretty much all of what she was bringing to the table & didn’t have an analysis on these concepts that I haven’t already heard. This book could be a baby step in getting someone curious to learn more on these discussions, though. I’m always a fan of Julian of Norwich exposure—she’s a real treat to discover in the history of women in religion.
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