BiS Reads // Women Made New

Does anyone remember the books in the series Chicken Soup for the Soul? I’m probably dating myself here but I often binge read the Chicken Soup for the Soul books from my local library as an adolescent. I can’t help but think about the personal essays from that series when I read Crystalina Evert’s book, Women Made New!—and see that craft carried out through a Catholic lens.  

It’s not so much about the storytelling but the writers’ experiences and lives themselves that make this book a treasury of wisdom.

The chapters are set up in a very easy format, making it very manageable to read, unlike other books that make you feel like you have to crawl to the end of a lengthy chapter. There were moments when I couldn’t put the book down because I was so enthralled with one of the writer’s stories. Other chapters invited me to pause and put the book down so I could really process what I was reading. It’s not the type of book that you can read in one sitting (at least for me it wasn’t). It is meant to help you open your eyes for the first time or even third time to areas of your life that need freedom through the Divine Physician’s healing, forgiveness from others and yourself, and awakening to the person God created you to be. 

So much of our pilgrimage on this earth can feel like a backed-up gutter. Leaves piling up from old wounds, trauma, fear, doubt, and worry—but God in His divine providence never created us to live that way. Women Made New! allows the reader to begin working towards cleaning out that gutter little by little.

Through sixteen chapters of stories from various writers and EWTN personalities, the book covers a wide range of topics from sorrow, what happens when we fall prey to the noise of the world, the feminine genius, living enslaved by past wounds or trauma, to letting go of generational wounds from divorce, as well as many others. 

Each chapter begins and ends with quotes by Mother Angelica, whose voice I can hear saying them with the delightful wit and flavor that she was known to have.

{formbuilder:OTk3ODc=}

It was refreshing to read the stories of longtime EWTN personalities and get to read their work on a more personal level, rather than watching them behind the television screen interviewing others. 

I enjoyed that there wasn’t just one theme throughout the whole book but a slew of stories that we as women can relate to and bond over. Even if there was one chapter you couldn’t completely relate to, there was still something you could walk away with, or someone you know who had walked a similar path and can now understand a little better, or someone to whom you can offer compassion and support. 

Women Made New! is a book that should be shared among other women. Once you have read it, you can easily let someone else borrow it regardless of where they are on their faith journey. 

Even with all of its positive features, I would have liked the book to include more diversity. The Church is so wide and far-reaching; whenever there is an opportunity to include various voices, it adds to the symphony of the Church. The voices of minority women would have enhanced what was already a good book and improved it further. 

Overall, this is a great book to ask for as a gift, read with a prayer partner, or give to a friend who may not be practicing their faith right now or may be going through a trying time. Women Made New! meets women where they are and encourages the reader to step boldly into the light of Christ and use their own journey as a means of helping others.