*takes a big gulp*

okay, here, read the first two chapters

Alright good and faithful readers, the hour is nigh.

We are exactly one month from the release date for The Mystics Would Like a Word, which means I get to start giving you little treats. Sneak peeks. Juicy bite-sized tidbits to whet your appetite for that which is to come.

Below, you’ll find the opening paragraphs of this book that is so dear to my heart. If you want more after that, preorder-ers have access to the full introduction and the first two chapters. And, I’ll go ahead and tell ya: those are both on Teresa of Avila, who is spicy, sexy, saucy, and just overall so much fun to know. You’re gonna love her.

Now without further ado, THE INTRO TO THE BOOK. (dum dum dummmmmmm!)

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This book is a sheer accident—that is, if you believe in such things, which I’m not sure I do. History has never been my strong suit and, as far as my faith goes, medieval saints never carried much weight with me. I used to prefer my spiritual heroes more modern, more relatable. Give me the Dorothy Days, the Óscar Romeros, the Thomas Mertons. Give me the writings that don’t put me straight to sleep.

When I first became Catholic a decade ago, I was particularly frustrated by the female saints who were offered to me as role models. These women were always presented as docile and meek, women who could teach me about speaking in humility but not about speaking truth to power. There were exceptions, of course: I knew Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Ávila had spicy reputations, but no one really talked about why. Joan of Arc stood out as shockingly different, but the pacifist in me struggled with complicated feelings about her violent role in history. Mostly, I was content to let the study of saints be other people’s thing and not my own.

But fate took a turn when a copy of Mirabai Starr’s Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics landed on my doorstep. At the time, I was freshly waking to a desire for a representation of the Divine feminine in my spiritual experience, so the premise of the book alone was enough to earn a click from my itchy online-ordering finger. Through Starr’s work I was introduced to women mystics from many different religious traditions and spiritualities. At the time I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to remain Christian, so I appreciated the wide scope. And yet, a bit to my surprise, the Christian mystics she pointed to were my favorites. The women I assumed I knew best surprised me the most. I found that when their thoughts were translated for me by a female (and an ethnically Jewish one, free from obligatory deference to Christian institutions and authorities, at that), these women became real, fascinating, layered, and, well, believable. It made me realize that the traditional presentation of the female saints and mystics had been funneled through and crafted for the male gaze. What’s more, I realized that in my snobbery of assuming they had nothing to teach me, I was complicit in our collective reduction of who these women were and what they had to say.

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Oh you want more? Silly billy, you gotta preorder for that privilege. Here’s the link, go do to the deed and come back:

Ya back? Or are you an absolute rockstar and already preordered? Then move on down to the next step, and nab your free sneak preview here:

OK… ahhhh… tell me what you think in the comments after you read. Me and my sweaty pits are waiting.

So much love,

Shannon