These Women You Gave Me

Poems by Antoinette Brim. Brim's poems sing of the ability women have always had to love and thrive in spite of the most oppressive odds, or as Brim herself would say, "His heavy breath filled her ears. She awakened beneath." This is really gorgeous work. -Jericho Brown

Hailed as "the most radical repackaging of the Bible since Gutenberg", these Pocket Canons give an up-close look at each book of the Bible.

In What My Mother Gave Me, women look at the relationships between mothers and daughters through a new lens: a daughter’s story of a gift from her mother that has touched her to the bone and served as a model, a metaphor, or a touchstone in her own life. The contributors of these thirty-one original pieces include Pulitzer Prize winners, perennial bestselling novelists, and celebrated broadcast journalists. Whether a gift was meant to keep a daughter warm, put a roof over her head, instruct her in the ways of womanhood, encourage her talents, or just remind her of a mother’s love, each story gets to the heart of a relationship. Rita Dove remembers the box of nail polish that inspired her to paint her nails in the wild stripes and polka dots she wears to this day. Lisa See writes about the gift of writing from her mother, Carolyn See. Cecilia Muñoz remembers both the wok her mother gave her and a lifetime of home-cooked family meals. Judith Hillman Paterson revisits the year of sobriety her mother bequeathed to her when Paterson was nine, the year before her mother died of alcoholism. Abigail Pogrebin writes about her middle-aged bat mitzvah, for which her mother provided flowers after a lifetime of guilt for skipping her daughter’s religious education. Margo Jefferson writes about her mother’s gold dress from the posh department store where they could finally shop as black women. Collectively, the pieces have a force that feels as elemental as the tides: outpourings of lightness and darkness; joy and grief; mother love and daughter love; mother love and daughter rage. In these stirring words we find that every gift, ?no matter how modest, tells the story of a powerful bond. As Elizabeth Benedict points out in her introduction, “whether we are mothers, daughters, aunts, sisters, or cherished friends, we may not know for quite some time which presents will matter the most."

WOE TO THE WOMEN takes up where Elizabeth Cady Stanton's THE WOMAN'S BIBLE left off.In these critical days when fundamentalists are trying to unite church and state, it behooves thoughtful women and men to "know thine enemy." Lucidly argued, concise and thorough, WOE TO THE WOMEN documents the bible's punitive, antediluvian rules and attitudes toward women.WOE TO THE WOMEN exposes the bible's harmful stereotypes about women as sin-inciting temptresses and their treatment as male property. This exposé examines biblical teachings about women's "nature," prostitution, sexual assault and incest, so-called uncleanliness, marriage, motherhood, divorce and adultery, grooming, abortion, and homosexuality, as well as "macho" standards for men.Delightfully illustrated by Alma Cuebas, it contains a valuable compendium of more than 200 sexist bible passages. WOE TO THE WOMEN is an essential guide for the reader who is too busy (or too non-masochistic) to study the bible.WOE TO THE WOMEN is a timely warning that the bible is a handbook for the subjugation of women, and that the only true barrier standing between it and women is a secular government.

Old Testament stories center around men. Leaders, prophets, kings, and priests are all male. But hidden in the background are strong-willed, daring females. Jane Yolen and Barbara Diamond Goldin's masterful retellings pairs eloquent profiles with stunning art, answering one question: What makes these women heroes? From first woman, Eve, to Deborah the judge, to Queen Esther, savior of her people, females in the Hebrew bible are resourceful and courageous. Each chapter is devoted to a single story with text complemented by sidebars, known in Jewish tradition as "midrashim," that pose questions, provide more information, and include nondenominational interpretations. "A much-needed, thoughtful updating of Bible stories about women" — Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW) "A solid source of study and reflection for libraries with religious patrons" — School Library Journal "Each chapter features a lovely full-page piece of artwork" — Booklist

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.

Every woman needs a little jump start in life. Donna Partow knows how to make it happen. In Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be, author Donna Partow shows women how to reenergize their lives in 90 days. She covers everything from faith and family to fitness and fashion (with lots more) in this comprehensive plan for greater vitality in life and intimacy with God. This in-depth study of Proverbs 31:10-31 will make women feel in control and on top of things as they study and even memorize that famous passage about the ideal woman of God. This positive, life-affirming book includes a leader's guide, making it perfect for small group use.

A foundling of mysterious parentage brought up by Mr. Allworthy on his country estate, Tom Jones is deeply in love with the seemingly unattainable Sophia Western, the beautiful daughter of the neighboring squire -- though he sometimes succumbs to the charms of the local girls. When Tom is banished to make his own fortune and Sophia follows him to London to escape an arranged marriage, the adventure begins. A vivid Hogarthian panorama of eighteenth-century life, spiced with danger and intrigue, bawdy exuberance and good-natured authorial interjections, "Tom Jones" is one of the greatest and most ambitious comic novels in English literature.