(A) Typical Woman – Book Review

Have you ever thought, “I’m not a typical woman?” I have. I remember many years ago, not “getting” what was so great about being a woman. Somehow my idea of womanhood was tied to doing things with my hands like baking and crafts. But I didn’t think I was good at those things. I was more drawn to “heady” things (nerdy things you might say) like theology and philosophy. I thought men’s conversations were “typically” more stimulating.

The Lord was very gracious to me and through a process that involved the gospel, faithful mentoring, and rich redemptive-historical theology, I embraced God’s design for womanhood. I didn’t embrace womanhood as a gospel, as the good news. But the more I fell in love with Christ and His gospel, I was glad the Lord had made me a woman. His purpose for womanhood was to tell the world something about Himself that men alone could’t do. I was a woman by Him and for Him.

Over the years, the Lord has continued to sharpen my theology on womanhood. More recently, Abigail Dodd’s book, (A)Typical Woman was helpful in that process.  I appreciate many things about it but what sets this book apart is Abigail’s emphasis on the fact that Christian women are women who are one with Christ. She fleshes out the significance of this reality and its implications for every woman. This is a message that the Church sorely needs. We need to know what it means and why it matters that we are women who have truly died and are entirely new in Christ Jesus. 

The book has three sections:

Women Through and Through – In Christ

Women in All We do – In Christ

Fearless and Free Women – In Christ

In these sections she talks about different aspects of womanhood as married, singles, moms, working and disciplers. She digs into what it means we are embodied women and wholly women. Those chapters were beautifully written and moved me deeply. She also explains what she means by (a)typical women… I won’t tell you what it is, though. I’ll let you find out for yourself. 🙂

You may have read many books on Christian womanhood but I think this book will still challenge you. It will spark rich conversation that our churches need. Chapters are relatively short and each chapter ends with discussion questions. Maybe you can grab a friend or two use and use those discussion questions to explore the topics found there.

While this book is a very comprehensive view on womanhood, it is not exhaustive. I wish Abigail had had space to develop some ideas more fully.  She doesn’t engage too much with possible positions or interpretations of passages that differ from her perspective. She is gracefully bold and in some ways counter cultural (maybe even within the church). I am thankful for her faith.

Friend, I think you will sense that these words were penned by a woman who delights deeply in Christ and it will make you long to know Him like she does. Her delight will overflow in making your own heart glad in Christ. It did for me. It led me to worship Him and to glory in who He is. It renewed my joy that I exist as a woman for Him. I praise you, infinite Christ, that I am in you and you in me. What a mystery…what a glorious hope!

There are so many quotes I wish I could share with you but I will leave you with this one:

“When we participate in Christ’s death, we die, every bit. It isn’t that the sinful part of us dies and the nonsinful part endures, so that on the other side we’re still us but with a makeover. There is no nonsinful part. And on the other side, having been raised with Christ, we aren’t still us. We are entirely new, entirely in Christ.”

Go get the book and read the whole thing! It will make you want to be an atypical woman for all the right reasons.