The Mystics Would Like a Word

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Discover a rich legacy of audacious women who forged a spirituality that is more embracing, more surprising, and more empowering than we ever imagined.

Shannon K. Evans, author and spiritual retreat director, wants Christian women to know that they’re not alone—that the female mystics have left us a model of Christian spirituality that welcomes the whole reality of womanhood. Journeying with six female mystics—Teresa of Avila, Margery Kempe, Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, and Therese of Lisieux—Evans reveals that these women, like women today, desired a spirituality that was big enough to hold the female experiences of sexual intimacy and desire, the yearning for bodily autonomy, the challenges of fertility and motherhood, and life with male authority and sometimes violence. In each case, Evans presents a woman who has gone before, having fought for women’s experiences to be heard, understood, respected, and recognized as holy.

In The Mystics Would Like a Word readers will see that there is already a story of Christian faith and spirituality told by women, one that speaks directly to their own unique experiences, and that leads to wholeness, healing, and spiritual vitality.Shannon K. Evans is a Catholic contemplative who is on the spirituality and culture editor the National Catholic Reporter and is a valued collaborator with the Jesuit Conference of the U.S. and Canada in both writing and speaking capacities. She is a frequent contributor to Franciscan Media’s website, magazine, and products and leads retreats at various Franciscan spirituality centers around the Midwest, as well as an increasingly well-known name in both Catholic and Protestant spaces. Shannon is the author of Feminist Prayers for My Daughter; Rewilding Motherhood; Luminous, a guided journal; Embracing Weakness.US

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