7 Women
And the Secret of Their Greatness
By Eric Metaxas
Find it on:
Amazon
Goodreads
Third person – narrative
Non-fiction
256 pages
About the Book
Backcover Blurb
In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to the enormously successful Seven Men, New York Times best-selling author Eric Metaxas gives us seven captivating portraits of some of history’s greatest women, each of whom changed the course of history by following God’s call upon their lives-as women.
Each of the world-changing figures who stride across these pages-Joan of Arc, Susanna Wesley, Hannah More, Maria Skobtsova, Corrie ten Boom, Mother Teresa, and Rosa Parks-is an exemplary model of true womanhood. Teenaged Joan of Arc followed God’s call and liberated her country, dying a heroic martyr’s death. Susanna Wesley had nineteen children and gave the world its most significant evangelist and its greatest hymn-writer, her sons John and Charles. Corrie ten Boom, arrested for hiding Dutch Jews from the Nazis, survived the horrors of a concentration camp to astonish the world by forgiving her tormentors. And Rosa Parks’ deep sense of justice and unshakeable dignity and faith helped launch the twentieth-century’s greatest social movement.
Writing in his trademark conversational and engaging style, Eric Metaxas reveals how the other extraordinary women in this book achieved their greatness, inspiring readers to lives shaped by the truth of the gospel.
Why I Choose the Book
I really enjoy reading about people who have lived an extraordinary lives so I can learn from them and grow in my own journey. Plus, as soon as I saw the names of the women the book was about I was intrigued; for one because I recognized most of the names, but more than that because I didn’t recognize two of the names and I wondered what I’d been missing out on.
What I Thought about the Book
I enjoyed it. The book was written in what I would consider an overview style. With seven women’s lives crammed into 256 pages we get about 36 pages per person which really isn’t a lot when we’re talking about a whole life.
Joan of Arc’s story intrigued me years ago but I haven’t read much about her life so that portion of the book was one of my favorites. I was quite familiar with Susanna Wesley, Corrie ten Boom and Rosa Parks’ stories and didn’t learn anything new although I was once again amazed and challenged at their lives. I have read one book about Mother Teresa, but that was a long time ago and I learned a lot about her from this book. I was especially thrilled to hear about Mother Teresa’s stand against abortion and she tried to stop it. Mother Teresa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and included this in her acceptance speech:
 |
|
This is a screenshot from 7 Women And the Secret of Their Greatness By Eric Metaxas
|
Hannah More and Maria Skobtsova were new names and I’m glad to have been introduced to their stories. I’ve already downloaded several of Hannah More’s books and look forward to reading them.
This book was easy to read for the most part; the author used a more extensive vocabulary than I was used to (which is a good thing!) and I paused my reading many times to look up a new word. I enjoyed the style and set up of this book and look forward to studying more about these women.
Conclusion
I obviously don’t agree with everything these ladies supported or believed, but I do see many aspects of their lives that I could grow in and I’m thankful for their examples and sacrifices. These lives were lived out in a way that is anything but average or ordinary and they helped to change the world.
Rating
I’m giving Seven Women and the Secret of Their Greatness four stars and I recommend it to people 15 and older.
* * *
I received this book from Booklook in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Noveltea 