Becoming Flame cover

Isabel Anders has written two books in her Uncommon Mother-Daughter Wisdom series. Becoming Flame (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2010) and Spinning Straw, Weaving Gold:  A Tapestry of Mother-Daughter Wisdom (John Hunt Publishing, Ltd., 2012) are available in print, and the latter is also available in eBook format.

In a day when eye contact is interrupted by the incessant call for focus on tiny screens bearing bits of information, we desperately need wisdom. Isabel Anders has chosen the model of ancient wisdom literature, borrowing style and gleaning substance from mystics and desert mothers, to bring forward the kind of mother-daughter dialogues that require eye contact and keep mere information in its place.

Her books are not page turners. They are page breathers, allowing us to linger with uncommon thoughts. In Becoming Flame, the Mother says “fire is more than function, just as your life is more than tasks.” This is the kind of insight that enriches the lives of mothers and daughters in today’s task-driven world. Spinning Straw, Weaving Gold: A Tapestry of Mother-Daughter Wisdom is a sequel to Becoming Flame and also features dialogues between a mother and her daughter.

Isabel says, “I emphasize in these writings an exercising of our gift of inner perception or intuition in concert with God’s guidance, wise counsel, and the assent of our own heart. Mother-daughter dialogues are also an encouragement to readers to trust this process.”

Isabel’s explorations of women and the wisdom tradition come full circle in Miss Marple: Christian Sleuth as she explores the mature, grounded spirituality embodied in this beloved pop icon. 

7 responses »

  1. Thank you, Shirley. Here is the whole quote from Jerrie Lewallen:
    In a day when eye contact is interrupted by the incessant call for focus on tiny screens bearing bits of information, we desperately need wisdom. Isabel Anders has chosen the model of ancient wisdom literature, borrowing style and gleaning substance from mystics and desert mothers, to bring forward the kind of mother-daughter dialogues that require eye contact and keep mere information in its place. The book is not a page turner. It is a page breather. It allows lingering with uncommon thoughts. That “fire is more than function, just as your life is more than tasks” (p. 15) is the kind of insight that can enrich the lives of mothers and daughters in today’s task-driven world. Consumed mindfully in small bites at shared meals, this slender volume can invite today’s mothers and daughters into discussions about time, tomorrow, fig trees, labyrinths and deepest convictions. Those dialogues yet to come may be the book’s greatest gift.

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