One thing that significantly impacted my teen years is that my mom and I read books together. Lots of books.
We met weekly almost every Monday of my teens and talked about a book.
A question I get frequently is, "What books did you read?" And, related to that, "What books do you recommend?"
My mom and I read different kinds of books — everything from biographies to classic novels to theology books. But the subject we read about the most was biblical womanhood. And this is usually what people are looking for recommendations on.
So when it comes to books on biblical womanhood, here are 7 my mom and I benefited from.
A Young Woman's Walk with God: Growing More Like Jesus by Elizabeth George — This was the first book on biblical womanhood we read together. I was 12. It's not especially heavy or deep, but it's a good start, especially for pre-teens.
Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre — This is one of my favorites because it's actually designed for moms and daughters to read together — plus, it's written by a mother and daughter duo! This led to some profound conversations and made me more comfortable to talk to my mom about a lot of things.
Lies Young Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh — This is a book I think every teen girl should read (it covers lies about your body, boys, God, friends, and more), and it would definitely help to read it with mom.
Damsels in Distress: Biblical Solutions for Problems Women Face by Martha Peace — My mom and I read this slim book shortly before we saw Martha Peace speak live. This is an excellent overview of biblical womanhood from the perspective of a counselor and covers some of the more "unpopular" areas of the subject — such as manipulation and vanity.
Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary Kassian — I was a bit younger when I read this one, so we skipped the chapter on sex (my mom read it and decided it wasn't helpful/necessary for me as a young teen; older teens will probably want to read it, though). This book will start some good discussions on cultural engagement and estrangement.
A Woman's Wisdom: How the Book of Proverbs Speaks to Everything by Lydia Brownback — Both my mom and I were a smidgen skeptical to read this book — not because we thought there'd be errors in it, but because we (pridefully) thought it might feel like a big review of stuff we already knew. Instead, Lydia knocked our socks off. Sure, there was a lot of familiar material, but there were also fresh applications and insightful truths. This one's a treasure.
The True Woman: The Beauty and Strength of a Godly Woman by Susan Hunt — This is my favorite book on biblical womanhood. Seriously. Susan Hunt is brilliant and she hates fluff and feel-goodisms. She writes in a fresh way, not just regurgitating tropes and cliches about womanhood. Females, you should read it.
What are your favorite books on biblical womanhood?