Heaven's Face, Thinly Veiled: A Book of Spiritual Writing by Women

by Sarah Anderson

Book Overview

Women--religious and secular, medieval and modern--have always demonstrated their own unique approach to matters of the spirit. Limited in their public roles throughout much of history, women have been compelled to turn inward, developing rich interior lives in uniquely feminine ways.

This anthology brings together women's writing from classic religious literature--Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, and Hindu--as well as many passages of...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570623635
• ISBN13: 9781570623639
• Release Date: March 1998
• Publisher: Shambhala
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 2.99 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

"I'll sail the hidden seas within."

The introduction quotes Margaret Prescott Montague. "If the world be shut without, I'll sail the hidden seas within." Editor Sarah Anderson has collected a wide range of women's spiritual writing which have a satisfying taste of truth. Perhaps the amazing thing is that there is such a variety of writings of women's thoughts preserved for us. Louisa May Alcott's words are from a letter to a friend . She says, in part, "Women need a religion of their own, for they are called upon to lead a quiet self sacrificing life with peculiar trials, needs & joys, & it seems to me that a very simple one is fitted to us whose hearts are usually more alive than heads, & whose hands are tied in many ways." Like so many of the women quoted in this volume, she marched to her own drummer, and did not permit the patriarchal church to define her beliefs. Denise Levertov's poem remarking that each summer is the last summer, each day the last day, and each minute the last minute epitomizes the attitudes of awareness in these pieces. While shifting my attention to ponder what caught the authors' notice, my spiritual awareness has been enriched.

beautiful writing, deep thoughts

This is an anthology, and I just dip into it wherever and read - some of the greatest women writers of all times and places are represented here, often by the concentrated kernel of their artistic expression on spiritual topics. It never fails to inspire me, uplift me or simply melt me in sheer beauty. Not to mention gaining insights and increased awareness. This book is a keeper.