In Sophia & Daughters, Rosalie Sugrue offers reflections on 29 wise women from the Bible, some expressed in dialogue form. Some of the women such as Eve, Sarah, Esther, Ruth, Martha and Lydia are reasonably well known. Others such as Mahlah, Achsah, the wife of Manoah, Joanna and the wife of Cleopas are largely buried in the biblical text.
Some are not even named but, as Rosalie comments, nameless women have stories too. Working often with sparse facts, Rosalie has used her imagination to bring these characters alive. Across the distance of time and culture she gives women a voice to speak to us and address real concerns in the life of our day.
Underlying Rosalie’s work is a profound theological conviction that life and faith need to be freed from images and values defined by men and a male God. Throughout the book she makes a number of insightful and incisive comments. The entire book is a challenge to think.
Sophia & Daughters is a gift from Rosalie’s own creative thought and compassionate insight. It holds potential for the spiritual enrichment of individual readers and congregations gathered for worship.
John Meredith
