Botox. Plastic surgery. The Wonder Bra. Women sometimes go to desperate lengths to distort, mold, and fashion their bodies into that of the "ideal" woman. They live with the reality of the body, from its reproductive implications to pressures from the media to look a certain way. They are intimately connected to their bodies, despite the historical paradigm of a disconnected body and soul. Lilian Barger notes that the splitting of soul vs. body is "part of our spiritual problem."

Eve's Revenge is written not to help women overcome their perceived shortcomings, but to provide an increased understanding of how woman's relationship with the body and its social meaning impacts spirituality. Barger investigates the tension women experience between their bodies and their desire for a spiritual life. She responds with the possibility of viewing women as something other than perennially split between body and soul. This paradigm, offered through the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth, provides insight into how women ought to live in the world and very much in their own skin. Women struggling with a body/soul tension and those interested in the social and spiritual meaning of the female body will find this book revealing and liberating.

Botox. Plastic surgery. Make-up. Women sometimes go to desperate lengths to distort, mold, and fashion their bodies into that of the "ideal" woman. They live with the reality of the body, from its reproductive implications to the pressures from the media to look a certain way. They are intimately connected to their bodies, but often find it difficult to link their experience of the female body with their desire for Christian spirituality.

Lillian Barger presents Eve's Revenge to help women see how their understanding of their bodies impacts spirituality. Not a self-help book, it describes the tension women experience between their bodies and their desire for a spiritual life. Barger suggests the possibility of viewing women as unified, not split, between body and soul. This model, offered through the life and work of Jesus Christ, provides insight into how Christian women ought to live in the world and in their own skin.

Christian women struggling with a body/soul tension and those interested in the social and spiritual meaning of the female body will find this engaging book enlightening and helpful.

LILIAN CALLES BARGER is president of The Damaris Project (www.damarisproject.org), an organization encouraging women to explore the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in light of women's history and social experience.

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Reviewed by James Wilcox, February 03, 2006

Too often women are burdened with society’s unrealistic expectation of attaining the perfect body. Author Lilian Calles Barger not only identifies with this unrealistic struggle, but also demonstrates this expectation goes beyond a poor self-image and instead is a deeper issue of broken spirituality. In Eve’s Revenge Barger helps women develop a deeper understanding of the body, its social implications, and how this knowledge affects the practice of their faith. Barger argues that it is spiritually unhealthy to view body and soul as separate entities, and should thus be viewed in the fullness of a completed whole. Take an insightful look at Barger's wisdom on the interconnectedness of redemption, the human body and the soul.

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