This book is a collection of essays born out of a shared blog by women trained in the academic disciplines of theology who wrote from a Christian ecumenical and often feminist perspective. The Preface explains that the authors “do public theology as a form of protest – a means of raising our voices and drawing attention to important issues facing women and the church today.” While the essays both address the issue of theological method and aim to legitimize anger at social injustices, (perhaps chief among which is “toxic masculinity,”) they also hope to make space for other marginalized or “nontraditional” approaches to (and voices in) theology.

Throughout the many essays in this book, a common motif emerges. Pleas are made to all of us to enter into dialog with collaborative and feminist theology. Indeed, as one author states, “feminist theology might serve as a resource for navigating, subverting and thriving in and amid spaces where sexism persists.” The book explains the isolation women face in theology and the genuine feelings they experience of anger, frustration, and minimization. In addition, this book attends to issues related to colonization, racism, eating disorders, and discrimination based on sexual preference.

In many ways I feel somewhat sheepish about reviewing this book. As an ordained white male cleric, I fear I am part of the “stained glass ceiling” through which these women in public theology have broken, and for whom this book is dedicated. For an example, Dr. Charlotte Allen recently wrote an article in Commonweal Magazine in which she quotes novelist Alice McDermott who said, “You don’t have to be a Catholic, just a woman with exposure to men at their irritating worst as well as their noble best, for those anecdotes [of “ritual misogyny”] of pompous mansplaining and “little lady” condescension to ring a bell.” It is my goal to be at my noble best and not ring any bells!

Still, I feel as though any perspective I may be able to offer on this book is woefully inadequate. Perhaps the best I can offer is a willing ear to listen…really listen…to the cries of those oppressed women who have poured their hearts and souls into this work. Further, this book demands that I understand how I might be complicit in the very actions that support the structures against which these women rail. Finally, as one author asserts, “Men [must commit] to an essential next step: taking responsibility for the present.” To that I would add that we men must learn to collaborate with women to reshape the future.

To that end, I had an opportunity to speak with one of the editors, Dr. Elissa Cutter, who said that “One of the goals of this book is for the reader to understand other people’s experiences.” For me, anyway, this goal has been accomplished. I have learned much about other people’s experiences, but perhaps more importantly, I have learned much about myself. This is an essential book which should be read by anyone of faith who seeks to understand the problems facing the church today, over which we tend to gloss.