Aimee Byrd’s Recovering is just one of many recently published books that rightly challenge biblical manhood and womanhood trends prominent in American evangelicalism. Beth Allison Barr’s The Making of Biblical Womanhood, Sheila Gregoire’s The Great Sex Rescue, and Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Jesus and John Wayne all examine this theme from different angles, reflecting the academic strengths of their respective authors.

Consider the story of the nineteenth century woman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was diagnosed with “neurasthenia” and prescribed a life away from any “mental, social, or physical activity” (14). In defiance of her prescription, Gilman wrote a diary now known as the novella, The Yellow Wallpaper, where she becomes fixated on the idea that there’s a woman trapped behind the yellow wallpaper of her room who needed to be set free.

Byrd argues that our churches are plastered with yellow wallpaper that smother and deform the spirituality of women (and men) in our churches. Using the narrative of Gilman, Byrd explores topics like women’s Bibles and how biblical manhood and womanhood with a focus on the gender roles miss the point.

We need to stop using the word role in reference to permanent fixed identity. Roles can change, especially in different cultures. My sexuality is not a role I play. I don’t need to act like a woman; I actually am a woman. Furthermore, role playing is neither our identity nor our eternal aim. (120)

Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is an easy book to read, and the chapters conclude with discussion questions. I would highly recommend this book as a small group resource for churches seeking to leave the tragic tropes of manly men and feminine women behind.

Byrd, Aimee. Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose. Zondervan Reflective, 2020.