Seven Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness

I heartily recommend this book to anyone. The stories are so powerful that I find words insufficient. It is a privilege to have learned more about these amazing ladies.

Learned about a lot, I knew little about and what their faith had done. Their faith affected many others years later!

This book is very inspiring. An in depth look at some of the real heroines of history who actually did good things and improved the lives of the people around them. Not the fake "heroes" of today who are just a bunch of ingrates and actually do damage to society.

I wanted to be inspired in my walk as a woman, and I was not disappointed. Though the descriptions break the ceiling on my vocabulary on occasion, he truly infuses life into the stories of these women. In a way I feel like I've spent a little time with each of them. Though the stories are short and I could spend more time reading about each of them, none of the biographies were hollow or left me in question of who these women were and how they lived and loved those around them. The best thing is how Eric is able to express their humanity. He shows us that, though they CAN be your heros (heroines), they're not super heroes by any means. Each has flaws and weaknesses, stumbling here and there, proving that each one of us can be used by God to make a difference if we are brave and choose to chase after His heart for others.

These short stories are beautifully written, impactful and thought provoking! Eric can really tell a story! I recommend this book highly

7 great biographies about 7 incredible women.

After reading the Bonhoeffer biography and hearing Metaxas speak live, I have come to appreciate & admire his unique blend of humor, intellectual rigor, and faith. I expect to come away challenged by his works and inspired by his ability to engage the audience with powerful and relevant truths. I just finished Seven Women and left feeling disappointed. As other reviewers have noted, I left unsure what truths or message he wanted to convey. I left confused over some of his comments about gender and unsure what he sees as the secret of their greatness (or ours). Perhaps some of that stems from his vantage point as a male author writing on the secret of greatness in women. I'm willing to give him grace in that. I did find myself wishing he had labeled each sketch with a theme, of what he thought that woman portrayed and why it was important or how it might speak to women (and men) today.As for the profiled women, I learned some fascinating portraits of some fascinating women, several that were completely new to me. Metaxas introduces us to their story through brief biographical & historical sketches. He sheds light on their stories and the times in which they lived. In doing so, he implicitly debunks stereotypes of one formula for womanhood and shows women who shaped history and made significant contributions in a variety of contexts. While their stories are interesting and stand alone as mini-bios, I felt less engaged as a reader and left to wonder myself why their story is significant to him and how or why he thinks it might speak to us today. (And I think there are many ways these stories can & should speak to us.) I have come to appreciate his insights as an author and wished I left with more of them in regards to this book and these women. As a single woman, I strongly appreciate, though, the pictures of great women who are single & faithful, those who made contributions beyond motherhood & marriage as well as those who were faithful through hard marriages, heartbreak, and abandonment.It's not my favorite Metaxas book, but I'm still a Metaxas fan. I'll look forward to engaging the next read.(I did not receive the book free and am writing the review just to share my thoughts.)

Be Sure To Read the "Introduction"-- this is the book you give to your daughter or a good friend to read. Eric Metaxas has chosen his subjects well and his research is impeccable. Whether you like every woman he wrote about, after reading this book you will at the very least respect their life journey and the way they devoted their life to living out their beliefs. It's caused me to evaluate whether I have the chutzpah to live my life with as much passion in my relationship with God and with the depth of commitment and love for Him the way they did. I bought "Seven Men" for my husband, maybe it will affect him the way this book did me. I'm not the same woman I was when I first picked up this book.

a great present

You know these 7 stories already, right? That's what I thought. Eric Metaxas includes all the best parts in a faster, page-turner telling, PLUS gritty best parts I never knew, like the messy marriage that makes Susanna Wesley so relatable. And Joan of Arc . . . I have no words for Joan. Her words are better anyways. Listen to how she talks to the military men who doubt her, "In God's name! You thought that you could fool me, and instead you fooled yourself; I bring you better help than ever came to you from any soldier to any city: It is the help of the King of Heaven." This book, and these women, changed me.

I like Eric Metaxas writing style - he is readable,terse,covers a lot of ground and is able to keep each biography moving along. He has filled some huge gaps in my awareness of some of these women and in my understanding of the ones I did know of. At the same time both an enjoyable and a challenging read.

Great book! Extremely inspiring!

Given as a gift to my son's girlfriend. A solid book with some great role models in this era of moral relativism and Gender issues.