How It Happened
Years ago, I gave a series of programs for a churchwomen's group. Friends said, as friends do, "You should write a book." Surprising me, I actually did it, and Dear Daughter, a book written from the perspective of women of the Bible writing letters to women of today, was published in 1981. It has been out of print for many years.
This website came into being because I recently received a request for a copy of that book. A computer-expert friend, Wayne Jacobs, suggested I put the book on the internet so it would be available in that way. The process of creating a website has not only made me feel up-to-date, it has led me to mull over what else a churchwoman in her eighties might have to say.
Dear Daughter
Letters from Eve and Other Women of the Bible
by Colleen Ivey Hartsoe
Bible students are thrilled when archaeologists make new discoveries, especially of written records such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. There is one group of people whose personal records will never be found because they were never written - the women of the Bible.
My goal in writing this book was to take a new look at the women in the Bible.
- To see what was literally there in the pages.
- To see how the prejudice of men writers entered into the original account. Yet, intriguing details were preserved.
- To suggest that current church practices may be based on this same sort of prejudice.
I have tried to imagine what this thinking might have been. These are the letters the women themselves might have written, letters which speak to all women even today.
Excerpt from Eve's Letter
“You have heard your father tell of the beautiful home in Eden he and I shared many years ago. I remember clearly the tree whose fruit Adam told me God did not want us to eat."Why?" I asked."It is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil," he told me, "and if we eat of it we will die." "But Adam," I puzzled, "surely to be human as God means us to be, we must learn to know good from evil. We cannot avoid eating this fruit even if it does mean death, What can our lives mean if we have no standards to live by?"
Book Reviews for Dear Daughter
From New Zealand Tablet: ". . . a curiously compelling book, deserving to be read by anyone who suspects Scripture might have been different if women had done the writing . . .a thoroughly interesting and provocative book."
From Cathedral Age: "Ms. Hartsoe's book leaves one feeling great sorrow for the women she brings to life. From Eve through Priscilla one is overwhelmed with feelings of pity, of anger, of sadness."
From Christian Advocate: "I didn't think a book of imaginary letters written by women of the Bible would have much appeal. Was I surprised. What a gift of imagination Mrs. Hartsoe has! She knows the Bible stories and writes her letters in such a way to make the reader question whether or not she is right. It is a keen way to stimulate interest in checking out what we remember about the stories and a reminder of how many details we have missed."
Dear Daughter is available as a free download. Please click here to download Dear Daughter.
More Than Shepherds
Shepherds heard the angels sing,
Saw the splendor of the Light,
Even went to Bethlehem
To adore the Babe that night.Through the years they told their news,
And so greatly grew their pride
They believed that revelation
Came only with a shepherd guide.While they dwelt in memory,
Jesus grew to be a man.
Twelve Apostles picked he then
But not one shepherd in the band.So let us love the Truth we know
But never cease to learn
For God continues to reveal
To those with hearts that yearn.Colleen Hartsoe