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Growing Up Without the Goddess: A Journey through Sexual Abuse to the Sacred Embrace of Mary Magdalene Aug 20, 2009
Knowing rural southern culture personally provided an entree for me, as a man, to identify with Sandra Pope in this wonderful/horrible tale of her childhood. Her ability to bring a male reader deeper into the intimate, interior world of a woman is remarkable. As I was reading, I felt what it was like to be the young Sandra, whose deeply connected yet sexually abusive relationship to her brother provided the only way to survive the hellish complexities of her family life. Sandra opens a door to increased understanding of and intimacy with the complementary sex, which makes up over half of the population, and which, in my opinion, is the foundations of society.
Ultimately, Sandra sets aside the proverbial "fig leaf" that we all wear and reveals herself as she truly is. Can we all remove the "fig leaf" and be who we truly are? For me, this is the question that Sandra's work brings forth.
Being a man who was brought up by the Goddess, not in terms of family and culture, but through vision and dreams beginning at the age of five, I also found empathic understanding of the secrecy that abounds in Sandra's life. I kept my relationship to the Goddess secret while I was growing up, for I knew that to speak of Her would result in humiliation through shaming laughter. This is a pain I still know, for I continue to find it hard to open conversation about my Sophia without expecting responses ranging from raging anger to raging laughter. Either way, in my inner, spiritual world, which is the world of the Divine Feminine, I find empathic understanding with Sandra's world...for in a sense, we have both been raped spiritually. This loving empathy is the gift that Sandra's book brings to me. I thank her for it.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Journey to a Safe and Surprising Place Jun 23, 2009
Journey to a Safe and Surprising Place, June 22, 2009
By Ellie Norton (Santa Barbara, Ca.) - See all my reviews
Several lengthy, valuable and scholarly reviews have been written of this book, rich in the estoterica and belief systems of the Sacred Feminine/ Sacred Union movement surrounding the marriage and child of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Undeniably, the divinity of these figures is referentially Christian. But the expanded sense that, within each of us, is a long-latent and religio-secularly suppressed and devalued Goddess, has profound appeal to many women of many religions or of no formal religion at all. This is the innate divinity, the sacredness, the Goddess within each of us which, if called forth and acknowledged, can form a healing and uniting bridge between our material and spiritual self. It rejects the Cartesian dualism of mind and body; body and spirit. And it certainly rejects the notion that the spirit is sacred and the body profane.
I presume to comment on this personal and stunning autobiography, because the recovery process of a severely abused, abandoned, psychologically fragile and isolated woman, who was always and only in "Survival Mode", caused me for the first time to grasp that divinity needn't be "out there" and, thus, beyond both my conceptual template and my reach. And that, Christian iconography aside, perhaps we each embrace a divinity as unique as our fingerprints.
This book belongs to everyone. To the wounded parent who wounds her children. To the abandoned child of a mother so consumed by her harsh and barren personal environment that she has lost the instinct or sheer capacity to nurture. To the abusing male who would cease the harm and defilement were he to truly grasp that the victims of his abuse are sacred and magical beings.
Last among the surprises, this was a funny, rascally and utterly wonderful child who will make you laugh out loud and fall in love with her. I guarantee it!
Thank you, Sandra, for sharing.
A fine and highly recommended read May 08, 2009
The mind does not like terrible things, so it will often repress them. "Growing Up Without the Goddess: A Journey Through Sexual Abuse to the Sacred Embrace of Mary Magdalene" is the psychological coping of author Sandra Pope. When her mind continues to give her visions of a haunting past, she prays to the figure of Mary Magdalene, whom she says gives her the power to finally name the one responsible. A dive into the world of faith and repressed memories, "Growing Up Without the Goddess" is a fine and highly recommended read.
Opportunity to unfold the perfect you! Apr 18, 2009
I highly recommend this book to anyone who believes life can be great after a not so perfect childhood.
A must read for anyone who loves a sweet story.
Sandra has told her storey of childhood disappointments and the power as adults to make our present day a happy existence.
She has truly unfolded her trinity and graciously passes it on to you.
You have the opportunity to unfold the perfect you and pass it on to others.
Powerful and healing Apr 10, 2009
WOW! Sandra Pope has magnificent courage! Her skills as a writer are phenomenal, but the story itself is absolutely gripping. I literally could not put the book down. I HAD to devour it. It demanded to be read.
Growing up Without the Goddess is one of the most powerful books I have ever read on self discovery, personal growth and healing. It is a true testament to the power and resilience of the human spirit and the profound spiritual connection to the sacred feminine. The epic journey that Sandra Pope describes in her book is tragic, poetic and empowering. Her ability to dissect the circumstances of her life provides the reader a true glimpse of their own sacred feminine.
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