Product Description

Bestselling author John Eldredge and his wife and co-author, Stasi, unveil the beauty and mystery of the feminine soul by showing readers the three core desires of every woman’s heart. Every little girl has dreams of being swept up into a great adventure, of being the beautiful princess. Sadly, when women grow up, they are often swept up into a life filled merely with duty and demands. Many Christian women are tired, struggling under the weight of the pressure to be a "good servant," a nurturing caregiver, or a capable home manager. What Wild at Heart did for men, Captivating can do for women. This groundbreaking book shows readers the glorious design of women before the fall, describes how the feminine heart can be restored, and casts a vision for the power, freedom, and beauty of a woman released to be all she was meant to be. By revealing the core desires every woman shares—to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a grand adventure, and to unveil beauty— John and Stasi Eldredge invite women to recover their feminine hearts, created in the image of an intimate and passionate God. Further, they encourage men to discover the secret of a woman’s soul and to delight in the beauty and strength women were created to offer.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #186490 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-07
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

From Publishers Weekly
John Eldredge became the Robert Bly of evangelicalism with his blockbuster Wild at Heart. Now he teams up with his wife, Stasi, to encourage women to connect with their deepest desires. To facilitate this, the Eldredges reveal in the first chapter what every woman's three core desires are: to be romanced, to play a role in her own adventures and to display beauty. (This formula will be familiar to Eldredge's fans, as Wild at Heart offered a similar tripartite model of men's desires.) The rest of the book is an extended reflection on these three impulses. Drawing heavily on popular films to prove their points, the Eldredges warn that most women tend to become either controlling or needy. Godly women, in contrast, should see God as the ultimate lover, and look to Eve (and not, say, J. Lo) as their model. Also, women should form close, intimate friendships with one another, à la Ruth and Naomi or the ladies in Fried Green Tomatoes. These are all unoriginal themes, which evangelical women's writers have been recycling for years. Christian readers who embrace a robust egalitarianism will not find the Eldredges' perspective congenial. Regardless, the book is likely to fly off the shelves, purchased by all those women who gave Wild at Heart to their husbands, brothers and dads. (Apr. 14)

From AudioFile
CAPTIVATING is decidedly uneven. On one hand, the delivery is strong. John and Stasi Eldredge take turns talking about the spiritual nature of femininity. This allows them to role-play male and female parts from popular movies and books, and simply to shift parts for emphasis. They strike a concerned, enthusiastic tone that fits with the honesty of the painful stories they reveal when they discuss personal matters. However, the points they make about the nature of a woman's soul and heart are often recycled from pop psychology or are simply stereotypes they repackage as spiritual without really explaining or closely examining them. The result is often confusing. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Great book
It's a great book for even a man to hear to reach the insights of the female soul and how God sees them.

Good book, but not for men...
Yeah, I know, the title of this review seems weird, but I picked this book up to read more about my wife. The only problem is, I definitely don't think this was written for men. So, now that is out of the way, I'll move on...

I think this is an excellent book to really capture the essence of a woman. From the guys who brought you "Wild At Heart" for us men, they really take the time to explain how a woman works and how they can better understand themselves. The reason I said before that it was written for women is because they assume that you understand what they're talking about, probably being a woman reading the book, and that all the concepts just flow. For a guy, its a little hard to understand, but my wife seems to love it.

Overall, I think its a great read for any woman looking to explore why they are the way they are and how to deal with the feelings and emotions that come from being a woman.

Captivated by Captivating
This read was an amazing experience, I highly recommend this book to women in every walk of life. I read it along side Experiencing God, and the two just supported each other so well. This is a must read, its starts off slow, but just wait for it...its wonderful. What a blessing.