Her Rites by Christy Angelle Bauman has been such an intriguing and insightful read. Broken Into six parts (plus a "marking" guide), Her Rites details the woman's lifelong journey to wholeness, creating "rites of passage" for each stage. It gives steps in each section on how to embrace the different parts of self. This makes Her Rites a good read for women searching for the freedom, in body and mind, every part of them that makes them who they are.

Her Rites relies heavily on the thought that women belong to themselves first, though we are often taught to share and give so much of ourselves to others. Reading this affirmed that catering to our needs and celebrating ourselves makes us such a powerful force!

I went into this book open-minded, though I had once believed "rites of passage" were only for certain ethnic or religious groups. The idea of marking the things me and my body have done became increasingly possible the more I read. This is a book you read and return to time and time again, depending on the stages of life you're in.

While there are areas in this book I do not understand and have questioned,. I did gain quite a bit of knowledge from this book. I am sure it will appeal to so many women looking to do the inner work.

Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC of Her Rites by Christy Angelle Bauman.

3.75 Stars

What an absolutely stunning book that’s very needed! Dr Christy Bauman’s work answered questions I had been asking for years, or some I didn’t even realize I’d been needing answers to. Walking readers through the six rites that every woman takes, she also guides you in explorations of your own story. I’ve had helpful revelations from each story and have shifted things in my own life because of each rite. Hard to pick a favorite, but Rite of Intuition or Creating might be it!
I’ll be gifting several to friends and parenting my girl with more intention and liberty!
Also! Do RUN and download the album she created with Sarah Siskind. You can listen to a song about each rite, which is a whole other experience!!

“Women’s bodies are telling us a story”*
A rite of passage is a ceremony to mark the gains and losses in life. The goodness, and the pain. Christy offers an invitation in this book to engage every woman’s natural rites throughout her life. Birth, initiation, exile, creating, intuition, and legacy. Each one is a necessary and human part of our journey, and indeed if engaged well offers so much space for healing and wholeness.
When I read Christy’s book The Theology of the Womb it was the start of a journey for me, and this book offers so much wisdom, compassion, and clarity. It feels like a hand to hold, and a wise companion for the journey of life.
I really believe we have so much to learn and engage and repent of surrounding the way women have been historically relegated in church settings, and this book offered my heart so much healing. I know I will return many times more to process, mark my own rites, and pursue healing and wholeness.
Grateful to be on the launching team for this book, truly a necessary read that brought tears many times. Grateful for Christy’s vulnerability and wisdom.

*loc 1280 kindle edition
I’d like to thank Netgalley, Convergent Books, and Christy Bauman for an early release copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

We all seek to be complete or whole: body, relationships, life.
I enjoyed the exercises and they would be helpful to anyone.
There were a lot of milestones and experiences that define us as a woman.T
his book will help those be able to flourish.
Thanks to Convergent Books and and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to read and review this title.

“‘Her Rites’ believes every woman wants to feel whole—happy in her own skin, content in relationships, and satisfied with life. It understands many women feel disconnected from themselves. The path to wholeness faces challenges, often against cultural norms. Women see this journey as one best taken together. The author’s writing is excellent; I stayed interested and learned new things. I highly recommend this book.

I received this book for free. This does not impact my review in any shape or form.

Her Rites: A Sacred Journey for the Mind, Body, and Soul by Christy Angelle Bauman is a spiritual self-help book about women reclaiming their identities and learning how to find meaning in life’s harshness. The book is separated into six parts. Rite of Birth analyzes how attachment styles in the past may affect relationships with one’s self and others. Rite of Initiation showcases how a woman’s fall from innocence begets her journey to self-discovery. Rite of Exile acknowledges the grief and loneliness that a woman goes through in order to truly find herself, and Rite of Creating celebrates a woman’s skills and how they build themselves and their community up by using those skills. Rite of Intuition treasures a woman’s leadership skills, regardless if they’re recognized by their community, and Rite of Legacy describes what a woman leaves behind when she is gone, and what legacies lie within her.

A lot of times, when I read about women empowerment and women’s spirituality, it’s in the framework of paganism or witchcraft. In this case, Bauman takes a traditionally patriarchal religion and turns it into an inclusive safe space that women can enjoy. A lot of times women are left out of the church completely, whether it be through the invalidation of their feelings or the undermining of their roles as leaders (i.e. mothers, teachers, pastors, ect.). Moreover, I meet a lot of women who carry religious trauma, and while many my age still identify as Christians, they’ve turned their back on the church to find something more meaningful. And I’m happy to say that this book gives such meaning. It reminds me of the likes of Danielle Dulsky and Clarissa Pinkola Estes who have found lessons for women in their own lives and stories, whether it be through the fairytales they’ve studied or the people they’ve witnessed to.

It certainly helps that she has exercises at the end of the book. Although many women will enjoy the workshops that the book presents, I feel that men may get the same gratification. This book offers a feminist and Jungian viewpoint of the female experience and, in my opinion, can be something that men may gain insight from. Something that I definitely will be doing with my clients is more inner child work; interchanging between dominant and non-dominant hands to symbolize a conversation between your adult self and your inner child was something I could never think of. To say that Bauman had inspired me to look more into the theories is wonderful, to say the least.

Though I'm not the right audience for Christian self-help, I will say the exercises could be helpful for anyone. I appreciated the stages of birth, initiation, exile, creation, intuition, and legacy - I'll be thinking about how to apply these exercises. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher.

I would like to thank Netgalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book. I was intrigued into reading it because of the cover photo and the title also captured my attention. I instantly knew that I had to read it.

'Her Rites' is founded on the principle that every woman seeks completeness—comfort in her own skin, harmony in her relationships, and fulfillment in her existence. It acknowledges the common sentiment among women of feeling alienated from themselves. The journey towards this sought-after completeness is fraught with obstacles, frequently opposed by cultural norms. It's a journey that women recognize as one that should not be embarked upon in solitude.

The writing skills of the author are flawless and I was engaged throughout the book without getting bored. Through her Captivating writing style I learnt a lot of things which I never knew about before. I will highly recommend this book. Grab your copy today and don't miss this masterpiece.

#HerRites #NetGalley

Started this and was unable to finish as I couldn’t stay engaged.

The star rating can not be accurate as I didn’t read it to say how the full book was,

not for me but feels like helpful info for others regarding rites of passage and self-reckoning for women.

For a variety of reasons, including simply because I've been invited to do so, I often find myself reading titles that are being marketed specifically toward women.

Christy Angelle Bauman's "Her Rites: A Sacred Journey for the Mind, Body, and Soul" is the latest book that as I read it I found myself very aware that the book contains a culture I simply can't understand because for me it's not a lived culture.

I can express honest curiosity. I can accept. I can embrace. I can celebrate. I can seek to understand, but I will never fully understand the rites of passage for a woman including birth, initiation, exile, creation, intuition, and legacy.

I can, and did, find common ground. As an adult male who grew up with significant disabilities, I have long found myself identifying more with the culture of women than the culture of men. I have long found connections between what it means to be a woman and what it means to grow up disabled. I'm absolutely certain it's not the same for all people with disabilities, but in my world the connection is very tangible and very real. I don't identify as a woman, but I do very much feel a connection to the female experience and my life has been undeniably made richer and stronger by the strong women in my life from birth to this very moment.

"Her Rites" starts with the basic idea that every woman desires wholeness - to be at home in her body, her relationships, and her life. "Her Rites" also starts with the basic idea that women too often feel that they don't belong to themselves and the path to that wholeness is challenging, often even culturally challenged, and women often know it is not a path to be traveled alone.

Bauman, actually Dr. Christy Angelle Bauman, is an author, teacher, and therapist who has dedicated her professional life to guiding women on this path to meaning and joy.

In "Her Rites," Dr. Bauman invites us into her office and through six transformative exercises offering a deep dive into the most common rites of passage in a woman's life. These rites encourage and empower a woman to find wholeness and self-knowledge. Dr. Bauman includes ritual templates and exercises that she uses in her practice and has seen be successful in supporting women to come home to themselves and receive the gift of flourishing.

While I undeniably found areas of common ground in "Her Rites," there's also no doubt that this is a book that will be most embraced by its intended audience of women. While women of faith will likely most connect to "Her Rites," there's a universality to the rites contained within that gives the book considerable crossover appeal.

"Her Rites" is a sacred journey indeed, an invitation to wholeness and wellness and joy for the mind, body, and soul of women.

As a man, I found this to be an interesting reflection on the milestones and experiences that define a woman's life.