Worthwhile Reads: Quiverfull, Courtship, and Elsie Dinsmore

I thought I’d take a moment to introduce my readers to a few websites I read regularly and highlight a particular series of posts on each that I think are well worth looking at.

First is No Longer Quivering, which covers the stories of women whose lives have been affected by the teachings of the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements. Tess’s story is especially extreme, and especially moving.

Next is Permission to Live by Melissa, a young woman with a background similar to mine but a bit more hard core, including “home churching” and keeping daughters home from college. Melissa’s blog is her journal of breaking free. Her courtship story, which took place when she was nineteen, is fascinating and very well written.

The Commandments of Men is a site run by Lewis, who unwittingly walked into a courtship with a young woman being raised in the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movement and barely survived to tell the tale. He uses his blog today to fight these movements. His story of his courtship is long but worth the read.

Finally, Forever in Hell by Personal Failure is a blog full of delicious snark and delightful directness. The series deconstructing the Elsie Dinsmore books, which are extremely popular in Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull circles, is brilliant.