Publications

WHEN WE WERE EVE: UNCOVERING THE WOMAN GOD CREATED YOU TO BE
by Colleen C. Mitchell
Publisher: Franciscan Media (2017)

“We are walking back to the Garden of Eden together and trying to remember who were when we were Eve.”

In When We Were Eve, Colleen Mitchell draws on the creation story in Genesis to show women God’s gracious plan for their whole being: body and soul in harmony with themselves, others, creation and their Creator. Through her own story and those of other women, she explores the many ways women struggle with their bodies and the way a biblical understanding of what it means to be a woman can bring them peace and joy.

“Eve in Eden is woman in her perfection,” writes Mitchell. “The last note of the creation song states that the man and his wife were both naked and they were not ashamed.… This is the perfected state of our humanity—vulnerable, open, aware of our bodies and ourselves and understanding of others. Intimately free to be who we are before God.”

Through the stories of Eve (before and after the Fall), Bathsheba, Hannah, the woman of Proverbs 31, Sarah from the Book of Tobit, the hemorrhaging woman in Mark’s Gospel, the synagogue leader’s daughter, and the bride from the Song of Songs, she helps readers find new perspectives on what it means to be a woman: young, old, single, married, mothers, nurturers, strong and vulnerable, loving and being loved.

Questions for reflection encourage readers to deepen their own awareness and a final section offers prayers for the many seasons and circumstances of a woman’s life.

The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.

WHO DOES HE SAY YOU ARE?: WOMEN TRANSFORMED BY CHRIST IN THE GOSPELS
by Colleen C. Mitchell
Publisher: Franciscan Media (2016)

Shortly after the death of their brother, Lazarus, Martha offers this confident response to Jesus’s gentle challenge, echoing the confession of Peter: “Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God come into the world” (John 11:26-27). Her response to this question would change the course of her life—of all their lives. And to the extent that we echo her confession, it transforms us as well.

In Who Does He Say You Are?, Catholic missionary and speaker Colleen Mitchell captures the confessions of twelve more women from the Gospels, and shows how their stories answer this crucial question of identity: “Who does he say you are?” Holding up Mary as the ultimate example of intimate, transforming union, Mitchell weaves together moving anecdotes of her own search for identity as a Catholic woman along with twelve accounts of women in Scripture that are at once fresh yet familiar. In so doing, Mitchell connects in a compelling and very personal way with the Scriptures, inspiring readers to “take up and read” in order to discover the answer to this all-important question for themselves.

Questions at the end of each chapter can easily be adapted for group study, or used for private journaling or quiet reflection.

The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via Audible.