THE COMPLETE WOMAN

by Patricia Gundry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 6, 1980

Complete--as in anything-but-""Total"" (per Marabel Morgan). And pastor's helpmate Patricia Gundry does a good job of fighting fire with fire: she uses the Bible, and particularly Proverbs 31, as a framework for applauding wholeness in women. Much of her definition of the ""complete"" woman is still homebound, true, but she gets rid of the subservience, the eyelash-batting manipulation, and the pirate's-costume approach to keeping your man happy. Instead, she stresses instead the need to value oneself; the importance of planned, purposeful work (much of today's so-called ""men's work,"" she notes, was once performed by farm women); the wisdom of mastering the techniques of ""financial security and increase."" Some stretching occurs here and there: tips on wholesale buying or dressing-for-success contrast sharply with the essentially philosophical tone of the piece. But overall this is a way for women who take the Bible seriously to retain their dignity without jettisoning their religious beliefs.

Pub Date: Feb. 6, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION