The Sacred Selves of Adolescent Girls: Hard Stories of Race, Class, and Gender (Book)
Evelyn L. Parker, Editor.  Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2006.

Using the stories of a diverse group of girls aged fifteen to eighteen as case studies, this book explores how various forms of oppression—including racism and sexism—affect the spiritual formation of adolescent girls.

The girls' case studies are based on interviews the contributors to this volume conducted with them. In these interviews, Korean American, African American, Native American, Latina, lesbian, and working-class white girls from a variety of social locations and situations (economically disadvantaged and privileged, rural, suburban, and urban) spoke about their struggle to deal with the apparent conflict between the oppression and injustice they experience and their belief in a higher power.

Among the themes addressed are the chaos of poverty, the politically charged attitudes surrounding immigration, the desperate desire to fit in (even if it means surgically altering one's appearance), the influence of godmothers and grandmothers, the place of ceremony and tradition, resentment about negative messages from church leaders about homosexuality, and disappointing searches for intimacy.

This book would be eye-opening to anyone seeking to better understand the spirituality of adolescent girls facing a variety of forms of systemic oppression. As editor Evelyn Parker writes, "By knowing of this oppression, by listening to accounts of such experiences, leaders of congregations and social agencies can more readily nurture a healthy spirituality in girls with similar experiences."

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