This is the story of nine very different situations - a teenager involved with para-militaries, the very real problems of singleness, divorce, childlessness etc. But they all show how God was with them in their very different situations bringing hope and providing God's power when one is up against the odds. God's answers are not often easy or quick. An encouraging read as you see how despair with a human face turns to hope in seemingly impossible situations.

Jean Gibson shares the stories of 10 women - all at different life stages - who are facing life with courage and faith. Here are stories of the trauma of a broken marriage, infertility, miscarriage, post-natal depression, anorexia, caring for a chronically ill relative, living with alzheimers, making the most of retirement and finding fullfillment as a single woman. These are ordinary women whose faith in an extraordinary God grows amid the toughest of circumstances.

Jean Gibson is better known as the Northern Ireland Manager of Care for the Family and Reality event co-ordinator. In Seasons of Womanhood she has taken nine women's personal stories and retold them to inspire and show God's sufficiency in the many different situations in life.
   The stories cover various stages of a woman's life, from teenage days to final years allowing us to see through the eyes of these woman, mostly from Northern Ireland, that no situation is beyond hope.
   This book is an easy and inspiring read and would make a great Christmas present, or perhaps a lifeline to someone going through a situation similar to those described in these chapters.

If I was browsing a theological bookshop, the title Seasons of Womanhood, would not attract me, but the subtitle, stories of despair and hope, did catch my eye. Thus, it was with some ambivalence that I lifted the slim volume, and was immediately drawn into the first chapter through the title, "Wild Child".
   This is a book which you read avidly, because it is a series of true-life experiences which leaves you in awe of God and his grace. In fact, the whole book is not so much the life stories of ten very different women in difficulty, but it is a witness to a loving, all-knowing, forgiving God, whose grace and power know no bounds.
   Often, we are gripped by fiction writing, but this is a most absorbing book, even more exciting than any thriller, because it is true life. More than that, it counters anyone who would try to tell you that God is irrelevant. Here we read real evidence of God's power to change and transform lives today. Yes, it is a story about women who have grappled with addiction, singleness, infertility, post-natal depression, difficult and broken marriage, illness and change, but it is just as relevant for men. It gives insight into humanity in difficulty, and is for everyone, because it is about trusting and holding on to God.
   For anyone who is going through difficult times, this book testifies that God will not abandon you; nor will he give you a trial which you cannot surmount without his help. This is an inspiring book about living the victorious life God wants us to, despte our frailties or difficulties.