When does a girl become a woman? What does it mean to be a woman, as opposed to a girl? Likely, there are a variety of answers to these questions and perhaps just as much confusion. The author, not fitting the stereotypical pattern of married with children like the majority of women in church she knew, wanted to understand what it meant to be a woman when she didn’t identify with these particular life choices. Amy Davis Abdallah discovered the answers for herself and developed a rite of passage to help young women discover their own answers. This book is the fruit of her research and serves as a kind of workbook for women in all walks of life.

Rites generally are intended to transition individuals from one position or place in society to another. “The role of a rite of passage into womanhood is to create opportunities for girls to gain knowledge, skills, and the disposition that seeks maturity and development in these relationships” (p. 6). Moreover, Abdallah writes, “Mature Christian womanhood is realized through relationship, since the rites [emphasize] relationship with God and others” (p. 6). The premise of both the book and the rite is that a Christian woman should know when and how she becomes a woman. Thus, the rite of passage is for girls becoming women, but is also particularly helpful for women who are unsure of when they can call themselves woman. Nevertheless, the book isn’t intended just for women but also for men who want to understand and empower the women in their lives.