9Marks just published my review of Rebekah Merkle’s Eve in Exile: And the Restoration of Femininity (Moscow, ID: Canon, 2016).

It’s not so much a critical review as it is a case for Christians to read it. I suggest four reasons:

1. Her book is timely.
2. Her book is wise.
3. Her book is witty.
4. Her book is motivating.

When my eleven-year-old daughter, Kara, was reading the book, I asked her what she thought of the author.

Kara replied, “She writes like Doug Wilson.” (I had recently read Wilson’s story Andrew and the Firedrake aloud to our family.)

I informed Kara, “She’s Doug Wilson’s daughter,” and Kara raised her eyebrows and smiled.

I like that. I like that I can hold up Rebekah Merkle as an example to my daughters of a Christian wife and mother who is at the same time wise, witty, skilled, well-educated, and rock solid on believing and cherishing what God the Creator has revealed about how men and women are equally in the image of God and have different and complementary roles in the home and the church.

Here are two short videos of Rebekah Merkle talking about the book:

Update: Here’s my endorsement of the documentary:

Merkle, Rebekah. Eve in Exile: The Restoration of Femininity. A Canon+ Original Documentary. May 2022. “Like Rebekah Merkle’s book, this documentary is timely, wise, witty, and motivating. I can hold up Rebekah Merkle as an example to my daughters of a Christian wife and mother who is at the same time wise, witty, skilled, well-educated, and rock solid on believing and cherishing what God the Creator has revealed about men and women: God created both men and women in his image, and God designed them with complementary differences for the home, church, and society.”