Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder provides an engaging womanist reading of mother characters in the Old and New Testaments. After providing a brief history of womanist biblical interpretation, she shows how the stories of several biblical mothersHagar, Rizpah, Bathsheba, Mary, the Canaanite woman, and Zebedee's wifecan be powerful sources for critical reflection, identification, and empowerment. Crowder also explores historical understandings of motherhood in the African American community and how these help to inform present-day perspectives. She includes questions for discussion with each chapter.

Stephanie Buckhanon Crowder, a Baptist and Disciples of Christ minister, is Assistant Professor of Theological Field Education and New Testament and Director of the ACTS DMin in Preaching program at Chicago Theological Seminary. A regular blogger for The Huffington Post, she has contributed to numerous publications and served on the editorial board for Feasting on the Gospels series by Westminster John Knox Press. She frequently speaks on the Bible and motherhood and is the mother of two sons.