The Madonna Secret

I loved this remarkable re-telling of Mary Magdalene’s story! The book is recounted as Miriam’s own narrative, as an elder looking back on her life. It’s such a fully imagined and detailed world that the author, Sophie Strand, is able to construct here but, though imaginative, it’s also grounded in scriptural and extra-scriptural sources. The book is a very sensual and embodied narrative. This is not only a story about spirit and intellect, the reader is fully immersed in the experience of incarnation. Lush descriptions of the earth, colors, tastes, smells, the body, are all lovingly detailed, bringing us fully into a sense of place and personal experience. It’s primarily through her connection with the earth, her community, and her body, that Miriam’s engaging personality is so well drawn. You won’t want to put this book down until it’s finished, and Miriam will continue to stay with you for a long time!

This is absolutely one of the best books I have read in years. I am not typically one to review anything but I am telling all of my friends about this book. I ate it up in less than a week- it was hard to put it down to go to sleep at night! The writing is so potent that I feel a shifted woman after reading. I am so deeply, deeply grateful for Strand’s thoughtful, extremely well-researched, eloquent and wise perspective in writing from the feminine (and not just any feminine, the powerful sacred divine feminine) around and regarding this time frame in the holy lands. There is deep truth in this novel…more truth than fabricated story, in my opinion. Wow.

The Madonna Secret by Sophie Strand is the most powerful book I think I’ve ever read. The writing is exquisite and transportive. Sophie Strand weaves a tale of a woman remembering her power and this profoundly touched my heart. This is a sacred experience. There is Truth being revealed in these pages.

This book is like a magic spell for me. I was anticipating it since I first heard Sophie had written it over a year ago, as the subject is fascinating to me. From the very first word, I was whisked into Miriam’s world. The storytelling is exemplary. The writing is perfection. I am taking this book slowly because I never want it to end. Whether you see Miriam’s story as complete fiction or whether it has the ring of truth for you (as it does for me), does not matter because the story, the characters, the sounds, smells, tastes, the place, are so vivid, so visceral a world has been created that the reader inhabits without question or doubt.And beyond the beautiful, compelling story The Madonna Secret tells, like Miriam, we are living in extraordinary times. The wisdom within these pages has amazing potential, I sense, to touch people deeply where it matters. If you’re breathing, you’re on this journey.

This book was a phenomenal read - not to mention quick. Not because of the length, but because I couldn't put it down and finished it in just a couple of days. This author has a magical talent with words. Form the first chapter, I was hooked. Although it is historical fiction, it really gives you a perspective and lots of thoughts for food on what could have been. I am a huge fan. Get this book! You won't be able to put it down.

I just finished this book and there is welling up of every emotion that I have ever felt and it is coursing through all of my cells. I did not want the book to end. This is not simply a story told, rather it is alchemy, a cauldron of truth that is at once familiar and entirely new. I was transfixed in the temple of Sophie Strand's words and they ignited and activated my soul into deep remembrance. I am in awe of the ways in which Strand's artistry reaches inside the reader and transforms our very cellular structure. I believe that Sophie Strand is the greatest writer not just of our generation, but of all time.

As other reviews have mentioned, it is very difficult to put into words how much power this book has. The words of Sophie Strand never fail to do alchemy within the soul, and this book was no exception.This is a book about mothers and sons, about love and loss, about life and death; about the eternal rebirth. This is a book about the darkness that inhabits us all, and the light we cannot live without. It feels as if this story has been written by all the women in my past, in the human past, and has been delivered to each of us countless times before. These are words that have lived and been passed on by generations. I felt it in my very soul, and I wanted to stand up and dance rejoice and celebrate while reading it all.I loved the cyclicity of the story. We follow the thread to the labyrinth and find the heart at its center. It's the center of human history. Many times I wanted to scream "Yes, YES! This is the Mystery!", to convince everyone to read this book this welcome its wisdom to the river of their souls.Now I want to yell at the whole world to hear us women at last, to hear our stories and our myths, to understand that Miriam's story is the very tissue of the whole world. The underground story that allows us to bloom.Please, read this book even if it's the last book you ever read.

The writing was poetic and beautiful, but a little bit redundant partway through the book. I love a good feminist retelling of a myth, but this was not my favorite one I've read. I did enjoy it and read the whole book, but it felt a little long-winded about 3/4 of the way through. The end was redeeming though and picked up again after a bit of a slowdown. I like this write a lot, I just wish it had been edited down a bit more. That said, it was an easy read with good imagery and despite my judgments I would recommend the book.

A page turner that restores the feminine story to its rightful place in Christian origins and reawakens the humanity within the divinity.

This was an incredible book that will stay with me for years to come. The language is poetic, the story is heart-wrenching and as vivid as an important dream.Sophie strand has weaved a tale like no other, leaving me wondering if it is really fiction, after all.I have lost a lot of sleep over the past few nights as I could not put the book down. That’s the only downside. The book is riveting and you must read it.

This is a stunning book, a richly told imagined gospel that moved me throughout. While the events of the story are imagined, the underlying thoughts and observations ring true in so many ways. It's a feat of imagination and at the same time clearly grounded in Sophie Stand's deep knowledge of the subject matter. Gorgeously complex and at the same time there is a simplicity and clarity. It's a big book but I found it very easy to read because all the characters are so alive, as is the land and its other inhabitants, I could almost hear, feel and smell it. The story flows incredibly well and I feel.like I want to read it again! Thought provoking, upsetting, comforting and just gorgeous.

So profoundly beautiful. It swept through me in a deep and touching way. The writing is gifted and one I will treasure.

I love this book and have passed it on to others who have loved it too. It tells the story of Jesus (Yeshua) and Mary Magdalen (Miriam) from the Divine Feminine perspective, and prompts questions in the reader that in some would be considered heretical, for it suggests that perhaps it was Miriam who had mystical power, who could commune with nature, who knew how to heal, and that Yeshua learned through her; that in fact it was the unity of the two, the divine feminine and masculine that created power so great we still speak of it 2000 years later. However, this is simply a prelude to the incredibly moving twist at the end which throws everything we once took for granted in the Gospels into question. This is an astonishing book, that takes the reader on a sumptuous journey into the sights, smells, tastes and sounds of Judaea, and weaves its spell so completely that it is impossible to put down. I kept having to remind myself that this is a story and not necessarily the truth... or is it?