A: I was asking a lot of questions about the role of women and specifically in faith communities when I began my own study on the life of Jesus. I was attending a church where the denomination held bylaws, which didn’t allow women to be in many leadership roles, so I was trying to figure out Jesus’ take on this.

I wanted to look at the Gospels anew and try to get a better perspective of who this historic figure was, this man named Jesus who literally changed the world. As I studied, I kept noticing how he interacted with these nameless women. That’s when I started specifically to dig into their stories. As I explored how Christ interacted with these nameless women, I kept revaluating the Church’s take on women’s roles. It was amazing to me how radical Jesus was with each of these women. The more I thought about it, the more amazed I was, too, that the gospel writers had included the stories of these marginalized, second-class citizens in a male dominant society. It made me rethink how valued women were to Jesus and how unique it was that he invited them to participate with him in his Kingdom.

Q: How did the book come about?

A: I was asked to teach at a women’s retreat and because I kept noticing these nameless women in my personal studies of the Gospels, I decided to talk about how Jesus interacted with three of these different women. From this one retreat came several more retreats and studies of other women’s stories in the Gospels. I never imagined my own study would grow into a retreat, then into a book.

Q: Who is your audience?

A: Who isn’t? My hope is that the book is not just for suburban white Protestant women, but anyone who’s felt out of sorts, hopeless, desperate. It isn’t a book that is just for women, either; it’s for people on the margin who feel desperate, who feel anonymous. I hope men will pick it up as well. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if men—and women alike—began to believe that in God’s Kingdom, we are all equally loved and affirmed in spite of our personal situations.

Q: What is the significance of these women’s stories?

A: Here are women who are sick, who are poor, who are outcasts, alone, and grieving. All of these circumstances are a part of the human drama. Everyone experiences these things. But these stories in particular point us to the bigger story, that of God incarnate—the one who became like us in all of these things. There is the woman with the issue of blood, and Jesus is going to offer his blood for her sake. For the woman at the well who thirsts, he knows he will hang on the cross and say, ‘I thirst.’ There’s a very significant part of their stories that will become a part of his. How can he tell a grieving widow not to grieve? Because he’s going to take on death itself. How can he say to a crippled woman to rise up? Because he’s going to bear the same kind of suffering for her sake. Their stories begin to merge with his; they point to what he will experience for their sake, for our sake.

Q: Is that the primary message you wish to convey?

Yes, because when you encounter Jesus, your passions get redirected for his purposes. Because of his work on the cross, out of his passion for us, we have new purpose, a new identity. You know, these were all passionate women—the woman who was bleeding spent all she had to get better—they were desperate for a better life, passionate even, but their passion had gone awry. Then as they encountered Jesus, their passions were redirected for his purposes. That reality hasn’t changed for us today!

Q: What is the significance of desperation in this book?

When we’re honest, it’s a word that reflects who we really are—spiritually, emotionally or physically deprived. Its definition means we’re at the bottom of our resources, where we’ve come to the end of ourselves. That’s the core of how we’re wired, I think, because we need outside resources, outside help. Of course, this idea of neediness flies in the face of American thinking, which tells us that we can do anything on our own. The truth is, though, we can’t, and that’s okay. It’s okay to say we’re desperate. That feels honest. That’s when we look up. That’s when we begin the one relationship that can change our lives.