Conversations for the Modern Catholic Woman: Collected Reflections on Catholic Womanhood

Ellen Gable Hrkach reviews an informal book of essays by 23 Catholic women who take an honest look at navigating womanhood today.

Conversations for the Modern Catholic Woman: Collected Reflections on Catholic Womanhood

By Marnee Weisbrod, MS, LLPC, and Jody Pitcher, RN, LPC

Publisher: Pursuit of Beauty Media

Marnee Weisbrod, MS, LLPC, and Jody Pitcher, RN, LPC, are mental health therapists with combined backgrounds of theology, nursing, and ministry work. Together with twenty-one other Catholic women from around the country, they explore a series of relevant life themes and their accompanying challenges. This book takes an honest and vulnerable look at what it’s like to navigate womanhood today while keeping the faith. 

Marnee and Jody are the principal authors, with eleven other Catholic women (with various vocations and from different countries) contributing. 

Various Topics and Points of View 

Topics include femininity, marriage and dating, motherhood, vocational discernment, service, friendships, self-expression, healing trauma, self-care, and healthy living. Getting to know the Catholic authors and contributors was, in many ways, affirming to me as a modern Catholic woman.  

Using personal stories, Scripture, quotes from saints and encyclicals, this was like having a lovely chat with many women. I especially appreciated the lengthy list of resources at the back of the book. 

Conversational in Tone 

It’s not surprising that a book entitled Conversations for the Modern Catholic Woman is conversational in tone. I found it challenging getting into the informal tone of the book, as I’m more accustomed to reading books that are written more formally. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and the topics. I understand why the authors decided on a more casual approach, as this humanizes the authors and contributors. There is no sugar-coating these women’s experiences, and each individual contributor’s honesty and vulnerability made an impact on me.  

Focusing on Who We Are 

If one quote could sum up this book, it would be one by Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), which is at the beginning of the book: “The world doesn’t need what women have; it needs what women are.” The authors and contributors recommend that we, as Catholic women, focus not on what we have, but on who we are as individuals, wives, mothers, and single women. 

Conversations for the Modern Catholic Woman is a worthwhile read, and I recommend it to all Catholic women. 

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Copyright 2025 Ellen Gable Hrkach
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