Check Out "The Thrill of the Chaste"

Saw this book recommended on the American Chesterton Society blog. Dawn Eden sounds like a lively, witty writer and "The Thrill of the Chaste" sounds like a 'must-read' book. Here are a couple of blurbs on the book from Dawn's web site for the book:

The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On by Dawn Eden

“Why would a thirtysomething modern woman give up sex? At the heart of The Thrill of the Chaste is this mystery story which as it unfolds reveals our deep human longing for a love that matters, for a sexual union that is real. A brave, beautiful book.”

- Maggie Gallagher, President, Institute for Marriage
and nationally syndicated columnist

“Dawn Eden is part of a growing group of talented professionals who, having bought into our culture's message about sex, found it wanting and searched for something better. Her life experience enables her to demonstrate with compelling, hard-earned wisdom why living chastely is, as the title suggests, 'thrilling.'"

- Christopher West, Theology of the Body Institute

“New York Daily News columnist and blogger [Dawn] Eden offers a Christian apologetic for premarital chastity, aimed at “marriage-minded single women who’d had enough of the Sex and the City lifestyle.” Eden herself is a convert to both Christianity and chastity, and now an unmarried 30-something, she’s persuaded that chastity is more “hope-filled” and “vibrant” than sex outside of marriage. She draws on John Paul II’s theology of the body to explain why Christians should reserve sex for marriage; “our bodies are living metaphors of God’s loving nature,” she argues, and to have sex casually is to make a false promise of total commitment…” [Full review]

- Publishers Weekly

Dawn also has a "headquarters" web site and blog. She has an excerpt from "The Thrill of the Chaste" there and I'm posting an excerpt of that excerpt here:

The realization that I had blunted my emotions for the sake of physical pleasure helped me gain the strength to resist casual sex.

Healing the damage takes time—but there are some fun surprises along the way. The biggest surprise for me has been discovering how much there is to like about men.

I now notice things about the men in my life that I never noticed before, like their thoughtfulness, their love of family, their integrity, even their vulnerability. These are intangible qualities that don’t jump out at you when you’re in a frame of mind where you’re viewing men only as potential dates. Put together, they add up to character. It’s the most important quality to seek in a husband, and the one that’s least discussed in this day and age.