Best-selling author of Every Woman’s Battle
Co-author of Every Young Woman’s Battle
https://www.shannonethridge.com/
By: Trisha Bleau Smith
T4JYM: Can you give us a brief overview of the latest books you have written? Can you outline other books you have written to give our readers a general feel for the kinds of works you write?
SE: My first published book, Every Woman’s Battle, was released in July 2003 and has sold over 100,000 copies. It’s for all adult women, single or married, about how to find sexual and emotional fulfillment by living according to God’s Plan for our sexuality rather than subscribing to what the world says is “okay” sexually. Some of the major issues tackled in that book is unhealthy comparisons of our husbands to other men, emotional affairs, and how to develop a passionate level of intimacy with the Lord instead of trying to get a man to meet all of your sexual and/or emotional needs.
Of course, women then wanted a similar book for their teen daughters, so Every YOUNG Woman’s Battle, was released this past July. It’s for jr. high, sr. high, and college-age women. The subtitle is “Guarding Your Mind, Heart, and Body in a Sex-Saturated World” and is all about the most common issues that cause young women to compromise their sexual integrity such as low self-esteem, skimpy fashions, flirting, internet chat rooms, romance novels, soap operas, pornography, masturbation, having “friends with privileges” and “sex without strings” (casual sex), etc.
Prior to publishing these two books, I self-published a couple of books that I use in the class I teach at Teen Mania Ministries. The first one is called Words of Wisdom for Women at the Well and the second one is Words of Wisdom for Well Women. The concept is from the story of the Woman at the Well in John 4. Although we tend to look for love in all the wrong places, once we experience a face-to-face encounter with Jesus Christ and recognize Him as the lover of our souls, we are no longer Women at the Well, but Well Women! Then our response is to do exactly what this woman from Samaria did – return to our circle of family and friends and testify to what the Lord has done in us.
T4JYM: What made you decide on this topic of sexual integrity in all of your books so far and what has been the response from the public on this topic?
SE: Although the general public pretty much accepts that men struggle with sexual temptations, rarely do people acknowledge that sexual integrity is a struggle for women also. We think just because a woman has sexual fantasies about men she’s not married to or reads steamy romance novels or flirts seductively in internet chat rooms, that she’s not sinning because she’s not having physical intercourse. But God calls us to sexual purity not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well. I wanted to call women’s attention to what we could be doing to guard not just our bodies, but our minds, hearts, and spirits as well. I am very blunt about my own struggles in these areas, both before and after marriage, and the response from the public has truly been heart-warming. Every woman fears she is the only one who struggles with these issues, but I’ve discovered that in some form or fashion, sexual struggles are common to all of us, whether male or female, single or married, young or old, and other women are relieved to learn that they are not alone, either. God made us to be sexual beings and we’ll struggle with sexual integrity until the day we die, but God’s grace is sufficient to meet all of our needs and He is so faithful to guide us toward sexual and emotional fulfillment when we surrender this area of our lives to Him.
T4JYM: Who have been your biggest influences in life? Who have been your biggest influences in your life as a writer?
SE: When I was deeply entrenched in my own battle for sexual integrity, a friend named Pam was a lifeline for me. She had overcome very similar issues and although she was my pastor, she took off her mask with me and told me the things she had gone through and overcome in her life and marriage. It gave me great hope that I, too, could overcome the sexual issues plaguing my life and marriage. She spoke the truth in love to me and held me accountable during a very pivotal time in my life.
My husband has also been one of the biggest influences. His unconditional love and the grace he gave me to be a sexual woman with her own struggles truly helped me see the reality of my own sexual sin and inspired me to seek God’s transforming power because I knew I could lose my marriage and family if I didn’t get a grip on my wandering heart and mind. I am so thankful that God gave me a man of sexual integrity who had the patience to teach me how to become the woman God made me to be.
Other authors who have greatly influenced my life are Robin Norwood (Women Who Love Too Much), T.D. Jakes (The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord), and Harry Schaumburg (False Intimacy).
T4JYM: What is your next topic going to be for writing? Do you have ideas for what to write about next? Do you have any plans to continue writing more books?
SE: We are currently editing my next book, Preparing Your Daughter for Every Woman’s Battle (to be released July 2005), which provides creative conversations for parents to engage in with their 9-13 year-old daughters. I believe that instilling sexual values at a very early age (prior to puberty) is the most ideal scenario and I pray this book will equip parents to do just that.
Beyond the Every Woman’s series, I’ll be writing a series of bible studies about embracing our role as the Bride of Christ. That series will be released in Summer 2006.
T4JYM: What advice would you give to someone who wants to pursue a career in writing?
SE: The more you read, the better writer you will be. Once you sense God is calling you to write, begin with a season of intense prayer seeking His guidance for the direction He would have you go. It’s pointless to sit down and try to write a book on our own without God’s prompting. If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d be writing all of these books, I’d panic worrying that I wouldn’t have that much to say. But the thing is, God has a LOT to say and if you will get quiet before Him, He will speak things into your heart that you know are NOT from you, but from Him. That’s how life-changing books are written. God is actually the author, and we just “take dictation,” writing the things He speaks to us and desires to communicate to His people.
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