The Madonna Secret

“Sensual, earthy, and mystical, Sophie Strand’s novel The Madonna Secret views Jesus via the woman who loved him. Refreshing in its perspective and stunning in its breaks with church-curated, patriarchal characterizations of Jesus and his mission, the story is told from the viewpoint of Mary Magdalene, whom, herein, Jesus loves and weds. The book reframes the couple’s lives, work, and love from a feminist perspective: here, the voices of oppressed women come through loud and clear, and the human body is honored and enjoyed.” * Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews *“This book is alchemical. It transmutes the lead of the patriarchy into the gold of embodied feminine wisdom. Sophie Strand has a gift for dialog. With her vivid, flowing language, this primordial love story comes alive, and Mary Magdalene takes her rightful seat as the powerful prophet of love she was and continues to be. A magnificent work of historical fiction that feels utterly true.” * Mirabai Starr, author of God of Love and Wild Mercy *“Sophie Strand’s wrist is a time machine, not the sort composed of cogs, gears, and wheels but the kind that entrances: the fungal brew that slips into your cup and melts all of history. To read this book is to travel to a simmering world sensuously realized, the heat of which might force you to fall to your knees—in worship.” * Báyò Akómoláfé, Ph.D., author of These Wilds Beyond Our Fences *“There are stories that define our lives and retellings of those stories that transform our lives. As I read Sophie Strand’s The Madonna Secret I could feel the old, brittle bricks of a foundational story dissolving in my being. In its place rooted a reconnection to the healing of soil and place, a reweaving into the underground networks of women and ancestral wisdom, and a flowering expansion into possibilities beyond patriarchal myths. I wept as I finished the book, feeling how Sophie’s deep scholarship and bright-burning heart rewrites the story of Magdalene and Jesus; it is riveting, revealing, and revelatory. I honestly can’t recommend this book highly enough. It is one I will revisit over and over again. Be ready for a cellular shift that will not only change each individual who reads it but also transform the very paradigm beneath our feet.” * HeatherAsh Amara, author of Warrior Goddess Training *“Sophie Strand’s extraordinary new novel The Madonna Secret, is a rare and essential offering: sumptuous, alchemical storytelling rooted in visionary scholarship. This is a meditation and revelation. Sophie’s telling of the story of Mary Magdalene rewilds our historical assumptions and the sanctimonious myths upon which numerous civilizations have been built, returning them to the fertile Mother Earth and the essential nectar of unbroken multi-generational feminine wisdom and lineage. Can a book be a mystical experience? In this case, YES. I was both enchanted and broken open. Reading at a fever pitch, I could not put the book down, and I did not want it to end. The Madonna Secret is a living treasure to be reread through the years. A seminal classic that will inspire generations to come.” * Sarah Drew, author of Gaia Codex *

Sophie Strand is a poet and writer with a focus on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous projects and publications, including Spirituality & Health, Atmos, Braided Way, and Art PAPERS. The author of The Flowering Wand, she lives in the Hudson Valley of New York.