Author: Rosemary Card
Title: Model Mormon: Fighting for Self-Worth on the Runway and as an Independent Woman
Cedar Fort, 2018
Reviewed by Erin Cowles, November 2019
I should preface my remarks by saying that I have literally no interest in modeling or the fashion industry, so if that’s what is bringing you to the table for this one, I can’t offer any useful information.
I picked this one up because Rachel Hunt Steenblik references Card’s writings several times in I Gave Her a Name, and I am always on board for hearing people share how the concept of Heavenly Parents works in their lives. I’d also had a vague memory of reading her thoughts somewhere on some of the problems with our modesty culture, and I appreciate the way that our cultural dialogue surrounding this is shifting.
I feel like Card is a very important voice in the cultural dialogue. Based on what I read here, I believe that she would be a powerful public speaker and influential social media thought leader. That said…this book read like transcripts of her public speaking engagements, and very long Facebook posts. That chatty, slangy style works fantastically in those venues, but distracted from her message here. Some readers will enjoy this style of writing, and those that follow Card on social media will likely feel at home with her voice, but many readers will not take her seriously when she starts talking about “one of the OG apostles,” or calls Christ “a good dude.” Also, there were some truly awful proofreading errors. I generally try not to be a snob about proofing errors, since we all make them, but there was a doozy right in the conclusion (a repeated paragraph inserted in the middle of another paragraph) that really broke her momentum at a pivotal moment. A good editor would have done wonders for helping her message come across.
That said, I am a huge advocate of taking advantage of the podiums you have been given, and a believer in not waiting until you have everything together to show up and say what simply can’t wait any longer to be said. Card has a lot of important things to say about women’s voices and lived experience, personal revelation, integrity, facing our questions, and trusting God. I appreciated her ability to engage with some hot button issues from a place of faithfulness, authenticity, and respect. Her love for church leadership radiates from her writing, and it creates a safe place to ask some hard questions and consider concepts that might otherwise feel too radical to engage with – I can probably count on one hand the people in my life that can use the words “Heavenly Mother” as naturally and frequently as she does, for instance.
Card has courage, integrity, and wisdom that we need, and she has a storyteller’s instincts. She brings a lot to the table, and she gave me a lot to think about. I sincerely hope that she continues showing up and doing the work – we are better for it.