Dawn Eden is a Catholic author who desires to make faith, and it's implications, clear to the next generation. As a former agnostic, of Jewish heritage, she understands the doubts that people have and seeks to address those in a relatable way. She tackles issues of sexuality, identity, and others both in her books and in her talks.
Dawn is the author of My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints (Ave Maria Press, 2012) and The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On (Ave Maria Press, 2015).
Dawn, who converted from Judaism to Protestantism, then to Roman Catholicism, tells her story and offers an updated Catholic Edition of her 2006 book, The Thrill of the Chaste: Finding Fulfillment While Keeping Your Clothes On.
Publishers Weekly asked Eden how single Catholics can live faithfully in a society where casual sex is often the accepted behavior. Says Eden, “As an unmarried Catholic, I don’t think of my chastity as a ‘no’ to sex; I think of it as a ‘yes’ to love, because it shows me how to be truly present for others.”
Born into a Jewish family in New York City, Dawn lost her faith as a teenager and became agnostic. During her twenties, in the 1990s, she was a rock journalist in New York City, interviewing performers such as Elton John and Brian Wilson. She went on to work on the editorial staff of the New York Post and the Daily News.
When Dawn was thirty-one, she experienced a dramatic conversion to Christianity that ultimately led her to enter the Catholic Church. Her first book became a surprise hit, published in five languages.
In My Peace I Give You, which carries an Imprimatur from Donald Cardinal Wuerl, Dawn offers a Catholic spirituality of healing for adult victims of childhood sexual abuse. She has shared its message throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Ireland, England, and Slovakia (where the book has been translated into the Slovak language).
Father James Brent, O.P., Director of the Dominican Friars' Angelic Warfare Confraternity, wrote in a letter to confraternity members: "For anyone who has suffered from sexual abuse, Dawn’s book is a must-read. The testimonies of victims who have read it are powerful testimonies indeed. But in my opinion, anyone who suffers from the wounds of sexual sin in any way whatsoever will also find in this book a powerful aid for healing and renewal."
Since the publication of My Peace I Give You, Dawn has been the subject of a profile in the New York Times Magazine and has been interviewed on several EWTN programs. She holds an STB--a graduate degree in theology, given under the authority of the Holy See--which she received with honors from the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception.
Dawn would love to speak to your church and help them wrestle with the hard questions they are asking.
"May your personal witness to the virtue of chastity and to the authentic meaning of love, which is rooted in your deep faith in Jesus Christ, be an inspiration to many who are searching for fulfillment and peace in life."
"A refreshing call to chastity…. Eden underscores that chastity is a lifelong discipline — not just a tough thing that single Christians have to deal with, but also a call to embodied holiness in controlling ones sexual appetite that every Christian must submit to."
"We so appreciated the evening of the Dawn Eden talk and the ensuing discussion. Dawn has a way of getting at the heart of a very important issue—chastity—without shame or embarrassment, and yet she speaks in a way that is winsome and gentle. Especially encouraging was her charge for us to consider ourselves (i.e. the chaste) as today's *radicals*! This gave our students some excitement to think of themselves as part of a movement."