Lauren Winner's book on the Christian understanding of chastity is radical and different because it explores and expounds Christian sexual ethics on the basis of the Christian gospel and casts it as a practice to be lived out in the life of the Church.

Sex is a community concern because sex is an integral part of an individuals formation both as a person and a community member. Winner shuns a shallow ethos of "saving oneself" to make sex "more special" but rather understands it as a way of being faithful to a holistic commitment to Christian discipleship in a community. Sex already is special, and a communal Christian commitment teaches us to be faithful stewards of sexual desire.

Her final chapters on "what singleness teaches the church" and "the practicalities of repentance" are amazing and deeply needful words for a Christian culture that is deeply confused as to the ground of its thinking about sex.

Lauren Winner is real and frank in this book about sex and chastity. I didn't feel like I was being lectured as I read it. I felt like I was talking to a friend who truly understood what God wants from us in terms of restraining from sex until we are married. It also cleared up a lot of common misconceptions about sex after marriage that I'd been struggling with after growing up Catholic.
It's a must read for anyone who is a Christian and who is in a relationship or just confused about how to interpret what the Bible says about premarital and post marital sex.

This book is honest, realistic, and informative. I disagree with whoever said "what convent did Winner step out of." She speaks from the voice of someone who realizes the mistakes her (and many other Christians) have made sexually, and writes a book that speaks honestly about Chastity.
The "Steps of the Rotunda" chapter is the best.

For someone who grew in a Christian home, I agree that I didn't have a clue about abstaining except I always heard, "don't have sex until you are married", but wasn't really sure how to do that or the real reasons behind it. I was curious to see if this book had some great answers. I feel like she touched on some interesting thoughts and ideas, but should have expounded on them. I felt she trying hard to prove a couple of things: 1. that she was very educated - some of the words she used were unnecessary, especially for teenagers who she seemed to be especially speaking to 2. That she came a long way in her own quest to find out about what God says about waiting - great, but call it that. I thinks it is a bit arrogant to claim to know the "truth" about chastity in this little book. She did not do a great job of convincing me. I had a hard time finishing it.