Reviving Ophelia

Reviving Ophelia

by Mary Pipher PhD

Overview

#1 New York Times Bestseller

The groundbreaking work that poses one of the most provocative questions of a generation: what is happening to the selves of adolescent girls?

As a therapist, Mary Pipher was becoming frustrated with the growing problems among adolescent girls. Why were so many of them turning to therapy in the first place? Why had these lovely and promising human beings fallen prey to depression, eating disorders, suicide attempts, and crushingly low self-esteem? The answer hit a nerve with Pipher, with parents, and with the girls themselves. Crashing and burning in a “developmental Bermuda Triangle,” they were coming of age in a media-saturated culture preoccupied with unrealistic ideals of beauty and images of dehumanized sex, a culture rife with addictions and sexually transmitted diseases. They were losing their resiliency and optimism in a “girl-poisoning” culture that propagated values at odds with those necessary to survive.   

Told in the brave, fearless, and honest voices of the girls themselves who are emerging from the chaos of adolescence, Reviving Ophelia is a call to arms, offering important tactics, empathy, and strength, and urging a change where young hearts can flourish again, and rediscover and reengage their sense of self.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781594481888
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 08/30/2005
Pages: 320
Product dimensions: 5.52(w) x 10.88(h) x 0.77(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Mary Pipher, Ph.D., is a psychologist and the author of the New York Times bestsellers Women Rowing North, Reviving Ophelia, The Shelter of Each Other, and Another Country, as well as Seeking Peace and Writing to Change the World. She lives in Nebraska.

Read an Excerpt

EXCERPT

Reviving Ophelia is my attempt to understand my experiences in therapy with adolescent girls. Many girls come into therapy with serious, even life-threatening problems, such as anorexia or the desire to physically hurt or kill themselves. Others have problems less dangerous but still more puzzling, such as school refusal, underachievement, moodiness, or constant discord with their parents. Many are victims of sexual violence.
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Excerpted from "Reviving Ophelia"
by .
Copyright © 2005 Mary Pipher.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1: Saplings in the Storm
Chapter 2: Theoretical Issues - For Your Own Good
Chapter 3: Developmental Issues - "I'm Not Waving, I'm Drowning"
Chapter 4: Families - The Root Systems
Chapter 5: Mothers
Chapter 6: Fathers
Chapter 7: Divorce
Chapter 8: Within the Hurricane - Depression
Chapter 9: Worshiping the Gods of Thinness
Chapter 10: Drugs and Alcohol - If Ophelia Were Alive Today
Chapter 11: Sex and Violence
Chapter 12: Then and Now
Chapter 13: What I've Learned from Listening
Chapter 14: Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom Chapter 15: A Fence at the Top of the Hill
Recommended Reading
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“An important book…Pipher shines high-beam headlights on the world of teenage girls.”
—Los Angeles Times

“A must-read for all of us who care about young women in our lives…Reviving Ophelia arms us with information we can use in helping our daughters grow to adulthood with their strength intact.”
—Lincoln Star Journal

“Pipher is an eloquent advocate…[she] offers concrete suggestions for ways by which girls can build and maintain a strong sense of self.”
—Publishers Weekly 

“Serious and thoughtful material presented with the fluidity of good fiction.”
—Kirkus Reviews
 

Customer Reviews