Nanci G. (FixThisMom) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
A MUST for parents of pre-teen & early teen girls !! This one helped me let her "live", when she was most stubborn to live with ! Highly reccomend if your young lady is a total enigma !
Christine G. (QueenChrystabel) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 14 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
An excellent book for mothers of daughters. In an age where more American adolescent girls fall prey to depression, eating disorders, addiction and suicide attempts, this book is an eye-opening look at the everyday dangers of being young and female and how adults can help.
Lynn (TheLankyYankee) -
Helpful Score: 2
A study on girls are becoming damaged, both mentally and physically, during adolescent. If you have a daughter, it is worth reading; if you have a son, teach him how to treat a girl.
Debbie H. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Wow! This book should be required reading for all parents of girls! Very highly recommend!
Helpful Score: 1
This book changed my life, maybe even saved my life. I suggest it for women of all ages. Truly the most important book I have ever read.
Stacy D. (Stacy1) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 90 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
From back of the book....
Why are more American adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders, addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? According to Dr. Mary Pipher we live in a look-obsessed, media-saturated, "girl-poisoning" culture.
Here, for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, Reviving Ophelia issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Review from Amazon.com (received 4 stars/299 reviews);
Reviving Ophelia is an excellent introduction to the victims that our children (all of our children, not just girls) have become to the consumer culture. Ms. Pipher shares case studies of young female therapy clients, whose problems range from suicide attempts, to eating disorders, abuse homes/boyfriends, pregnancy and STDs, even self-mutilation. She discusses how different parenting styles (both in terms of home situation ie.single parent, blended home, married parents and level of 'strictness') SEEM to help/hinder girls' development without making broad generalizations. Also included is a very important discussion of how the mass culture affects these girls (waif models, older men and younger women pairings in movies, etc.). Truly, it is a very eye-opening book for many people. There are many issues raised that all parents need to understand. I highly recommend that all parents of children read this book
Why are more American adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders, addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? According to Dr. Mary Pipher we live in a look-obsessed, media-saturated, "girl-poisoning" culture.
Here, for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, Reviving Ophelia issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Review from Amazon.com (received 4 stars/299 reviews);
Reviving Ophelia is an excellent introduction to the victims that our children (all of our children, not just girls) have become to the consumer culture. Ms. Pipher shares case studies of young female therapy clients, whose problems range from suicide attempts, to eating disorders, abuse homes/boyfriends, pregnancy and STDs, even self-mutilation. She discusses how different parenting styles (both in terms of home situation ie.single parent, blended home, married parents and level of 'strictness') SEEM to help/hinder girls' development without making broad generalizations. Also included is a very important discussion of how the mass culture affects these girls (waif models, older men and younger women pairings in movies, etc.). Truly, it is a very eye-opening book for many people. There are many issues raised that all parents need to understand. I highly recommend that all parents of children read this book
Elizabeth F. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I was surprised at how much I got out of this book. I assumed that since it was so old, that the information would be out-of-date. To the contrary, I found it quite relevant. I found it to be a very engaging read, I was looking forward to my time after putting my girls to bed to be able to keep reading it. It did seem that the author's views were slightly skewed by her exposure to the cases she works with professionally, but still I found it valuable. She uses lots of stories as examples, which made it interesting to read. And she puts a lot of information in that you can apply within your own family.
Sunnie - , reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is an interesting and informative book for anyone attempting to raise a preteen/teen daughter or granddaughter through one of the most difficult times in their lives. Made me want to curl up on the couch and hold my daughter in my arms...
Shelly D. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 6 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
a must read for parents of adolestant girls
Helpful Score: 1
I started this book when my daughter was born and put it down. Dealing with a newborn had too many different issues. However, she is 12 and it was so relevant and timely. It changed my thinking completely about how I need to interact with her. I am amazed at the relevancy of the issues Pipher brings up and how the stories she communicates resonate personally to me. I cannot repost it yet, as it is being read by my husband...Highly recommended to any parent of an adolescent daughter. I think that an ideal age to begin reading this is when they are 9.
Lacey L. (laceylosh) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 53 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book has been around since the mid 1990s, and I finally took the time to read and enjoy it.
I wish I'd picked it up sooner, but most of the themes and issues discussed in the book are just as relevant today and when the text was written.
Mary Pipher has a writing style that lets you in on her perspective and personal experiences, while educating you and making the reader more conscious of the world that surrounds them. Personal anecdotes are sprinkled among the interviews and descriptions of adolescent girls and their parents that Mary met and treated while writing this book.
It is a sad fact that so many young girls entering adolescence loose their androgynous interests and distinct personal traits in favor of becoming a more marginalized version of themselves based on what they feel society expects of them.
A friend recently suggested that we need a sister publication of "Reviving Ophelia" written with adolescent males in mind, as surely they struggle with gender roles and expectations upon entering adolescence as people of all genders do.
I wish I'd picked it up sooner, but most of the themes and issues discussed in the book are just as relevant today and when the text was written.
Mary Pipher has a writing style that lets you in on her perspective and personal experiences, while educating you and making the reader more conscious of the world that surrounds them. Personal anecdotes are sprinkled among the interviews and descriptions of adolescent girls and their parents that Mary met and treated while writing this book.
It is a sad fact that so many young girls entering adolescence loose their androgynous interests and distinct personal traits in favor of becoming a more marginalized version of themselves based on what they feel society expects of them.
A friend recently suggested that we need a sister publication of "Reviving Ophelia" written with adolescent males in mind, as surely they struggle with gender roles and expectations upon entering adolescence as people of all genders do.
Pastel M. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
'All 500 boys want to go out with the same 10 anorexic girls at my school'
'If I'm having a bad day, teachers and kids tell me to smile. I've never heard them say that to a guy.'
'My best friend has a family and I don't.'
Why are more adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders,addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? According to Dr. Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist who has treated girls for more than 20 years, we live in a look-obsessed, media-saturated, 'girl-poisoning' culture.
Here for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, 'Reviving Ophelia' issues a call to arms, and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
'If I'm having a bad day, teachers and kids tell me to smile. I've never heard them say that to a guy.'
'My best friend has a family and I don't.'
Why are more adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders,addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? According to Dr. Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist who has treated girls for more than 20 years, we live in a look-obsessed, media-saturated, 'girl-poisoning' culture.
Here for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, 'Reviving Ophelia' issues a call to arms, and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Sharon D. (booklit) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 473 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very well written. It was eye opening that very well adjusted kids could suddenly turn and have serious problems when hitting teenage years. It just says parents need to have their eyes wide open all the time to any changes in their kids and seek help immediately.
Celeste C. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 8 more book reviews
This book is a real eye opener. It helps us baby boomers understand how difficult it is for young people to grow up in today's society. I don't have a daughter and it even helped me understand many of the frustrations of my sons.
This book was an interesting read, but I read it as a teenager and it would have been much more helpful and enlightening for a parent of a teenage girl.
A must-read for anyone with a daughter.
I requested this book and never received it so why is it still listed???
Paula L. (peajaylarson) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 22 more book reviews
If you have daughters; this is a must read book! Mary Pipher keeps us insight to the world of teenagers. This is a vibrant insightful account teen girls.
Hillary L. (harryhildo) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 4 more book reviews
great book written in an easy to read, case by case basis. Pipher draws information from many different adolescent experiences and offers sharp analysis. also a fun read because of the period in which it was written, takes you back to the days when wearing doc martins and listening to the cure were avenues for the expression of teen-aged angst.
mimibottoms reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 58 more book reviews
A psychologist's account of her sessions and experiences counseling adolescent girls. Dr. Pipher presents a theory about why adolescence is so particularly difficulty for some girls and how those who work with these girls can try to shield them from severe harm. She describes such problems as low self-esteem, drug / alcohol use, parental conflict, societal pressures to be demure and timid, and weight / eating issues. I saw myself in some of her descriptions, although I think I was one of the girls that had the important "protections" that helped me to come out unscathed. A good book for professionals and parents alike.
Casey M. (meiserlee) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 3 more book reviews
insightful look at teens today
Peggy B. (pegasus) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 12 more book reviews
Great read to make a parent aware of what our girls are dealing with at school and in society, and how we can help them stay strong and healthy. Very helpful in caring for my own daughter.
Lou H. (covertocover) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 9 more book reviews
Even though this book is written from a secular perspective, it has some interesting insights into adolescent girls. I should have read it long before I did.
Denise L. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 26 more book reviews
The book explores the everyday dangers of being young and female in today's society. An eye opener for parents into the secret lives of their adolescent daughters. A very insightful account into the society of female adolescents.
great insight on adolescence in general, very touching and true.
Mary Ann P. (MaryAnn1228) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 39 more book reviews
Have daughters? Read this book! And do so before they older than... six!
Julie G. (Homeschooler) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 8 more book reviews
Either the author has NO girls, or she has some serious problems that she projects onto them. Alternating betwwen victim-mentality and girl-power pop psychology, this book will be helpful only for parents of disturbed children.
Deborah S. (Bee) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 6 more book reviews
Perfect book for all mothers of adolescent girls. Provides GREAT insight to what's going on with them!
BOBBIE JEAN M. (Bpoohgirl48) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 98 more book reviews
help u with any girl who is depression,eating disorder,addictions or suicide.get this book
Barbara C. (kewl) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 469 more book reviews
"Why are more American adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders, addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? . . . Here birls lay bare their harsh day-to-day reality . . . offers parents strategies . . ."
Kathi M. (auntietilly2) -
good read...helpful with adolescent girls!
very very helpful book!
SuAnn O. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 44 more book reviews
Dr. Pipher paints an alarming picture of the dangers and pitfalls that adolescent girls face in today's society. It includes personal accounts from girls who have experienced both subtle and blatant gender biased attacks as they navigate the murky waters of adolescence.
ANNA S. (SanJoseCa) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 328 more book reviews
An excellent book on how children (and not just girls) have become victims of our consumer culture. All parents (grandparents, aunts and uncles) should read this eye-opening work!
Kate L. (katethegreat) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 69 more book reviews
If you have young daughters this is an important book. We can't base our childhoods on what our children are going through today.
Jessica L. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 4 more book reviews
great if you have daughters and very pertitient.
Diana E. (aswooshes) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 4 more book reviews
Anyone who is raising girls should read this book.
Rosemary F. (roro) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 48 more book reviews
great book if you are trying to help a young girl get safely into womanhood
I'm not much on self help books, but this book actually helped me get my teenage daughter through some rough times it accuratly depicts what are teenage daughters are subjected to on a daily basis and why they are depressed,angry,and have poor self image and the truth about the culture that keeps teenage girls striving for beauty and popularity despite the toll it can take on there minds and body.Being a teenage girl in todays society is nothing like what it was when I was young and this really helps shed some light on the reality of the climate our girls are growing up in.It helpd me to open up dialouge with my daughter and understand just how important somethings can be.
Laura E. (lauramsellis) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 331 more book reviews
At adolescence, says Mary Pipher, "girls become 'female impersonators' who fit their whole selves into small, crowded spaces." Many lose spark, interest, and even IQ points as a "girl-poisoning" society forces a choice between being shunned for staying true to oneself and struggling to stay within a narrow definition of female. Pipher's alarming tales of a generation swamped by pain may be partly informed by her role as a therapist who sees troubled children and teens, but her sketch of a tougher, more menacing world for girls often hits the mark. She offers some prescriptions for changing society and helping girls resist.
This book is a classic. I'd recommend it to every mom (and dad) with a teenage daughter at home. There are great stories about different girls at various stages and trials in their lives and how their issues were handled....or not. There was so much here that I had never thought about when rearing my daughter, lots of juicy tidbits and details that every mom will say, "oh yea! I know that girl." It helps not to feel so all on your own when reading from the experts that some behaviors are universal, expected, but fixable. I say, Open the Book,on this one.
Kay S. (janezfan) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 79 more book reviews
Why are more American adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders, addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? According to Dr. Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist who has treated girls for more than twenty years, we live in a look-obsessed, media-saturated, "girl-poisoning" culture. Despite the advances of feminism, escalating levels of sexism and violence--from undervalued intelligence to sexual harassment in elementary school--cause girls to stifle their creative spirit and natural impulses, which, ultimately, destroys their self-esteem. Yet girls often blame themselves or their families for this "problem with no name" instead of looking at the world around them.
Here, for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, Reviving Ophelia issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Here, for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, Reviving Ophelia issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength, and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Alyssa L. reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 3 more book reviews
I liked the book, I just didnt think it was anything like the Lifetime movie. But I still liked it.
some pink highlighting
"this book seeks to find answers to why adolescent girls fall prey to depression, eating disorders and suicde attempts-suggesting the answer is in our looks obsessed, sexity, girl posioning culture. Despite advances, girls continue to struggle to find their true selves"
"this book seeks to find answers to why adolescent girls fall prey to depression, eating disorders and suicde attempts-suggesting the answer is in our looks obsessed, sexity, girl posioning culture. Despite advances, girls continue to struggle to find their true selves"
Elaine H. (Avon) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 279 more book reviews
Great book
Pamela R. (I-no-books) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 93 more book reviews
An eye-opening look at the everyday dangers of being young and female, and how adults can help.
Pamela N. (karotladee) -
Why are more American adolescent girls prey to depression, eating disorders, addictions, and suicide attempts than ever before? According to Dr. Mary Pipher, a clinical psychologist who has treated girls for more than twenty years, we live in a look-obsessed, media-saturated, "girl-poisoning" culture. Despite the advances of feminism, escalating levels of sexism and violence-from undervalued intelligence to sexual harassment in elementary school-cause girls to stifle their creative spirit and natural impulses, which, ultimately, destroys their self-esteem. Yet girls often blame themselves or their families for this "problem with no name" instead of looking at the world around them.
Here, for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, 'Reviving Ophelia' issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Here, for the first time, are girls' unmuted voices from the front lines of adolescence, personal and painfully honest. By laying bare their harsh day-to-day reality, 'Reviving Ophelia' issues a call to arms and offers parents compassion, strength and strategies with which to revive these Ophelias' lost sense of self.
Darla Z. (DarlaZ) reviewed Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls on + 21 more book reviews
A great read for the parent of a daughter. I wish I had read this 20 years ago when my daughter was born.
Highly recommended.
