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Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls |
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Paperback (March 1995)
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Reviews:
A reader from Denver, Co., 08/02/98 An
insipering book that every teenager should read!
The book "Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls"
by Mary Bray Pipher is the kind of book that makes you realize that you're
not the only one going through problems. It helps you to deal with these
problems and understand the thinking behind them. Many feelings you may
find hard to explain. But in this book it helps you put the feelings in
words, and know that you are normal to feel this way. Every teenager and
parent should read this. It may prove to help start the building blocks
of a successful parent child realationship.
A reader from Vancouver, Canada, 07/30/98
A must-read
I loved "Reviving Ophelia." I only wish I had read it earlier
because I might have been a bit easier on my parents. There were so many
moments where I felt as though Dr. Pipher was speaking directly to me. If
you read the book, you will find that Dr. Pipher does not try to pathologize
the adolescent experience of girl--quite the opposite, as she also describes
in detail the girls who had healthy teenage years and the reasons for their
positive outcomes. I have recommended this book to countless people, and
all but one found it fascinating as well. (I don't think it was a coincidence
that the one person who hated it was a member of the male population. It
is very easy for guys to criticize this book because they have not grown-up
in this world as girls.) Reviving Ophelia is truly a must-read book.
Tom Baltimore, Maryland, 07/28/98 Great
book. Eye-opening. Don't expect too much though.
Pipher does a wonderful job of opening the reader's eyes to some of the
possible problems adolescent girls might experience. She never claims that
all girls have these problems, just that these specific girls do. She is
in the business of awareness, not solutions. Many reviewes complain that
she makes unfair generalizations and fails to offer solutions, but she never
claims to do either. She explains specific problems of specific girls so
that we might be on the lookout for those same problems if they occur in
the lives of girls we care about. And unfortunately there are no easy solutions,
otherwise we'd have these problems solved, so don't expect miracles. This
kind of descriptive research is critical for getting a complete picture
of life today, and the fact that this is not a broad statistical study is
in no way a weakness of this book, just a false expectation of many readers.
A reader from Washington State, 07/02/98
I've finally found help.
I am 17 and have been battling anorexia/bulimia for the last year. I try
not to eat, but when I do, I have to get rid of it. I feel awful after I
eat, no matter what it is that I eat. Your book has shown me that there
is help and what I'm doing to my body could seriously affect my life. I'm
not yet ready for help and I don't know when I will be, but it helped to
read some of the success stories from all of the chapters, not just the
ones on eating disorders. I'm one of those people that no one would think
to be like this. I'm from an upper-class family, popular, and I have a lot
of friends. Things like this don't happen to people like me, but it did
and I have to get through it. Thank you Ms. Pipher. I know I haven't gotten
help yet, but at least I can admit that I do have a problem.
sarah from united states, 06/30/98 I
think this book helps girls to understand themselves.
I usually NEVER read, but this book opened my eyes.I am 15 years old, and
I have had just about every problem imaginable, I though that I was the
only person going through hell as a teenager, but it seems that so many
people go through the same kind of problems as I have gone through.I go
to therapy twice a week and I didn't understand why I couln't just be normal,
but I am learning that I am normal, I'm starting to accept myself.I think
that Mary Phiper is an excellent doctor as well as a role model, she is
strong, she helps people get through hard times, and she helps them to stay
strong.
A reader from Boston, US, 06/16/98 Interesting
but flawed
The book's flaw is that the author tries to convince the reader of generalities
by offering unconnected anecdotes. What's more, her position as a psychotherapist
taints her perspective. It is somewhat analogous to a fireman claiming that
all cats are stuck in trees. Despite the flaws in methodology it does offer
some interesting and thought provoking points.
Victoria from Liverpool, England, 06/13/98
this book brings reality to what the world has come to.
i am a fifteen year old women and i suffer from depression and eating disorders.
when my mom handed me this book i refused to read it. but when i read the
cover i knew it would be good. the book lead me to realize i am not the
only one suffering from depression. it also helped me get help for myself.
thank you ms. pipher.
A reader from San Diego, USA, 06/11/98
This book is enlightening and should be required for all.
This book is enlightening in the fact that Pipher teaches us how many adolescent
females are pulled from their innocence by the media, and sociey at large.
Pipher paints images of several girls and their struggle to survive the
hardest stage of life -adolescents. This book is highly recommended to all
women -mothers who want to understand their daughters, and women who want
to understand their own adolescents.
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