Reviving Ophelia : Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

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Summary: A wonderful book about gaining inner peace via self-esteem.
Review: I thought this book was wonderful. To me, it is about the turmoil of the knocks of life - and how one negatively reacts to issues if one has little or poor self-esteem - and gaining peace - one of the results of attaining true self-esteem. For all those women who think the book does not apply to them or their family, please read on because, although it may not have meaning for them now, it may in the future. When I was 15 (30 years ago), members of a women's liberation group spoke to my social studies class. I vehemently rejected what they had to say, because I firmly believed it wasn't true. They talked about low self-esteem for women, women not getting credit for their work, women being undermined at their school/work by men, etc etc etc. I was a straight-A student. I certainly did not have low self-esteem. I never experienced negative or antagonist reactions from my male classmates, let alone from my male teachers. And I told these "women libbers" what I thought! They smiled with an air of understanding. Their response stuck with me through the years, which was "Right now you are young and your success is interpreted as 'cute.' You may become more threatening to your male counterparts, even teachers and bosses, as you grow older." They turned out to be correct. And, even though they did not mention it at the time, it turned out that I truly did have a problem with self-esteem but didn't know it. My "self"-esteem was not mine. In actuality, I depended upon what my male counterparts thought of me, so the more I became a threat to them, the less I thought of myself. I have just developed self-esteem within the last couple of years, and now I don't know how I had lived without it. If I had read this book sooner, I probably would have "caught on" sooner. So, just because your personal profile doesn't match any of the "abnormal" profiles in this book, doesn't mean this book has nothing to offer. . . it may be that you just don't see it yet.

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Summary: REVIVED AND LIBERATED!
Review: Males and females: READ THIS BOOK!! It will change your life. It is both liberating and validating. Finally, someone took the time to document what every woman feels as she matures. Pipher explains and provides coping mechanisms. While her examples are indeed extreme, I am only too sorry that other "therapists" wrote reviews discounting her book and denying the fact that women are slowly poisoned by "rules that keep changing." Finally, I attended an all women's college in New England, and this book was required reading for all incoming freshmen and graduating seniors - need I say more?

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Summary: A sad case study into the author's neuroses
Review: As a therapist, I was intrigued by what such a book would have to offer. Unfortunately, it offers virtualy nothing but a look at the author's own "demons" and a biased look at what she thinks a woman should be. The worst thing about the book is that people are reading it and accepting it as fact, when it is little more than baseless opinion. It is unfortunate that so little is written about the female psyche. It is more unfortunate that this book is so widely read.

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Summary: Shouldn't Be Necessary.
Review: This book is rather entertaining, but unless you are someone who has low self esteem and is really struggling with being an adolescent girl, then you probably shouldn't waste your money. Nearly every example in this book deals with a girl who has major problems and isn't a strong, individual person, which is fine, but don't assume this is what most teenage girls are like. Many reviewers have stated that this book has helped them, but- as a fifteen year old girl myself- I was surprised and slightly insulted. However, maybe this book will help you if you're heading in the wrong direction...? What do you think?

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Summary: Feeling Revived After Reading "Reving Ophelia..."
Review: The book, "Reving Ophelia..." by Dr. Mary Pipher helped me get through the struggles of being an adolescent girl. After reading some of the stories of other adolescents, I realized how to curve myself from that path. I'd like to give my thanks to Dr. Pipher for bringing the word out on adolescents, and for giving them a chance.

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Summary: Thought provoking ideas.
Review: Read cautiously because this book looks at the problems of SOME young girls, it by no means addresses the majority of healthy young girls. If you're a parent of a girl it is a good idea to look through this book so that you can know the possible problems facing your daughter and what to look for. I would have liked this book better if it focused more on solutions and the positive side of the story, as it can be rather depressing and scary. For help with your day to day interactions with your daughter (and son) I would recommend: Perfect Parenting - The Dictionary of 1000 Parenting Tips by Elizabeth Pantley

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Summary: The book was repetitive.
Review: I am a college student and I read this book for my education 2000 class. This book is great for parents and educators who do not have experience with young girls. It will give them some idea what to look for when there is a problem. The book give names of problems but no solution. For people who are having problems it is not much help. The book was easy to read and understand. But you will lose interest after the first three chapters.

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Summary: Reviving Ophelia: No Moral Compass
Review: Answering the question, "What went wrong with female adolescence?" cannot be directly answered using Pipher's commentaries on the multiple case studies that she presents in her text. Although it may not be her purpose to answer this question, an answer is necessary if she attempts to address the book's sub-title with any amount of credibility. Common sense psychology mandates that in order to solve a problem, one must first fully understand its root. Pipher falls short in presenting anything more than a superficial exposure to the root of teenage girls' problems, nor does she do any better on helping us understand how to save the girls' "selves." Pipher is ambiguous regarding the forces leading to her patients' illnesses. Laden throughout the commentaries of her case studies are phrases such as "The rules for girls are confusing (39)," "Mothers are often unprepared for how their daughters behave" (104), and "Our culture is deeply split about sexuality" (206). It is understandable that this text is written for a general audience, but Pipher never seems to get beyond the obvious. If she seeks to inform, she needs to challenge her readers. Nevertheless, a prudent reader can see at least three patterns in Pipher's case studies which indirectly answers the question of "What went wrong?" First, nearly all of her patients began their problems on the onset of adolescence, and Pipher identifies peer pressure in their schools as giving rise to their illnesses. However, she neglects a close examination of the social environment in the schools that fosters it. While she claims that the forces of gender discrimination (62-63), administrative apathy (273), and sexual promiscuity (207) are at work, she does little to effectively explain why these forces are allowed to persist, only that they do. She does not demand or even suggest reform except that schools offer "clear policies" (201). Perhaps more importantly, she does not offer alternatives to the negative environment that conventional schools promote, and consequently does not offer hope to the reader. Second, Pipher does not seriously challenge parents. Her case studies provide a wealth of evidence that many of her patients' parents were simply approaching parenthood haphazardly. It seems that Pipher is afraid to "call a spade a spade." Rather, she sympathizes too much with parents, and the impression is is that they leave her office feeling better merely because they had a listening ear. Pipher neglects to attack the issue of divorce as a bitter enemy, and fails to see the liberal approaches that these parents use as destructive forces. The observant reader should sense that most of her case studies do not end positively, and that poor parenting is often partially to blame. Through Pipher's lack of moral absolutes, the reader can see why this book comes nowhere close to delivering on its sub-title. Pipher is astonishingly contradictory on most convictions, and nebulous on the rest. Perhaps herein the book finds some success, for her shaky moral compass points in so many directions the reader cannot help to recognize the pressing need for a "true north." While listening to parents "bad-mouth" each other (142), Pipher thinks to herself "...how right it was that they divorce." In another instance, she spends an hour with her patients working on a "contract" for the child in the event the child hit her mother. Pipher "understands" the behavior, but she does not condemn it (137). "We can't control her," a mother complains, but Pipher does not question nor address the role of discipline (186). Pipher recognizes the negative role drugs play on teenagers, but she neglects to understand the need for them to experiment with non-reality. Instead of offering reality in the form of moral direction, she discusses "nonchemical ways to alter consciousness" and even suggests enrolling one patient in a course of Buddhism (200). Amazingly, she even states that drug exploration is "normal" and that "healthy teenagers experiment" (197). Pipher's moral stance on sexuality is equally confusing. Although she recognizes that the media exploits women and fosters eating disorders, she earnestly suggests that one of her patients explore modeling, even after the patient had been warned by her mother that modeling was sexist (107)! She tells another patient to exercise because "models with muscles [are] popular." Perhaps Pipher's nebulous (and rather common) approach to counseling is yet another factor which answers the question of "What went wrong?" It is debatable whether or not the plight of adolescent teenagers is as horrible as Pipher suggests. But her case studies are not fictional, and indeed there is a pressing concern. Yet after reading Reviving Ophelia, the wise reader should ask, "Is there a voice of insecurity and uncertainty in the narrative?" and "Would I want my daughter under Pipher's counsel?" Pipher's book serves best as an autobiographical diary which offers little worthwhile direction or hope.

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Summary: REVIVED!
Review: I just reviewed this, but wanted to add that the hardcover is worth the extra cash, and has terrific art work on the cover sleeve. I own the hard cover. And, the review I had mentioned in my review was titled: "Does This Mirror Your Life?"

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Summary: LIFE IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT THIS BOOK
Review: All females should read this book, and all males had better read this book. It was magnificant! It was also very painful. There is a review I read in amongst this one, dated June the 18th, from U.S.A. The review stated that Dr. Piphers' patients were not the norm as far as adolescent girls go. Well, I feel sorry for someone who truely believes that, because someone like that is only adding to the cause of the problem by being blind. Obviously there is something going wrong in the way that children are raised, and the current teen violence in the world is only one example of that. If you read this book, be prepared, because these stories are true, and, yes, they are the norm.