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Summary: To Mary Pipher the Author of Reviving Ophelia
Review: I read Reviving Ophelia when it first came out on the shelves. She goes right to the juglar and right to the core of several examples of adolescent girls experiences of this day and age.
My daughter experienced these examples of cruelty in the beginning of middle school, and she is currently in high school and still experiencing these ! Cruelty has now unfortunantly spread over the internet via ICQ and web sites of kids in her school. These Ophelia's can go through therapy for years due to the damage others bring upon them... whats really upsetting is the guardians or parents that are aware of the cruelty their children inflict on these girls when confronted with the problem try to justify it by using or should I say abusing "freedom of speech" or "its a free country" !The book is a real eye opener to all and from what we've experienced in our family it says much about our troubled society as a whole. I'd like to know if there are any workshops or seminars around the country to let the nation be aware of whats going on and how we can address it in our schools. I'd like to help start one in our community.
Please pass this on to the author Mary Pipher. Give her my e- mail address.
Another shocking book I recommend is "Our Guys" by Bernard Lefkowitz, sadly it's just a true portrayal of how our society of teens and parents try to justify their children's horrible unrestrained actions of brutality.
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Summary: INCREDIBLE BOOK
Review: This book has been in my house since I was just twelve years old. I am now seventeen and reading it again after four years. This book is fantastic. It amazed, amused and provoked scary realizations at twelve and has become a very relatable, informative and helpful book at seventeen. Now being able to appreciate the reality and struggles that my generation is faced with, I am more emotionally wrapped within the pages. I am post-anorexic, have an abusive, over-bearing, manipulative and profectionist of a father. Not to mention the presence of sexist, homophobic and racist remarks I have heard since a child camoflauged by jokes. I have been through complete hell and my world came crashing down at twelve and as I leafed through the pages of this book at that young age (as my body was changing and more severe tramatic childhood experiences were on the way) I found hope and comfort. I found understanding soothing voices that said "You're not alone, you are in this mess of a life but there is a way out of this dark tunnel. There is light on the other end and you will come out a stronger, better person. You will be saved, and that magnificant herione who will save you is none other than yourself" Mary Pipher reveals the ugly truth behind the seemly perfect and functional country we live in. Girls today grow up in an enviroment that is highly toxic. The true stories that she tells are of the strong young women who are lost in this toxic cloud, unable to realize they are within it. They are brought into a society that doesn't welcome them, instead it taunts them, ripping them away from any kind of safety. Every girl is fighting a battle inside as she enters the life of a woman and this book may help you understand why.
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Summary: Thoughts to ease my troubled mind.
Review: I have read this book over seven times. I am twelve-year old and have had a few bumps on the road of life. This book lets me know that I am not alone. The way things are described in this book are described so well that I felt as though I was reading my diary! I really enjoyed this book and it made me feel better about myself and the way I view things.
Rating:
Summary: Reviving Ophelia
Review: Excellent book! This book gives great insight into the world of teenage girls today. If you are raising a teenage girl who is experiencing problems in today's world, this is a must read. Professionals who are working with teenage girls should also read this book. Not only does it give case studies, but it helps you to know ways to deal with some of the problems. It shows ways to strengthen relationships, increase self-esteem in teenage girls, and how you can help them in saving their "selves".
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Summary: Reliving the Years through Reviving Ophelia
Review: Have you ever wondered why the girls in Disney movies all share a similar look? Or better yet why they all seemingly need some type of rescuing? How about why women, who hold te same jobs as men, make less money? Mary Pipher PH.D looks at these, and many other questions in her book Reviving Ophelia, which is a smart, witty and insightful look into the world of adolescent girls. A psychiatrist in Nebraska, Mary Pipher composes the numerous cases of her patients and uses them to answer the question: Why do the personalities of the girls change after thirteen? The experiences of the girls differ dramatically from one to next, yet Pipher, using the impact that the media has on parents and friends, attempts to paint a common picture for all her patients.
Reviving Ophelia is not your standard book. It does not have a plot, with characters and all the elements of a story. Rather, it is an informative guide that reqires the attention to plow through the different cases. Pipher's repetitive style of discussing her patients and analyzing them after the fact can become tedious and downright boring. Therefore, the desire to know is imperative before one can go through the various chapters.
The lack of a plot within Reviving Ophelia may deter readers from exploring the minds of teenage girls. However, by not reading this everyone loses critical information that could perhap reshape the way they treat females. It can better your knowledge of the impact that words, images and actions have on girls, worldwide. By not reading Reviving Ophelia people lose the chance of learning enlightening and interesting facts. Revivng Ophelia not only opens you up to understanding the environment around you, but it is also fun to read. Questions both serious and trivial arise and are answered, and might clue the reader into the important information that could be pertinent to their everyday life. A thorough piece of work, with solid quotes and references, Reviving Ophelia takes a shrewd lok into the complex mind of adolescent girls.
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Summary: Very powerful
Review: I don't think that many Americans are truly aware of the turmoil and pressures faced every day by adolescent girls. The outsatnding research of this book can really be a wake up call to parents and educators. Mary Pipher uses a variety of case studies to describe issues faced by girls of varying ethnic and socio-economic barckgrounds and one message is clear: It is not easy to grow up female in Amercica. She discusses changes that need to be made in our school systems and at home. Pipher offers valuable insight into what could be done to boost self-esteem of so many young women. While this is usefull for adults, teenage girls will wnat to read this for reassurance that they are not alone and to realize that there are individuals and groups that want to help. This is a meaningful book for anyone who cares about improving a difficult time in any girls' life.
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Summary: Attention Women: Young and Old
Review: Reviving Ophelia is an account of truth. The truth that many young women continue to experience in our 'modern' times. For many, their truth includes, eating disorders, depression, sucide ideation, addictions, and abuse. Pipher, writes this book to understand why young women are so suseptible to these dangers and how we can stop this destruction.
If you are a parent or work with young women, you must read this book. It offers information so we can undertand, protect, and help our young women maintain a strong sense of self. Reviving Ophelia shines with clarity, it brings light to the plight of many young women. Reviving Ophelia...to read alone so you remember yourself; to read to together to share; and to lend out, to educate the world.
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Summary: I only wish I'd read this when it came out
Review: I don't read self-help books or psychology texts. I'm a mathematician by education and training, and I'm as left-brained as they come. I'm married to a psychologist who specializes in adolescents, substance abuse, and eating disorders; if I want to know something, I ask her. A few weeks ago, she brought this book home for she (and hopefully me) to read. A friend and co-worker had strongly recommended it to her, and so it sat on our kitchen counter. I read a great deal, both in volume and in topics, so on a whim {translated: I had nothing else in my reading queue at the time), I picked it up and started reading it. I could not put it down. We have a 13-year old daughter, and have as much trouble as the next set of parents in trying to communicate with her and understand her. I find it particularly difficult at times as I grew up in a household with only boys. While there was certainly our fare share of sibling rivalry and other issues to help build my understanding in working with others, there was none of the stereotypical issues or dealings that you hear about with adolescent girls. My sole experience with adolescent girls was as an adolescent boy (and you know how sensitive your typical adolescent boy is). I like to think I'm a decent parent, but there's a lot I don't know about being an adolescent (boy or girl), and my daughter's not in a position in her life to tell me. This book communicates great deal of that and more that I needed and still need to hear. To be sure, there are things that are missing. If you're looking for an instruction set on how to communicate with or raise your adolescent daughter, you've got the wrong book. And at first, I believed this to be a serious failing. Pipher's book walks through a series of topics that can greatly influence a young girl, using vignettes of particular children and their stories to develop understanding and insight. And these are powerful vehicles for communication; presenting stories of strength and power in the face of unbelievable adversity. However, while they clearly mark the path for parents to avoid, they don't provide instruction on what TO do. And I believe that's how it should be. Parenting is a unique experience; one in which you can do everything right and still fail; one in which you can do many things wrong and still succeed. The purpose of this book is not to provide direction, but to provide understanding. And in that it is extremely successful.
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Summary: A topic that can't be ignored.
Review: It was actually the second part of title that grabbed my attention. I guess you could say I was a father figure to a teen girl at the time. I got this book in an attempt to understand the world she is growing up in. As a guy, I might tend to be blind to what girls have to put up with. I needed a little education. We should be more aware of what's going on. Young girls being bombarded with images of rail-thin models - some too thin even for my taste. It's unrealistic for all girls to be like those presented in the media, but most of them want that on some level. They feel they need to be like those in magazine and TV ads. All of that is discussed here. I feel this is a great book. I didn't feel as if this book was simply out to bash the media which could have been an easy path to take. It is a well-presented argument for social changes that need to be made. We see examples of some of the girls being affected by our girl-poisoning society.
Rating: 
Summary: 12 year old speaks
Review: Reviving Ophelia is a generalization that she should not have made,I read it and being just at the age she is talking about I think i of all people should know I agree that SOME girls do have problems when they go to junior high but for all the girls I know it was really fun and I am not being pressured to give up being a tomboy Elle
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