Pipher, Mary, Ph.D. (1995). Reviving Ophelia: Saving The Selves Of Adolescent Girls. New York: Ballantine Books. 293pp.

Grade Range: 10-12

Genre: nonfiction

Summary and Critique

Pipher, a clinical psychologist, writes a sobering and riveting look at the problems experienced by adolescent girls brought on by societal pressures and the media. Each chapter tackles a different topic (e.g., Developmental Issues, Drugs and Alcohol, Sex and Violence, Depression, Eating Disorders) and includes case studies from Pipher's practice. Interestingly, although patients'progress is documented in these case studies, the emphasis is on the process of recovering rather than resolution of the problem. There are no pat solutions given in these stories; rather, the examples provide a harrowing glimpse of the depth of trauma experienced by many adolescent girls as they struggle to find or regain their identities. Pipher draws conclusions about the toxic nature of today's society on young girls, then illustrates her point with examples from her practice. Although the reader's heart goes out to the girls and their therapist, she is also chilled and horrified by the obvious destructive influences of modern society, particular the depiction of women in the media. In example after example, Pipher draws the readers attention to the bombardment of negative images that many take for granted, but that are internalized in a destructive way by young girls.

Although dark in tone, Pipher's book is not entirely depressing. In the last chapter she does offers practical solutions for countering the massive psychological problems she sees in her patients. An on another positive note, Pipher's revelations and warnings have given rise to a number of national organizations (Ophelia Projects) that focus on creating a safe and nurturing environment for girls to be themselves and find their own identities.

Awards

A New York Times Bestseller

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Generations

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Love, Sex, and Romance

Author Information

Dr. Mary Pipher has over twenty years experience as a clinical psychologist. Currently, she teaches at the University of Nebraska. She has written four novels (Hunger Pains, Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, The Shelter of Each Other: Rebuilding Our Families and Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders) and numerous articles.

For more information on Dr. Mary Pipher:

http://www.meaning.ca/conference/mary_pipher.html Biographical information.

http://www.ivillage.com/books/print/0,,53936,00.html?arrivalSA=1&cobrandRef=0&arrival_freqCap=2 Interview with Pipher.

Media Connections

Movies

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. (1974) Explores the life of an African-American woman born into slavery and survives 110 years to witness the Civil Rights Movement.

Welcome to the Dollhouse. (1995) Both humorous and depressing, Welcome to the Dollhouse depicts the experiences of an unpopular and unattractive 7^th grade girl.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café. (1991). A nursing home patient teaches a dissatisfied housewife how to be confident, content, and assertive.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) In this"Cinderella" type comedy, Toula, a thirty-something year-old woman from a traditional Greek family, meets and falls in love with a non-Greek man.

Norma Rae. (1979) A single mother summons the courage to demand proper working conditions.

Online Resources

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/78/95678.htm An interview with Mary Pipher.

http://www.genaustin.org/public/ The Girls Empowerment Network. Provides a variety of information for teenage girls as well as a forum for teenage girls to discuss various issues.

http://www.mirror-mirror.org/eatdis.htm Offers information on eating disorders

http://www.self-esteem-nase.org/ National Association for Self-Esteem. Provides information about self-esteem as well as activities and resources for building self-esteem

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Official web site for the National Institute of Mental Health. Provides information on mental health issues.

Related Texts

McKissak, Pat. (1992). Sojourner Truth: Ain't I a Woman? New York: Scholastic, 182pp. A biographical account of Sojourner Truth, a slave who escaped and fought for the rights of African-Americans and women.

Cowley, Marjorie. (1998). Anooka's Answer. New York: Clarion, 152pp. Anooka, a teenage girl living in Paleolithic France, desires a better life than the one her culture has bestowed upon her.

Greenfield, Laura. (2002). Girl Culture. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 155pp. A primarily pictorial account of the lives of American teenage girls.

Brumberg, Joan Jacobs. (1997). The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls. New York: Random House, 267pp. Explores the changing emphasis from teenage girls'personalities and talents to their physical appearance over the past one hundred years.

Levenkron, Steven. (1978). The Best Little Girl in the World. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 196pp. A fictional account of a teenage girl trying to become perfect by starving herself to death.

Spinelli, Jerry. (2000). Stargirl. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 186pp. A unique girl who had been home-schooled discovers popularity and painful ostracism when she enters a public high school.

Teaching Ideas

(1)"Self-Analysis Writing Project"

What do you like about your body? What don't you like?

What things would you change if you could? Why?

What would you like to do more than anything else?

If you could be anyone, who would you be?

Whom do you admire? Why?

Who would you most like to be like? Why?

Who are you INSIDE? Does anyone know?

What do you think people would say/do if they knew the REAL you?

(2) Scan magazines and watch television (including music videos) to find ads and images depicting women.

How are women portrayed in these ads?

What is the overt message being presented?

What is the underlying message being presented?

(3) Using magazines and newspapers, make a collage of the images you think are derogatory.

(4) Using magazines and newspapers, make a collage of images depicting women in strong roles.

(Review written by Belinda Boon and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)