Personal Leadership for Women: Recommend Reading, Reviving Ophelia

There are so many great books that there is no way that we can know of them all, let alone read them all.  I have decided to blog about some that I think are especially worthwhile.

I recently finished reading Reviving Ophelia, Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, by Mary Pipher, Ph.D.  Although the book has a copyright of 1994, it is still relevant today.  Unfortunately, I do not think things have changed that much since then.

In this book, Dr. Pipher cites examples of how toxic our society and media can be on adolescent girls.  There is too much emphasis on looks and fitting in rather than encouraging girls to grow into the person they want to be.  One story she told was of a client who described herself as being a perfectly good carrot, but everyone wanted to cut her into a rose.  And when they did, she withered.

She also talks about the violence against women and girls in our society and the negative impact this has.  This includes how women are portrayed as victims in television and movies.

For any of you that have daughters, granddaughters, nieces, or other girls in your life that you care about, I highly recommend this book.  It will help you understand what girls are going through and how you can help.  You can do much before they reach adolescence by helping them develop confidence in themselves as children.  You can help further during adolescence.

Have any of you read this book?  What did you think?  Are there other books you would recommend?