From Reviving Ophelia to a Life in Light: Growing Happier as We Age With Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher revolutionized our understanding of adolescent girls with her best-selling book Reviving Ophelia. Since then, Mary has been writing about the skills women need to thrive across their lifespans. Drawing from her own experiences and her extensive work, including ‘Letters to a Young Therapist’ and ‘Women Rowing North,’ Pipher discusses the impact of cultural contexts on individuals, the necessity of self-discovery, and how to find rest amidst a midlife meltdown. She also encourages friendship, intention, and gratitude to cultivate happiness, illustrating that it’s never too late to develop these life-coping skills.

Listen and Learn:

Looking at Teenage Girls Through the Lens of Culture
Reviving Ophelia, 25 Years Later
Teenagers and anxiety
Teenage Girls and Mothers
Coping Skills During Adolescence
The Midlife Meltdown
Finding Rest
Women and Aging Well
Balancing Sorrows With Joy as We Age
A Life in LIght
Setting an Intention for the Day

About Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher graduated in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley in 1969 and received her Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska in Clinical Psychology in 1977. She was a Rockefeller Scholar in Residence at Bellagio and has received two American Psychological Association Presidential Citations, one of which she returned to protest psychologists’ involvement in enhanced interrogations at Guantánamo and other black sites.

Mary was born in the Ozarks and grew up in rural Nebraska. As a girl, she liked reading, writing, swimming, being outdoors, and talking to her friends and family. She still enjoys these activities. She is also a community organizer and activist for many causes. She lives in Nebraska with her husband Jim.

Pipher is the author of 11 books, including 4 New York Times bestsellers, Reviving Ophelia and Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age. Her latest book is A Life in Light.