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Book Summary and Reviews of Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher

Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher

Women Rowing North

Navigating Life's Currents and Flourishing As We Age

by Mary Pipher

  • Critics' Consensus (1):
  • Readers' Rating (26):
  • Published:
  • Jan 2019, 272 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

The instant New York Times bestseller from the author of Reviving Ophelia--a guide to wisdom, authenticity, and bliss for women as they age.

Women growing older contend with ageism, misogyny, and loss. Yet as Mary Pipher shows, most older women are deeply happy and filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people they have always wanted to be.

In Women Rowing North, Pipher offers a timely examination of the cultural and developmental issues women face as they age. Drawing on her own experience as daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, caregiver, clinical psychologist, and cultural anthropologist, she explores ways women can cultivate resilient responses to the challenges they face. "If we can keep our wits about us, think clearly, and manage our emotions skillfully," Pipher writes, "we will experience a joyous time of our lives. If we have planned carefully and packed properly, if we have good maps and guides, the journey can be transcendent."

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A work chock-full of wisdom and consoling messages ... While a must-read for its target audience of women moving into old age, Pipher's engaging book is an ought-to-read for their daughters and sons as well, as it sets forth the universal message that 'happiness is a choice and a set of skills.'" - Publishers Weekly, starred review

"This is bound to become the bible of baby boomer women." - Library Journal, starred review

"Thoughtful, wise, and humane." - Kirkus Reviews

"This positive, affirming book will inspire and guide women facing these challenges." - Booklist

"An enlightening look at how women can age joyfully." - People

"Both practical and inspiring." - New York Times "Inside the List"

"[Pipher's] 'quest for joy and happiness' is sincere, as is her commitment to helping other women achieve theirs. Some readers will treasure the book. All readers will admire her unadorned but wise summation that answered prayers are 'a surcease of worry.'" - Washington Post

"Pipher offers warm, empathetic guidelines for navigating aging and for recognizing its unexpected gifts." - BookPage

"A wisdom-filled guide ... Pipher's mindful tips act as a map to joy and remind us that we can flourish through all of our years" - Woman's World

"Think of Women Rowing North as a GPS for navigating your later years. And while Pipher, 71, says she wrote it specifically for women crossing from middle age to old age, there is much in the book that is useful for any of us." - Considerable

This information about Women Rowing North was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Mary Pipher Author Biography

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 10 books ...

... Full Biography

Name Pronunciation
Mary Pipher: PIE-fur

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