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There are currently 24 member reviews
for Women Rowing North
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Barbara H. (San Antonio, TX)
Rowing against the current
Psychologist Mary Pipher shares observations and insights from her career of working with women, especially dealing with sexism, ageism and trauma. As a female exactly Pipher's age, I found much of this book's content to resonate with my life experiences. Filled with anecdotal examples from women she knows well and has interviewed extensively, the book tells of many women who have managed to survive some pretty serious illnesses, family dramas or life tragedies. I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. There is really very little new or surprising in these pages, and I can't imagine that reading this book in our senior years will have any lasting change on our life patterns. Most of the women I know are making the best of it, despite the difficulties that come with aging. They already know that maintaining their faith, their friendships, their family and a sense of purpose are the only ways to remain sane and relatively happy, as they row against the current. It's good to reflect on the things for which to have gratitude at any stage in life, and if Pipher's book reminds us of this, it's a good thing in general. I do think that women's book clubs will find a lot to discuss using this as a springboard.
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Kathryn
She Had Me Until Page 24
I was anxious to read this book and delighted by some memorable sentences early on. The first warning bell was on page 24 where the author describes a retreat she attended as one of earth's protectors sent into the desert to find a mystical symbol, in her case a cactus, on which she pricked her finger and offered her blood to all her ancestors. I knew this book was written by someone with academic credentials and this was not what I was looking expecting.
The author states that the book is both descriptive and prescriptive but I found it to be mainly descriptive. As a 'how to think" book, I don't see it offering much. To me it is more of a litany of all the ills that can befall you at this stage of life. You can get sick, your spouse can get sick, people die. No kidding. Sure, resilience is good and a group of women friends can be amazingly helpful, but I didn't need to read this book to know that. Sorry, but it wasn't for me.
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Deborah M. (Chambersburg, PA)
Not What I Expected
As someone in her senior years, I was looking for some advice and inspiration, but I didn't find it here. Instead of practical advice and real insights, Pipher hands out typical pop psych and New Age junk. Take a bubble bath, hug a tree, play with your grandchildren (I don't have any), count your blessings. The anecdotes of aging women are more depressing than inspiring. Not everyone has family and friends to support them. Not everyone has the financial means or insurance to manage health issues or get therapy. I read the first half of the book and found it pretty useless, boring and annoying, so I skimmed the rest. It really didn't get much better.
