Mary Pipher

Teenage girls are extremists who see the world in black-and- white terms, missing shades of gray. Life is either marvelous or notworth…

— Mary Pipher

We live in a world filled with language. Language imparts identity, meaning, and perspective to our human community. Writers are either polluters…

— Mary Pipher

“Finally I teach the joys of altruism. Many adolescent girls are self-absorbed. It's not a character flaw, it's a developmental stage. Nonetheless,…

— Mary Pipher

“It's virtually impossible in America to be heavy and feel good about oneself.”

— Mary Pipher

I think history is inextricably linked to identity. If you don't know your history, if you don't know your family, who are…

— Mary Pipher

If there's a therapist who wants a writing project, I think there's a need for a book about how the culture affects…

— Mary Pipher

We tend to value military heroes and Schwarzenegger types who are physically courageous. The heroics of doing the right thing every day…

— Mary Pipher

People come here penniless but not cultureless. They bring us gifts. We can synthesize the best of our traditions with the best…

— Mary Pipher

“Young men need to be socialized in such a way that rape is as unthinkable to them as cannibalism.”

— Mary Pipher

Something dramatic happens to girls in early adolescence. Just as planes and ships disappear mysteriously into the Bermuda Triangle, so do the…

— Mary Pipher

Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their…

— Mary Pipher

Therapy isn't Radio.We don't need to constantly fill the air with sounds. Sometimes, when its quite, surprising things happen.

— Mary Pipher

“The battle for popularity is won, but the war for respect as a whole person is lost.”

— Mary Pipher

Real friends require honesty, openness, and even vulnerability. They also require attention and simple acts of kindness.

— Mary Pipher

I think anorexia is a metaphor. It is a young woman's statement that she will become what the culture asks of its…

— Mary Pipher

“Simone de Beauvoir believed adolescence is when girls realize that men have the power and that their only power comes from consenting…

— Mary Pipher

“When unnatural thinness became attractive, girls did unnatural things to be thin.”

— Mary Pipher

The protected place in space and time that we once called childhood has grown shorter.

— Mary Pipher

One important reason to stay calm is that calm parents hear more. Low-key, accepting parents are the ones whose children keep talking.

— Mary Pipher

Prayer is vastly superior to worry. With worry, we are helpless; with prayer, we are interceding. When I hear sad news, I…

— Mary Pipher

“The most important question for every client is "W X ho are you?" I'm not as interested in an answer as I…

— Mary Pipher

Most parents of adolescent girls have the goal of keeping their daughters safe while they grow up and explore the world. The…

— Mary Pipher

“Authenticity is an "owning" of all experience, including emotions and thoughts that are not socially acceptable. Because self-esteem is based on the…

— Mary Pipher

Coming out of the trance of denial is painful. But crises offer us opportunities to rethink our lives. The best thing about…

— Mary Pipher

“Pain, as well as beauty, is necessary to give us perspective. We can place our suffering against the backdrop of time and…

— Mary Pipher