This book deals with many of the same issues that Pipher has considered in her subsequent writings. However, as with most self-published efforts,
Hunger Pains failed to attract national media attention, and so its readership was mostly regional. Not so with
Reviving Ophelia. Boosted by the marketing savvy and promotional muscle of a major New York-based publisher, the book was available in stores across North America, and it was widely reviewed in the popular press and professional journals.
Offering Solutions
Pipher's theme in Reviving Ophelia is as topical as it is straightforward. As Time reviewer Elizabeth Gleick explained it, Pipher makes the point that "adolescence is an especially precarious time for girls." A Publishers Weekly reviewer noted how the author laments "that, despite the advances of feminism, young women continue to be victims of abuse"--including the kind of self-abuse that is typified by eating disorders and self-mutilation.
