Synopses & Reviews
In this thoughtful and inspiring memoir, the author of the New York Times bestsellers Reviving Ophelia, The Shelter of Each Other, and Another Country explores her personal search for understanding, tranquility, and respect through her work as a psychologist and seeker.
aThere are three kinds of secrets, a Mary Pipher says in Seeking Peace: Chronicles of the Worst Buddhist in the World. aThose we keep from everyone, those we keep from certain people, and those we keep from ourselves. Writing this book forced me to deal with all three.a After decades of exploring the lives of others through her writing and therapy, Mary Pipher turns her attention to herselfaculling insights from her own life to highlight the importance of the journey, not just the destination.
Like most lives, Pipheras is filled with glory and tragedy, chaos and clarity, love and abandonment. She spent her childhood in small Nebraska towns, the daughter of a doctor mother and a restless jack-of-all-trades father. Often both of her parents were away and Pipher and her siblings lived as what she calls aferal children.a Later, as an adult and a therapist, Pipher was able to do what she most enjoyed: learn about the world and help others. After the surprising success of Reviving Ophelia, she was overwhelmed by the attention and demands on her time. In 2002, after a personal crisis, Pipher realized that success and fame were harming her, and she began working to find a quieter, more meditative life that would carry her toward self-acceptance and joy.
In Seeking Peace, Mary Pipher tells her own remarkable story, and in the process reveals truths about our search for happiness and love. While her story is unique, athe basic map and milestones of my story are universal, a she writes. aWe strive to make sense of our selves and our environments.a In Seeking Peace, Pipher reflects on her life in a way that allows readers to reimagine theirs.
Review
“A generous book conceived and executed by a compassionate…mind.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An absorbing chronicle of discovery.”
—Booklist
“This is an insightful and terribly personal memoir of an active and successful life, and of how [Piphers] almost desperate need for inner peace amid the noise of her world has dominated so many of her days.”
—Lincoln Journal Star
Synopsis
"An absorbing chronicle of discovery" from the life-changing #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reviving Ophelia. After decades as a psychotherapist, Mary Pipher now turns her attention to herself, collecting insights from her own life to illuminate the importance of one's life journey-not just the destination. As a wife, mother, and therapist, Pipher sought to learn about the world and help others. But after the surprising success of Reviving Ophelia, she found herself overwhelmed by the demands on her time and attention. In 2002, she suffered a breakdown. Pipher realized that success and fame were harming her, and she needed a quieter, more meditative life that would carry her toward self-acceptance and joy. In Seeking Peace, she tells her own remarkable story, and in the process reveals truths about everyone's search for happiness and love.
Mary Pipher at a book signing for her latest book, Seeking Peace, at Indigo Bridge Books in Lincoln, NE, on April 28th.
Synopsis
"An absorbing chronicle of discovery" (Booklist) from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Reviving Ophelia and The Shelter of Each Other
Like most lives, Mary Piphers is filled with glory and tragedy, chaos and clarity, love and abandonment. She spent her childhood in small Midwestern towns, the nurturing daughter of a doctor mother and a restless, jack-of-all-trades father. Later, as a wife, mother, and therapist, she was able to do what she most enjoyed: learn about the world and help others. But after the surprising success of Reviving Ophelia, she found herself overwhelmed by the demands on her time and attention. In 2002, Pipher experienced a meltdown. She realized that success and fame were harming her, and she began the long journey to a quieter, more meditative life that would carry her toward self-acceptance and joy.
In Seeking Peace, Pipher tells her own remarkable story, and in the process reveals fundamental truths about our individual search for happiness and love. Candid, surprising and moving, Seeking Peace offers a map for our own journey toward a more fulfilling, more joyously lived life.
About the Author
Mary Pipher, Ph.D., is the author of the number-one New York Times-bestselling Reviving Ophelia, as well as The Shelter of Each Other, Another Country, The Middle of Everywhere, and Letters to a Young Therapist. She was a Rockefeller Scholar, and received the American Psychological Association's Presidential Citation. Currently, she is a visiting professor in both the English and Psychology departments at the University of Nebraska.