On the Back Cover
""This unique and powerful book is a must-read for any woman on a path of self-discovery and personal empowerment. Authored by seven leading female psychologists, Finding Your Voice is full of inspiring wisdom and practical tools and will give the reader thousands of dollars worth of therapy for the price of one book!""
-Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D.
author of Are You the One for Me?
Recognize and realize your true desires
Is your life what you want it to be? For most women, the answer is not really. Too often, we listen to everyone but ourselves when it comes to determining how our lives should be proceeding-and this prevents us from living the lives we really desire.
In this remarkable new book, a team of highly credentialed psychologists shows you how to overcome unproductive, blameful thoughts and unrealistic expectations-the things you tell yourself about how marriages, friendships, children, and careers should be. Each chapter lays out widely promoted images of a modern woman-the mother raising a perfect child and loving every minute of it, the top-of-her-game career woman, the woman who loves her body just as it is-then reveals how women more often beat themselves up with these ideals than achieve them. Finding Your Voice shows you how to use self-talk to sort through expectations, isolate your own voice, and take the necessary steps to meet your unique needs. You'll be happier and more confident, and you will live a more fulfilled life-the one you're entitled to.
Front Cover Glimpse
A successful career . . . a happy marriage . . . a fit body . . . a picture-perfect family-these idealized images of today's woman confront us on all sides. We believe they should be attainable-because we enjoy greater opportunities, freedom, and resources than ever before. And yet, the notion that any woman with a little determination really can have it all traps us in a new oppression. The fact is that external obstacles, societal attitudes, old parental messages, and other internal barriers still stand in our way-leaving us unsettled about our choices and dissatisfied with our accomplishments, sometimes making us our own worst enemies.
Now, in Finding Your Voice, a team of highly credentialed and experienced women psychologists have written a groundbreaking book that helps you uncover what you want and need in order to create a more fulfilling, happier life. Finding Your Voice shows you how to use self-talk to identify your own true voice, feel more confident and capable, believe in yourself, and make decisions based on the real you. The authors explore the popularly promoted image of the modern woman and tackle all the issues that challenge us today: family, friendships, work, money, self-esteem, child-rearing, and marriage. Through real-life profiles based on women they have counseled, the authors reveal how such idealized expectations so often lead to feelings of malaise, anxiety, and discontent.
By reading this book, you will see how to combat those defeating emotions, get unstuck, and move forward. You will learn to:
- Identify the messages that are guiding your actions
- Stop doing what you don't want to do but think you should
- Envision better ways to deal with the "old stuff" in your life
- Adopt new behaviors that allow you to reach for new achievements
- Accept and applaud your unique strengths
A remarkable journey of self-discovery, Finding Your Voice will help you realize your true desires-and live the life you were meant to live.
About the Authors
DOROTHY CANTOR, Psy.D., a past president of the American Psychological Association, is the coauthor of What Do You Want to Do When You Grow Up? and was interviewed on the Today show.
CAROL GOODHEART, Ed.D., SANDRA HABER, Ph.D., and KAREN ZAGER, Ph.D., are past presidents of Psychologists in Independent Practice.
ELLEN McGRATH, Ph.D., and ALICE RUBENSTEIN, Ed.D., are past presidents of the American Psychological Association Division of Psychotherapy.
LENORE WALKER, Ed.D., executive director of the Domestic Violence Institute, is a past president of the American Psychological Association Division of Media Psychology and the author of Terrifying Love. ANDREA THOMPSON is a former McCall's articles editor and a professional writer.
As a group, these seven psychologists, all of whom are in private practice, have formed the Women to Women Psychology Group, W2W. Each has served as president of a national psychological organization with a total of ten presidencies among them. Together they have received fifty-eight awards and honors, have authored twenty-eight books and more than eighty-five articles and book chapters, and have been quoted in many national magazines and newspapers, including Time, Newsweek, Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, Ladies Home Journal, Working Woman, Family Circle, Parenting, Woman's Day, Psychology Today, YM, and Working Mother. They have counseled more than 50,000 clients. Visit their Web site at www.finding-your-voice.com.
Goodheart has a private practice in Princeton, New Jersey.
