Women's Lives - Softcover

Sue Llewelyn; Kate Osborne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415017025 ISBN 13: 9780415017022

Publisher: Routledge, 1990

Synopsis

From adolescence and adult partnerships, through motherhood, to growing old, "Women's Lives" explores themes which are central to women's experience, focusing on areas such as growing up, women on their own, sexuality, bringing up children, and family relationships. Sue Llewelyn and Kate Osborne argue that a multi-faceted approach is needed to understand a woman's life, taking in not only her personal psychology, but also the social context in which she lives. The authors are both clinical psychologists with an interest in psychotherapy, and they draw on their own direct experience of working with women in distress, as well as on feminist writing, novels, and autobiographies, to illustrate their arguments. Each chapter presents a detailed case history, highlighing an important aspect of women's lives, and demonstrates the increased understanding to be gained from a combined approach using social psychology, feminist ideas, and psychodynamic insights.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

British psychologists Llewelyn and Osborne combine other researchers' published studies with case histories drawn from their own work in psychotherapy for a lively, informative discussion of the dilemmas women face during the course of their lives. Working from "psychodynamic, social, and feminist perspectives," they consider the effects of both personal and social influences on women confronting problems of adolescence, building and ending intimate relationships, surviving in the workplace, raising children, aging and living alone. Each chapter examines a variety of issues that arise during a particular phase of life. In the chapter "Becoming a Mother," an account of a young woman who becomes pregnant although her marriage is shaky opens a discussion of influences on a woman's decision to have a child and the effects of infertility on a woman's sense of identity. The chapter on aging considers sexuality, illness and possibilities for emotional and spiritual growth. The wide range of topics means that each is treated only briefly; however, this highly accessible volume should appeal to readers interested in the psychological aspects of women's issues.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

Written by two clinical psychologists for Britain's National Health Service, this excellent analysis of the complex situations challenging women today contains much vital information and many important insights. Directing their work at women alone and in groups, as well as helping professionals, Llewelyn and Osborne ground their arguments and ideas in actual experience, presenting them in a readable, jargon-free style that never condescends or obfuscates. Each chapter deals with a major aspect of women's lives--adolescence, relationships, sexuality, work, maternity, child-rearing, living alone, aging--beginning with a case history that illustrates the chapter's theme, then exploring the social psychology and psychodynamics of the situation in a feminist context. The authors draw on a rich variety of sources, from scholarly studies to novels and autobiographies, explaining how and where they disagree with other experts and carefully identifying their own opinions. Highly recommended.
- Beverly Miller, Boise State Univ. Lib., Id.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1990
• ISBN 10: 0415017025
• ISBN 13: 9780415017022
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 266