No one can deny that there is a glass ceiling that keeps women from reaching the very summit of professional achievement. Eliminating that stubborn barricade would no doubt change the world. The secret, Dr. Patricia O’Gorman tells us, has been inside of us all along. In The Resilient Woman: Mastering the 7 Steps to Personal Power (HCI Books), we learn how to access that wisdom.
From a very young age, women learn an incessant stream of self-limiting interior dialogue that tells them they are not thin enough, smart enough or good enough to succeed, find the right partner, or compete against others in their personal and professional lives. This self-defeating monologue or “girly thoughts” combines with popular culture and its barrage of messages that a person can’t be complete unless they measure up to some elusive standard.
Whether dealing with family members, coworkers, intimate relationships, or a best friend, when a woman feels “less than” she often misses the path toward achieving her true potential. Blaming herself for what someone else has done to her is, sadly, a common theme among women, but Dr. O’Gorman shows how this reaction is merely how women have been conditioned to respond—then provides the tools they need to break the cycle and become more resilient.
The Resilient Woman acts as a guide for women to uncover their inner power so they can challenge these thoughts and stop blaming themselves for anything that goes wrong in their life. Dr. O’Gorman provides the tools to help women learn how to find their own best solutions and stop the girly thoughts that tell them who they are, how they should act, and that hold them back.
Internationally recognized for her work on women, trauma, and substance abuse, Dr. Patricia O’Gorman is a psychologist, coach, and public speaker known for her warm, funny, and informative talks. She was one of the first researchers exploring the dilemmas faced by children of alcoholics in the early 1970s and went on to create the Department of Prevention and Education for the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. She is cofounder of the National Association for Children of Alcoholics and has run a rape-crisis center. In addition to her private practice in Saranac Lake and Albany, New York, she is Chairperson of the Advisory Board of Horses Healing Hearts, Inc., an equine learning program for children of alcoholics. For more information on Dr. O’Gorman’s work or her latest book, please visit: www.patriciaogorman.com, where you can also find her blog: thepowerfulwoman.net .
Available at fine bookstores, online outlets and author’s website
