Mary Pipher Quotes

Adolescence is a border between childhood and adulthood. Like all borders, it’s teeming with energy and fraught with danger. Mary Pipher

Traditionally parents have wondered what their teens were doing, but now teens are much more likely to be doing things that can get them killed. Mary Pipher

Adolescence is when girls experience social pressure to put aside their authentic selves and to display only a small portion of their gifts. Mary Pipher

Most parents of adolescent girls have the goal of keeping their daughters safe while they grow up and explore the world. The parents’ job is to protect, the daughter’s job is to explore. Mary Pipher

Maturity involves being honest and true to oneself, making decisions based on a conscious internal process, assuming responsibility for one’s decisions, having healthy relationships with others and developing one’s own true gifts. Mary Pipher

I think history is inextricably linked to identity. If you don’t know your history, if you don’t know your family, who are you? Mary Pipher

The protected place in space and time that we once called childhood has grown shorter. Mary Pipher

Real friends require honesty, openness, and even vulnerability. They also require attention and simple acts of kindness. Mary Pipher

We need to work together to build a sexual culture that is sensible, decent and joyful. Mary Pipher