Helmsmen

Timoneiras is aimed at women who have reached maturity and wish to be on the self-aware path to their own happiness throughout their lives.

Composed of interviews, stories, and accounts from real women who faced all kinds of challenges along the way, Helmswomen: Taking the Helm of Life is an invitation to self-reflection. Some themes are a joy to explore: love, companionship, adventure, fun, and friendship. Others are abysmal: the imposition of beauty standards, machismo, the loneliness of aging, illness, death, and grief.

The author, Mary Pipher, is a clinical psychologist, cultural anthropologist, mother, sister, and grandmother who has spent her life learning that the paths imposed by society on women can become a burden: eternal youth, marriage, motherhood, anxiety, depression, the invisibility of old age, good education, obstacles, and shortcuts to what is considered living well.

Pipher knows that experiences are multiple and unique, varying according to social class, race, cultural background, and sexual orientation. However, she believes in the power of sharing, exchanging, and learning together. Helmswomen: Taking the helm of life as we age is the beginning of a new dialogue. It delves deeper into plurality and the will to live, exploring the talents and challenges that constitute the existence of those who always venture into new stretches of river.

She's a guide to bliss, a friend who helps us row toward life—intense, joyful, or painful, complex and beautiful. Whether along the Cape of Good Hope or the Cape of Storms, Mary Pipher points out that there's always a beautiful landscape to appreciate.

“Explores the stereotypes and challenges of aging and the survival skills women need to be happy.” - The Wall Street Journal

“Practical and inspiring all at once.” - The New York Times