Sunday, October 3, 2010

Reviving Ophelia

Inspired by the book"Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls," Lifetime TV has a new movie set to air October 11, 2010 at 9:00 pm et staring Jane Kaczmarek and Kim Dickens.

"In “Reviving Ophelia,” sisters Marie (Jane Kaczmarek) and Le Ann (Kim Dickens) have always leaned on one another through life’s challenges, but discover they need each other more than ever as they navigate the complexities of understanding and raising their teen daughters. Marie’s 17-year-old Elizabeth (Rebecca Williams) has the picture-perfect life, with a seemingly equally wonderful boyfriend. Meanwhile, Le Ann is raising 16-year-old Kelli (Carleigh Beverly) as a single parent and finds it difficult to relate to the pressures her daughter is facing with boys, friends and school. When Kelli starts to suspect Elizabeth may be abused by her boyfriend (Nick Thurston), no one will believe her. But when Elizabeth lands in the hospital, Kelli’s surprising insights help Marie give Elizabeth the courage to leave her violent relationship." ~ From Lifetime TV
I had an opportunity to preview "Reviving Ophelia" and felt the message of the movie was far greater then my personal opinion, and more important to share.
First I really wondered if this was a timely message?  Is domestic abuse really an issue teens face?  It is not front and center on the 100s of news channels, you don't read about it in the newspaper: frankly you just don't hear about it.
The truth is 1 in 5 teen girls have reported being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner. (source)   In the conversation teens seem to be left out, the sad truth is nearly half of adult sexual offenders report committing their first offense before the age of 18 (source).   The teenage years are when we really start forming those one-on-one connections, it is where the cycle starts.
I am not going to pretend I have all the answers here, because I don't .  Truthfully I just learned these facts after watching "Reviving Ophelia." Knowing one day I will have to have this discuss with my girl is a bit scary, but now I know it has to happen. Watching this movie with your daughter just might be the perfect launch pad for discussing this scary but important issue.
See preview here.

Guides:
Lifetime TV works with Break The Cycle to help you have that talk with your daughter.  Go to the"Reviving Ophelia" page and click on "Teen Dating Violence." 

Disclaimer:
If you are someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, check out National Domestic Violence Hotline, with a "Quick Escape" button. 
Also note that not only teen girls are subject to domestic violence, but teen boys as well.   Any person,  in any relationship, straight or same-sex, can experience domestic abuse.  Domestic abuse does not discriminate. 

Review Disclaimer:
 I received a copy of Reviving Ophelia to review from Lifetime TV, no other compensation was given and the opinions above are my own. 

1 comment:

  1. I will have to check this out. Hopefully it will become available on netflix at some point. I read the book a few years ago and was profoundly affected (and frankly, a little scared) by it. There are so many worrisome issues we have to think about with regards to our growing girls. I think I will reread the book too--it gives some pretty solid ideas on how to raise a strong, secure girl.

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