Here is the intriguing story of one woman’s mid-life flight from her stultified, middle-class, psychologically crippling, and unfulfilled existence into a world of high adventure, danger, hardship, and endurance, which ultimately leads her to autonomy and recognition. In her new book, A Woman’s Odyssey Into Africa, Hanny Lightfoot-Klein chronicles three year-long solo backpacking treks through remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa. In the process, she discovers the mainsprings of strength within herself as she follows her own drummer, finding the courage to face the darkest and most secret convolutions of her own mind. She weaves the story of her journey through the men, women, and children she meets, and the dangers and adventures she faces as a lone woman traveler--part and parcel of the path she has chosen to take. She infuses readers at any stage of life, especially women, with the courage to do what their individual drummer dictates, as she did, to find fulfillment in life. Lightfoot-Klein assures readers in her book: “Even a life of quiet desperation is not beyond redemption. Change starts with a reassessment of the distortions in self image one has been programmed to accept. It starts with an inner rebellion, a realization that something has been amiss and a desire to set it right, if only to leave a better heritage for one’s children. And then, most important of all, it begins with a single, wild, breathless moment, where one picks up an unaccustomed load and steps off into the unknown . . . ” Her message is truly for everyone.

This unique volume focuses on the psychosexual and social effects of female genital mutilation, an ancient, deeply entrenched custom saturating the larger part of Africa. Over a period of six years, Author Hanny Lightfoot-Klein trekked through outlying areas of Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt, where she lived with a number of African families. What she learned by way of in-depth personal interviews and firsthand observation has enabled her to add a previously unknown and often astonishing dimension to our knowledge of ritual practices and human sexuality. This valuable book will be extremely helpful to professionals and scholars in women's studies, social psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, gynecology, sexology, as well as cross-cultural and African studies. It should also interest anyone who is concerned with male circumcision in the United States.

The reader follows the author's experiences of Russia - experiencing local customs, the St. Petersburg flood and the Decembrist revolt - to her time in Jamaica as a missonary to the newly emancipated blacks.

An Afghan Woman's Odyssey is a first-person account of the tragedy that disrupted daily life in Afghanistan after the Communist coup of April 1978, events that eventually contributed to the volatile Taliban rule. This is the tale of a woman desperate to find her missing husband and her painful decision finally to abandon the search and to leave the country with her three children. Her story typifies the kinds of human-rights violations that became common practice after the Soviet invasion and made way for the later abuses of the Taliban.

Women and their roles within families must be understood within the context of ethnic traditions, religion, and culture. Women, Families, and Feminist Politics: A Global Exploration combines all of these aspects to evaluate the similarities and differences of women around the world. Readers will learn about diverse theories relating to women and their familial roles, the different categories of feminism, and how cultures and ethnic traditions shape and sometimes restrict a woman’s identity. Using feminist and sociocultural theories to critically examine the role of adult women within their families, Women, Families, and Feminist Politics offers ideas and suggestions on what has to be done in order for all of women’s experiences and concerns to be valued and looked upon as important. In addition to providing you with an understanding of how customs and cultures contribute to societal standards set for women, Women, Families, and Feminist Politics discusses several factors that contribute to the formation of women’s roles and identity, including: the economic situation of the family and the country in which the woman lives (a developed or developing country) cultural diversity in monogamous heterosexual marriage relations and specific marriage traditions, such as dowries family structures, such as nonnuclear, extended, polygamous, mixed religion relationships, mixed race relationships, or same-sex relationships reproduction and sexual standards in relation to religion, government policies, and world population gender equity in the workplace and programs for women in global development the health care needs of women and how they vary depending on culture, political philosophies, and resources women and violence in societal and family contexts, from war rapes, female circumcision, and footbinding to battery and sexual harassment Women, Families, and Feminist Politics looks at the daily challenges and concerns of adult women within the context of family to help you understand the different needs of women in relation to their culture and ethnic background. Focusing on the importance of views concerning the meaning of women’s social status, power, and success, Women, Families, and Feminist Politics contains case studies and statistical data that identify critical issues pertaining to you personally and to all women throughout the world. By understanding how women’s families help shape their identities, you will be able to learn about the vast experiences of women and the inequalities we have yet to overcome.

Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality explores the strong relationships food and sex have represented to women over the years. No other book has spelled out so clearly the parallels between sex and eating nor integrated the relationship of these to women’s basic need to be loved. Today’s dilemma for women--be fat or go hungry--and the endless variations and unsatisfying solutions to this problem have contributed to the incidence of anorexia, bulimia, and obesity. The pursuit of slimness, the obsession with having the perfect body, excessive aerobicizing, and diet books ad nauseam are all part of this phenomenon. Authors in Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality skillfully discuss the parallel between women’s obsession with sex and romance in the fifties and their obsession with food today. An important book for all women, it sheds light on the complex issues facing women and devotes special attention to the career woman and the additional pressures to be slim and stay slim. The woman who reads this potentially life-changing book can examine, question, and change her behavior, using the specific step-by-step program aid included in the book. This book is for every woman who has ever worried about being too fat or too sexual. Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality will appeal to women of all ages--young women and their mothers will be fascinated by the parallels between sexual obsessions of thirty years ago and the eating obsessions of today. This healing book will particularly attract single career women for whom sex and relationships are fraught with complications. Counselors and therapists will find this book an excellent resource in their work with helping women. It is also a good auxiliary text for courses in Women’s Studies focusing on psychology and history of women and the sociology of women and eating disorders.

Employees who may worry about the effect of their workplaces on their health often don't know how to find out about the safety of their workplaces and possible health and reproductive hazards. Reproductive Hazards in the Workplace aids working women in making important decisions about pregnancy and job-related health problems. It gives women a standard for judging their work situations, shows how they might improve them, and, armed with increased knowledge, how they might seek to improve working conditions for all pregnant women. To enable women to take action, Regina Kenen's straightforward book features: lists of pertinent questions to ask when looking for information regarding risks and hazards information on relevant legislation actual cases of pregnant women in the workplace and how they dealt with occupational risks lists of regulatory agencies, governmental, legal, medical, and voluntary agencies providing information and services regarding environmental health suggestions for small, individual, and larger group social action activities Reproductive Hazards in the Workplace will help women understand the health risks present at their workplaces and to reduce those occupational risks for the pregnant worker and, consequently, encourage all women, pregnant or not, to protect their occupational health and safety. This book provides a combination of technical, physical, psychological, and social materials and "how to" suggestions (guidelines for judging risks and hazards and social action suggestions). Reproductive Hazards in the Workplace is ideal for pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant in the near future who are now in the workplace and who are concerned about health risks. Union stewards, occupational health and women's health specialists, and personnel department officers of corporations may also find this timely book to be of assistance in planning programs for improved occupational health.