Singing at the Top of Our Lungs: Women, Love, and Creativity [Paperback]

Claudia Bepko (Author), Jo-Ann Krestan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1993

In "Singing At The Top Of Our Lungs: Women, Love, And Creativity", the co-authors of the acclaimed "Too Good For Her Own Good", challenge the traditional view surrounding the seemingly unavaoidable split between love and creative energy. Using examples culled from surveys and in-depth interviews with over 300 women from diverse backgrounds, the authors explore how women think about love, what it means to be creative, and how they integrate the two into their lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

A loving, if not very creative, analysis of the conflicts that arise when women try to foster both relationships and personal fulfillment. Family therapists Bepko and Krestan (Too Good for Her Own Good, 1990) contend, not surprisingly, that women can have both. The authors researched the issue by surveying more than 300 women, and by following up with 45 intense personal interviews. They were ``surprised'' to find that many still believe that relationships are more important than self-expression--although one wonders why that finding startled them: The research of Carol Gilligan and others has made the dominance of relationships in women's lives a point of feminist debate for years. Besides exploring the priorities of relationships, the survey's questions also probed how women defined and shaped (or did not shape) their creative lives (Mary Catherine Bateson's Composing a Life, 1989, covers this territory more fully, with less gushing admiration for creative women). The early chapters here are best, examining the patriarchal culture that has made it rewarding for women to nurture relationships and not their individuality. On the basis of the survey, the authors group women into four types--''lovers,'' ``leaders,'' ``innovators,'' and ``artists''--depending on where their priorities lie. The authors seem to prefer women who dump their pasts in order to become poets, artists, or marginal entrepreneurs. The anecdotes about women like these who live a ``passionate life'' are compelling, and some of Bepko and Krestan's insights challenge conventional wisdom--e.g., that children are less disruptive of the creative life than marriage is. (Questionnaires, as well as profiles of the respondents, are included as appendices.) Excellent for its historical summary of the tensions that women face in choosing between the creative and the caring life, but unconvincing for its typecasting. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

STIRRING YOUR CREATIVE PASSIONS How many times have we heard a friend say with sadness. "I used to play the violin," I used to sing," "I used to love throwing pots." How many times have we, too, expressed a similar regret--evoked some early passion that for myriad reasons got dumped or deferred? Claudia Bepko and Jo-Ann Krestan dive right into the troubled waters where women wrestle with their creative impulses in a buyoant and instructive book......explore strategies for pursuing creativity and offer models that will help us unleash our own passions, and sing, in their image, "at the top of our lungs." -- New Woman, June 1991

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Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (June 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060924993
• ISBN-13: 978-0060924997
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,582,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I am not alone!, May 18, 2000

By 

Bettina S. (Baltimore, Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singing at the Top of Our Lungs: Women, Love, and Creativity (Paperback)

What a wonderfully confirming book this was for me. For those times when I wonder why my desire for a relationship isn't always as strong as my desire to express myself and for those for whom family and relationships are the life force within... this book explores the differences within us all. I was very interested in the stories of women who have chosen to put their creative priorities first, and I was also intrigued by those whose commitment to the nurturing of family was so powerful. I think this book will be a wonderful support to those who may feel that the path they are on is not meeting all of their needs and who long for something more.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, October 16, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Singing at the Top of Our Lungs: Women, Love, and Creativity (Paperback)

This book by Jo-Ann Krestan and Claudia Bepko is just a terrific book. It is inspirational for women especially but the idea, "singing at the top of our lungs", is equally good for men who want to live their lives full-out, passionately involved, fully alive and engaged. The categorization is interesting and the stories are very sweet. Its a great book.