posted on November 05, 2012 11:45
Book by Barbara Ann Cole & Helen Gunter
Review by
Karin Brown
Academic Services Coordinator
TRiO-Student Support Services
Ozarka College
Are you a women considering starting on a PhD? Are you researching women who earn a PhD? Are you interested in what it takes for a women to make it through the PhD process? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is a book for you.
This book discloses a personal record of six women from their distinctive perspectives of their experiences and endeavors while attaining a PhD. Of the six women, one discusses the “tug-of-war” between family and academia, one mentions the uncertainty and being perceived as defiant in her journey, another confides about issues of race and self-esteem, one looks at the controversy of gender and “silence”, and then others address culture and social issues.
From an advising standpoint, this book gives you many examples to assist in illustrating that every woman has difficulties while attending school whether she is trying to achieve a certificate or earning a PhD. It realistically shows that it is not easy to achieve a PhD, but that with persistence and determination, it can be accomplished.
While I must admit that the beginning of this book was somewhat challenging, the stories are so worth the introduction. I would certainly recommend this book to any woman contemplating a doctoral degree or anyone researching women who earn a PhD.
Changing lives: Women, inclusion and the PhD. (2010). Book by Barbara Ann Cole & Helen Gunter (Eds.) Review by Karin Brown. Stylus Publishing. 165 pp. $34.95. ISBN #
978-1-85856-461-6