The following article has been excerpted from Teaching and Counseling Gifted Girls, one of six exciting books in the Gifted Child Today Reader Series. This series brings together the best articles published in Gifted Child Today, the nation's most popular gifted education journal. Each book in the series is filled with exciting and practical classroom ideas, useful summaries of research findings, and discussions of identification and classroom management, and informed opionion about educating gifted children.

Chapter 6

[T]hinking that I had been given a second chance in life, I threw myself into books. I read books about troubled women, Helen Keller and Anne Frank. I read about Eleanor Roosevelt. . . .

What a difference it makes in your world to go into some other life. It’s what I love most. I’m reading always to leave myself, always to leave myself behind. That’s what reading is. You get to leave.

—Oprah Winfrey, qtd. in Johnson, 1997, p. 53, 60

Gifted young women face a variety of important social and emotional issues throughout adolescence and passage into adulthood, including those related to gender-role expectations, relationship-oriented problems, achievement and underachievement concerns, and the need for resilience in women’s lives. The guided reading of biographies is a useful counseling strategy through which middle and high school educators may assist gifted females in gaining helpful insights to deal with the problems they face and will continue to face throughout their lives, thus helping them maintain their emotional health and develop their talent.

As early as the preschool and kindergarten years, females begin to internalize learned sex roles (Reis, 1999). Behavior conforming to these sex roles is reinforced by parents and teachers who consistently reward girls for exhibiting traditional female behavior (Mann, 1994; Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Later on, many young women in middle school learn to fear success and avoid involvement in math and science courses following years of societal stereotyping and sex-role socialization (Callahan & Reis, 1996). Stereotyping delivers powerful messages to intelligent young females about their roles in life, their own importance, and their worth as women (Reis & Callahan, 1989). Reis asserted that, even when a gifted young woman is encouraged to study in a field of her choice, the message she receives as an adult is that her success is measured as a wife and mother, not as a professional. Acceptance of sex-role stereotypes regarding their ability may cause gifted young women to lower their expectations for academic and career achievement.

The literature provides evidence that sex-role stereotyping is reinforced in school environments and that teachers may contribute to it (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Studies have indicated that masculine characteristics and males are more highly valued than female characteristics and females in classrooms during elementary, secondary, and college years (Callahan & Reis, 1996). Callahan and Reis indicated that educators gave lower ratings to girls who were analytic and unconventional in their approaches to problem solving, whereas males exhibiting the same behavior were praised.

Research has also indicated that gifted females receive mixed messages about their roles in society that serve as gender-related barriers to achievement and self-actualization. Hollinger (1991) reported that, in the midst of establishing their gender identity, gifted females discover that societal stereotypes of what it means to be feminine conflict with expectations of gifted students to achieve great things and occupational stereotypes deemed as “masculine.” On one hand, society expects them to maintain the traditional feminine role of being less aggressive and assertive than males (Bakken, Hershey, & Miller, 1990; Sadker & Sadker, 1994). On the other hand, gifted girls face societal expectations that, as women, they will use their intelligence to achieve professional success while also maintaining a positive home and family life. Many gifted females become confused about what is expected from professional roles for gifted individuals and stereotypic feminine roles (Reis, 1999).

Literature also suggests that, although gender-role expectations and perceptions of female achievement vary from culture to culture, sexism is a barrier that all groups of gifted women face (Kitano, 1995). Diaz (1998) found that gifted Puerto Rican females often struggle with traditional patriarchal families that reinforced traditional sex-roles. Ford (1995) noted that young gifted African American women face social barriers and racial discrimination that negatively impacted their self-efficacy. Kitano noted that young Asian women also face conflicts with parents and traditional family values and are often expected to subordinate their goals to those of their male siblings. Kerr (1994) found that gifted Native American women are often reluctant to exhibit their intellectual abilities or call attention to themselves as individuals due to the communal nature of their culture.

Assuming that gifted women prefer any particular role is problematic. Reis and Callahan (1989) suggested that there is no reason why successful professional, wife, and mother must be mutually exclusive categories. Some gifted women succeed in maintaining feminine qualities and traditional roles of wife and mother while also utilizing traditionally masculine qualities in their careers (Piirto, 1991). Personal attributes such as independence, autonomy, and psychological androgyny characterize most gifted females who succeed in their professional careers. These women have successfully resolved the conflict between expectations for gifted students and those for women, while others continue to struggle with making sense of the contradictory messages and role expectations delivered by society (Rimm, Rimm-Kaufman, & Rimm, 1999; Subotnik & Arnold, 1996).

Along with gender-role expectations, another significant influence on gifted females’ emotional well-being and talent development lies in their relationships with others. The aspirations of gifted females may be shaped by parental attitudes and values, a need to be accepted by their peers and viewed as desirable by males, and a central feeling of responsibility to care for their loved ones.

Family relationships strongly impact gifted girls’ self-esteem and achievement, for they internalize their parents’ beliefs and values regarding women’s ability to succeed (Callahan & Reis, 1996). Reis (1999) noted that, to be successful, girls need to feel confident challenging conventional ideas, questioning authority, and voicing their concerns and ideas for change; however, these characteristics conflict with many parents’ conceptions of what is appropriate behavior for a well-mannered daughter. In particular, the relationship between gifted females and their mothers emerges as an important factor. Reis found that gifted females whose mothers did not work outside the home struggled with the development of their own talents. The notion of becoming so different from their mothers caused tension and anxiety. Unfortunately, few notable role models for gifted females exist to ease their fears (Silverman, 1995).

Gifted girls may also struggle to achieve a balance between satisfying their intellectual needs and developing their social relationships. During adolescence, gifted girls shift from focusing on achievement needs to relationship needs. Kerr (1994) noted that, as a result of society’s portrayal of the impossibility of balancing both successful careers and strong relationships, gifted adolescent females focus more on their relationships than they do on their achievement. Likewise, Silverman (1995) described the situation facing gifted adolescent girls as a “Sophie’s Choice”:

If she chooses to be true to herself, to honor her drive for achievement and self-actualization, she breaks some unspoken rule and faces disconnection, taunts, and rejection from both male and female peers. If she chooses to give up her dreams, to hold herself back, to redirect her energies into the feminine spheres—preoccupation with boys, clothes, appearance . . . she is accepted and rewarded for her efforts. (p. 146)

Silverman concluded that, since little immediate value can be seen in choosing achievement over social acceptance, gifted adolescent females need strong self-assurance to follow that path.

In addition to social relationships with peers, gifted women may also struggle to achieve a balance between their families’ needs—their children, husband, and parents—and their own needs. Gilligan (1982) noted that women often make decisions and choices under an ethic of caring, which becomes problematic when it leads gifted females to sacrifice their own achievement goals and pursuits to meet others’ needs, resulting in feelings of disappointment and regret (Callahan, Cunningham, & Plucker, 1994). When some gifted women reach middle age and the responsibility of caring for their children diminishes, they are able to find more time for creative productivity. However, as Reis (1999) indicated, some gifted middle-aged females are also finding themselves with the added responsibility of taking care of their aging parents, which may prevent them from finding time necessary for creative endeavors. Thus, throughout their lifetime, gifted females face a continual struggle between caring for and meeting the needs of family members and pursuing their own goals and aspirations.

While some gifted young women may place tremendous pressure on themselves to do it all and have it all, underachievement remains a prevalent problem facing many gifted females (Reis, 1999). For example, in her longitudinal study of high school valedictorians, Arnold (1993, 1994) reported that, of those continuing in science fields, only the women in the study stopped at the master’s level or entered allied health fields such as nursing and physical therapy. On the other hand, the male valedictorians pursuing science went on to earn their medical or doctoral degrees in science fields.

Numerous explanations for the underachievement of gifted females have been offered. One explanation includes the pressure gifted females may feel to achieve in multiple domains. They may attempt to fulfill many different roles such as high-achieving student, star athlete, class officer, and participant in multiple extracurricular activities (Callahan et al., 1994). Gifted young women often want to have it all and do it all, yet this way of thinking is not free of consequences. Stress, burnout, and health problems are a few of the observed costs associated with the “superwoman” approach to life (Hollinger, 1991). Although gifted females frequently engage in multiple roles, they often are not taught how to manage and balance them (Callahan et al.).

One factor influencing underachievement in gifted females is a lack of future planning. Gifted females often excel in a number of areas, and this multipotentiality inhibits their ability to focus on a particular career path (Kerr, 1994). Research indicated that, when asked about their future plans, young men were likely to give specific career goals, whereas girls were not (Reis, Callahan, & Goldsmith, 1996). Further exacerbating the situation is evidence that significant adults in the lives of gifted females may not encourage them to think about long-term career goals (Callahan et al., 1994). Without adult role models encouraging and guiding them, gifted females may fail to gain direction and focus, thereby leaving their talents underdeveloped.

Underachievement in gifted young women may also be influenced by low self-efficacy and a lack of self-confidence. Noble (1989) reported that half of the women in her study cited self-doubt as the major reason for changing their career goals and as the primary obstacle preventing them from developing their talents. This lack of confidence was also highlighted in a study of gifted adolescent females involved in the Westinghouse Talent Search. Subotnik (1988) noted that the young women involved in the science competition tended to credit their success to their efforts, rather than their intelligence and creativity. To stop the pattern of underachievement, gifted females must gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.

In order to actualize their potential, gifted females need to develop psychological resilience to weather factors that threaten to stymie their achievement (Noble, 1996). Every female shares one obstacle to achievement in common: their cultivation by society into conventional gender-appropriate molds (Kline & Short, 1991). Other females, however, face additional adversities that may thwart their achievement, including poverty, racial discrimination, and dysfunctional families.

According to Noble (1996), gifted females need to develop resilience by adolescence so they can continue responding to their own goals, which may require resisting traditional notions of feminine “goodness” at a time when their relationships with others may discourage them from developing the characteristics of self-sufficiency and independence necessary for achievement. Gifted females must be prepared to face the potential ridicule, criticism, and isolation that may result from their decision to reject a traditional female lifestyle in pursuit of their own goals. Teenage girls who fail to form a shell of resilience against these negative forces often experience increased levels of self-doubt, depression, fear, and feelings of discouragement and hopelessness, all of which negatively impact the actualization of their abilities (Kline & Short, 1991).

Overcoming the effects of living in an impoverished environment plagued by poverty presents a major challenge to some gifted females. According to Seeley (1993), intergenerational poverty results in lower parental expectations of children, lower educational levels of family members, and poorer general health, all of which can adversely affect the development of children’s gifts and talents. Often, children reared in poverty are both perceived and treated as “losers,” receiving the message that they are inadequate and deficient. As a result, they begin to experience feelings of helplessness, dependency, and inferiority (Evans, 1993). Developing resilience can help gifted females thwart these barriers to their achievement so they can actualize their potential.

Young women of color may also endure the effects of institutional racism that occurs when they are denied access to opportunities available to others that would allow them to fulfill their potential (Kuykendall, 1992). Institutional racism manifests in school systems when Black and Hispanic students are enrolled in less-rigorous educational programs. Such racism creates an atmosphere in which culturally diverse young women often feel they cannot succeed (Kuykendall, 1989). Due to their heightened sensitivities, gifted students in particular are at risk of experiencing pain as the result of discrimination (Evans, 1993). Gifted minority females may need help in developing the resilience needed to overcome social roadblocks (Diaz, 1998; Hèbert & Reis, 1999).

Gifted young women faced with adversity need help understanding how to turn the effect of their hardships into fuel for achievement. Larson and Csikszentmihalyi (1997) emphasized the importance of adolescents facing adversity to reinterpret their conflicts into life lessons that enable them to reach a new understanding of self and overcome their hardships. Goertzel, Goertzel, and Goertzel (1978) found evidence of this in examining the childhoods of 400 eminent individuals. Eighty-five percent of these individuals came from seriously troubled home environments, which was similar to the findings of Ochse’s (1990) research on highly creative adults. Noble (1996) acknowledged that the development of resilience is neither a simple nor effortless process, as it requires practice and persistence, the honing of psychological attitudes and skills, the development of inner resources, and the discovery and expression of one’s abilities.

The literature has indicated that issues of gender-role expectations, relationship-oriented problems, achievement and underachievement, and the need for resilience are concerns for gifted females. Given that gifted young women face these issues, it becomes critical for educators and counselors to assist them in dealing with these challenges.

Books have long been recognized as valuable, effective tools to help young people solve personal problems and develop skills necessary for success in life. Bibliotherapy is defined as the use of reading to produce affective change and promote personality growth and development (Frasier & McCannon, 1981; Halsted, 1994; Lenkowsky, 1987). Bibliotherapy happens when intelligent young women see something of themselves in a biography, identify with the person whose life story is being presented, reflect on that identification, and undergo some emotional growth as a result of that reading experience. Biographies of women of achievement may offer young gifted females opportunities to develop insight into the unique challenges they face.

To clarify the appropriate use of bibliotherapy with young women in school, a distinction needs to be made between clinical bibliotherapy and developmental bibliotherapy. Clinical bibliotherapy involves psychotherapeutic methods used by skilled and licensed practitioners with individuals experiencing serious emotional problems. Developmental bibliotherapy refers to helping students in their normal health and development and is the focus of this chapter. One of the advantages of this approach is that teachers can identify the concerns of young women in their classrooms and address the issues before they become problems, providing students with knowledge of what to expect and examples of how other gifted young women have dealt with the same concerns.

The use of biographies and guided reading has long been recognized as a viable option for helping gifted adolescents address their concerns. In the 1920s, Leta Hollingworth, the founder of the Speyer School for highly gifted children in New York City, infused biographical studies into the school’s English curriculum. Hollingworth (1926) noted that her students requested biographies as part of their standard curriculum. They found that biographies were interesting and inspirational and showed them how to maintain high aspirations. As a strong proponent of biography, Hollingworth explained:

For many reasons, the study of biography would seem to be especially appropriate in the education of gifted children. For adjustment to life as they are capable of living it, they need information as to how persons have found adjustment, as to how careers are made and are related serviceably to civilization, and to all the various kinds of intellectual work required by the world in their day. (p. 319–320)

Forty years following Hollingworth’s seminal work with gifted students, Hildreth (1966) wrote convincingly of the value of biography for gifted students:

The reading of biography is an illuminating experience in which young people meet personalities they would like to emulate. In biography the young reader comes to identify [her]self with persons of intelligence and learning. Reading about noble deeds may not of itself produce noble character, but such reading is undoubtedly a source of inspiration. The ambitious young person who is fond of reading finds enchantment in the lives of people who overcame obstacles to achievement through dint of hard effort. (p. 380–381)

The struggles are difficult for all girls during adolescence, a time filled with many new stresses. When gifted girls arrive at adolescence, their experience may be different because of high levels of emotionality and sensitivity that often accompany high intelligence, exacerbating stressful experiences of daily living (Piechowski, 1997). Addressing the emotional needs of gifted teenage girls is critical (Buescher, 1985; Halsted, 1994), and using appropriate biographical materials may serve as a significant catalyst in helping them through their adolescent struggles. Several researchers have indicated that biographies can captivate gifted young women emotionally, and the bibliotherapy process using biographical materials is well-supported (Flack, 1992, 1999; Kolloff, 1998; Piirto, 1992). Collections of materials for such an approach have also been highlighted by Kerr (1994) and Reis and Dobyns (1991), and biographical materials for gifted minority females have been highlighted by Ford and Harris (1999).

The research indicates that gifted students, particularly gifted girls, are often voracious readers, thus addressing affective concerns through guided reading appeals to their love of literature. The reading preferences of young women also suggest that biographies are a natural choice for them. Langerman (1990) noted in her research on the boys’ and girls’ reading preferences that young females tend to delve into more literature describing relationships. Since biographies are often filled with discussions of the important relationships in the lives of the central figures, the use of biography is aligned with the reading interests of gifted young women.

Guided reading of biographies is a counseling approach that is also consistent with the empathic qualities of gifted young women. Their need to vicariously experience the feelings of others is addressed through delving into biographies rich with descriptions of the challenges, frustrations, and joys of successful women.

Biographies may also provide gifted young women additional benefits. Through biographies, they will be exposed to role models that may be absent in their immediate lives (Silverman, 1993). In addition, biographies also expose gifted girls to new ways of thinking and looking at the world around them. Biographies allow them to gain exposure to a variety of philosophical views of life; various liberal and conservative worldviews; and a diversity of socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and cultures. Another important consideration for using biographies is the realistic quality of this genre of literature. Biographies provide realistic portrayals of women’s lives, leaving great impressions and eye-opening inspirational messages for gifted females. Finally, biographies may offer gifted young women whose lives are filled with adversity practical strategies for developing resilience.

Biographies and autobiographies can be shared with gifted young women in a variety of ways; however, what remains important is that the teacher or counselor is prepared to listen closely to the emotional responses. Girls tend to be comfortable with self-disclosure in discussions that address emotional issues (Papini, Farmer, Clark, Micka, & Barnett, 1990). A female facilitator of a young women’s bibliotherapy session should find it easy to have young women share their experiences with each other in a same-sex discussion group. With the female teacher or counselor as facilitator modeling appropriate self-disclosure, the younger participants in the discussion should feel comfortable opening up and providing emotional support for each other as they discuss the struggles of the gifted women featured in the biographies. In any discussion, whether one-on-one or in a group setting, the goal is for the young women to share their feelings and listen closely to both themselves and each other. In a group setting, it is important that the young women leave the session having reached an awareness that others have experienced the same feelings they are facing. A group discussion should bring about the universality of experience—a feeling that “we are in this together.”

Counselors or teachers interested in conducting bibliotherapy sessions with gifted young women may want to consider facilitating brown bag luncheons or a “young women’s reading group” during a school lunch period. Such an approach allows for same-sex discussions to occur comfortably, and the young women involved may generate other issues that are troubling them. Those who have been successful in leading bibliotherapy sessions with gifted young women may also want to create a biography discussion club and eventually allow the young women to select the biographies read by the group.

The following strategies are suggested as possibilities for designing effective bibliotherapy experiences for gifted young women.

• Teachers and counselors may want to organize bibliotherapy sessions according to a focused theme or issue across multiple biographies. For instance, having gifted girls examine gender-role expectations in the lives of a gifted female athlete, professional career woman, or author may help to enlighten how one issue may have impacted gifted women’s lives differently. Another suggestion is to consider focusing strictly on the selected chapters describing the childhood and adolescent years of the woman featured in the biography. Other possibilities for a focus might be an examination of the chapter describing the career years of the featured individual or other portions of the biography that might be most meaningful to the group of young women participating in the bibliotherapy session.

• Supplementing the written biography with an audio-visual component may serve to enrich the experience for the young women involved in the discussion. Therefore, teachers conducting bibliotherapy sessions may also want to combine the biography with a vignette from an available biographical videotape. In addition, teachers may also want to consider combining the biography with a guest speaker. Many young women may find it difficult to identify with the biographies of women whom they perceive as “larger than life.” For this reason, it may be helpful to invite as guest speakers younger successful women from backgrounds similar to the female featured in the biography who may be at earlier stages of their self-actualization. For example, if young women are reading about the life of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, an appropriate guest speaker for that group of readers might be a local attorney who could share her experiences as a member of the community.

• Critical to the success of any bibliotherapy session is the inclusion of activities following the group’s discussion of the book. The therapeutic effect of the biography depends on the group discussion facilitated by the teacher, who provides follow-up activities such as reflective writing, role-playing, creative problem solving, music and art activities, or self-selected options for students to pursue individually (Hèbert, 1995; Hèbert & Furner, 1997). When presented in this way, bibliotherapy can be enjoyable while providing a time for solid introspection. For example, following the reading of a biography featuring a gifted female athlete who struggled with gender-role expectations, the females involved in the session might enjoy designing stickers for their school lockers as daily reminders that young women can succeed in a variety of roles.

• Also critical to the success of a bibliotherapy lesson is designing a menu of questions for discussion. Teachers and counselors will want to have a generated list of prepared discussion questions to pursue with the group. Along with a menu of thoughtful questions designed to elucidate the feeling responses of the young women, bibliotherapy session leaders will want to have key quotes or selected passages from the biography as prompts ready for use in the discussion.

• Secondary teachers in English departments might also consider offering an elective course in gender issues through literature. The course could infuse instructional units in the curriculum, focusing on biographies of gifted women of achievement, as well as biographies of gifted males. Such a course would offer opportunities for both young women and men to develop a cross-gender understanding of the issues faced by teenagers.

• Inviting a school counselor to serve as a cofacilitator in discussions about biographies is an effective way to address the social/emotional concerns of gifted young women. This is particularly effective if a teacher is trying this strategy alone and feels somewhat uncomfortable handling discussions about emotionally laden topics.

The following biographies and autobiographies are recommended for counseling gifted young women regarding issues thematically reviewed in this article. The biographical materials are presented alphabetically, and the issues addressed in using the specific biographies are highlighted in Figure 5.1.

This inspirational biography provides the personal account of the life of an influential political and social figure in contemporary American society, the first female Secretary of State. The author portrays Madeleine Albright’s complicated and challenging experiences growing up as the daughter of an American diplomat in a family immersed in political and international relations. Dobbs describes Albright’s attempts to fulfill her parents’ high expectations, her struggles with body image as a young woman, and her relentless drive to achieve. Young women who place tremendous pressure on themselves to achieve will identify with Albright’s story. Teachers and counselors of adolescent females will find this work useful, in that the author highlights Albright’s early school and family experiences.

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Erma Bombeck, a housewife, became a nationally syndicated humor columnist for more than 32 years. Through her column and best-selling books, Erma charmed her readership with her sassy irreverence for long-held American traditions, tempered by delightful good humor. Throughout her life and career, she was forever growing and learning, and she shared what she learned as a wife and mother with millions of American women who learned and laughed along with her.

This biography is a celebration of a triumphant life sprinkled with the warm, wise, and potent wit that was uniquely Erma. Gifted young women will be able to reflect on many issues in her life that will enlighten their understanding of talent development in gifted females. Erma Bombeck’s experiences with teachers who told her she had no talent as a writer and her eventual connection to a university English professor who recognized her abilities and provided her with encouragement and mentoring may have a profound effect on many intelligent young girls. Also important in this biography are the lessons young women may learn concerning the balancing of marriage, motherhood, and career.

This book offer gifted females a thrilling account of a remarkable female army physician. In the middle of a medical rescue mission during the Persian Gulf war, Cornum’s helicopter was shot down. One of three survivors, she was immediately captured by Saddam Hussein’s Republican Guard. What follows is a detailed account of Cornum’s enduring spirit and resilience as she withstood harsh wartime imprisonment and badgering interrogations under the strain of severe, untreated injuries.

Mixed within the account of her wartime experiences is a depiction of Cornum’s life history. Growing up a tomboy, Cornum faced criticism for her nontraditional interests when she decided to earn her doctoral degree in biochemistry. When she completed medical school and became a physician for the army, she found herself in the minority once again as one of few females to hold this position. As she dealt with pressure to prove her qualifications, she also focused on maintaining a balance between her career and family responsibilities. In reading Rhonda Cornum’s life story, gifted young women will admire her unbreakable sprit, optimism, humor, and love of life.

This biography of Amelia Earhart offers gifted females a realistic account of the struggles Amelia faced before achieving notoriety for her talent in aviation. Like many children, Amelia’s family life was problematic, including an alcoholic father who squandered the family’s money. A resilient woman, Amelia was able to thrive academically and socially despite these burdens. Gifted young women will easily identify with Amelia’s difficulty in dealing with her multipotentiality. Unknown to many, Earhart did not always aspire to become a pilot. She donned many hats, including those of educator, social worker, lecturer, businesswoman, and feminist. Butler’s biography provides gifted young women with a strong example of a multitalented woman with the courage and persistence to become a pioneer in a traditionally male-dominated field.

This biography relates the story of Sandra Cisneros’ struggle to find her identity and be understood by her peers. Growing up in a poor neighborhood in Chicago with prolonged visits to extended family in Mexico, Cisneros searched to find a balance between her Mexican and American heritages. The book also highlights the social difficulties Cisneros faced through adolescence and her perception of herself as an ugly duckling. Thinking she was completely unattractive to young men, she continued to have difficulty relating to her peers in college. While attending the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop, she felt isolated because no other participants shared her experience of growing up in an impoverished environment.

Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg illustrates how Cisneros came to terms with her heritage by pursuing her talent as a writer. Cisneros, now an award-winning author, continues to publish poetry and serves as an activist encouraging other Latinas to reach their potential. Gifted females who can identify with Cisneros’ feelings of isolation and identity confusion may feel encouraged by her ability to resolve these conflicts through the use of her talents.

This biography paints a vivid picture of the short, but interesting life of the renowned African American playwright who wrote A Raisin in the Sun. Cheney describes Lorraine Hansberry’s childhood as one of isolation, feelings of awkwardness, and introspection. As early as kindergarten, this gifted female used her outsider status to listen carefully to and observe others, which benefited her years later as a writer. The Hansberry home was filled with discussions hosted by her activist father with famous, educated, and influential African Americans who helped to shape the playwright’s thinking. Lorraine learned early that success was expected of her. While she strove to please her father, she marveled at her mother’s beauty and never felt she could measure up to her perfection. Like many intelligent, sensitive, and lonely, young women, Lorraine found companionship in her books. The teenager who felt awkward and lonely dealt with those insecurities by writing stories and poetry. She experienced bigotry at the University of Wisconsin, but she continued to excel in her favorite areas of study, including literature, philosophy, and history.

Cheney’s work highlights the childhood and adolescent experiences that challenged Hansberry early on and later influenced her success in life. What makes Hansberry’s story remarkable is her compassion, modesty, and sensitivity to the needs of others. Revealing the insecurities, troubling peer issues, and family pressures faced by this gifted artist, Lorraine Hansberry’s story offers gifted females excellent biographical material through which they may develop self-understanding.

In My Place is the autobiography of Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first African American woman to break the barrier of segregation at The University of Georgia. It retraces Hunter-Gault’s life story from her birth in the deep South to the historic role she played in the civil rights movement. Her story highlights the courage and strong convictions she maintained while facing the brutal realities of segregation.

Hunter-Gault describes her experiences growing up in a nurturing family that encouraged her academic achievement and shaped her aspirations to become a journalist. She was taught early in life that she was equally deserving of the best, which helped her to cope with the loneliness and ostracism she experienced as a college student. In her biography, she identifies strong teachers, good friends, and a dignified father as forces that shaped her.

As a gifted young woman, she excelled academically, exhibited leadership that was recognized within her community, and maintained successful relationships with her peers. As a gifted professional woman, she enjoyed an outstanding career as an international award-winning journalist. In My Place reminds readers how the strength of family support, belief in self, and persistence can enable one to overcome adversity in life. This quality work emphasizes the significance of women developing a strong self-identity and resilience and offers significant implications for gifted young females who face seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the pursuit of their dreams.

This biography of Barbara Jordan provides gifted young women with an example of a resilient woman who overcame innumerable obstacles in her career as the first African American female senator in Texas, as well as the first Black woman elected to Congress from the South. Throughout her life, Jordan struggled in her relationship with her austere father, a Baptist minister with deep religious and moral standards to which he expected his daughter to adhere. While she enjoyed success and high achievement in high school and college, Jordan struggled academically when she attended Boston University Law School. Suddenly a small fish in a big pond, she discovered how her educational background had not adequately prepared her to compete in such an intense atmosphere.

With courage and strong dedication to her studies, Jordan was able to overcome the obstacles in her path, including the effects of racism and sexism. Rogers’ biography follows Jordan through her political career as a senator and member of the United States Congress while she silently coped with multiple sclerosis and eventually leukemia. This biography will offer educators and counselors working with gifted young women excellent material for discussion that focuses on such important concerns as peer relations, parental expectations, body image issues, and gender-role expectations.

This autobiographical work, coauthored by a mother and daughter, is the story of one of our country’s most prominent ambassadors for women’s athletics. Now a player for the New York Liberty team, Rebecca Lobo is the most recognized and celebrated talent women’s basketball has ever experienced. After leading the University of Connecticut’s women’s team to an undefeated season and the 1995 NCAA title, Rebecca went on to receive numerous prestigious athletic awards. RuthAnn Lobo is the woman who taught Rebecca that she could be a champion. The mother of three grown children, a guidance counselor, and educator, RuthAnn raised her daughter to envision new options for women without losing sight of her values.

Through alternating chapters in this mother-daughter autobiography, the Lobo women reflect on the joys and sufferings of growing up gifted and female. Rebecca shares her experiences growing up as a tomboy, heads taller than her schoolmates, playing basketball alone in her family driveway. Her mother recalls her own coming of age, reflecting on generational differences between her daughter’s experiences and her own. Gender-role expectations are honestly discussed throughout the biography, and issues of femininity for female athletes are highlighted through insightful discussions by both authors. Rebecca describes her experiences with this issue, providing gifted females an important message in the following passage:

One thing I’ve never questioned is my femininity. No matter how my makeup and hair looked, I always felt very comfortable with myself, even in “boys' clothes”. . . Whatever femininity is, it doesn’t have anything to do with how much you weigh or how popular you are with boys. It would, of course, be best if we didn’t have to confront such questions at all, if we could be as oblivious to them as the men’s basketball team seems to be. I would tell my hypothetical little sister, if people on the outside question you, don’t let it bother you. Just put their questions out of your head. Hopefully, people will start to realize that you can be an athlete and a woman. Women are out there proving that every day. (p. 78)

Along with such healthy discussion of gender-role expectations, another important theme in this biography is RuthAnn Lobo’s successful battle to overcome cancer. Rebecca writes about her fear of losing her mother and about the enormous strength her mother’s courage gave her. RuthAnn, in turn, shares her own fear of dying and her rediscovery and renewal of her religious faith. Sprinkled with a mother’s wisdom and her gifted daughter’s determination, The Home Team is an inspirational story about the power of two courageous women and their victories on and off the basketball court. By reading this biography, gifted females can learn the techniques of discipline and the joy of accomplishing at their highest potential.

Wilma Mankiller’s autobiography is a story of resilience and strength. The first principle female chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Wilma Mankiller grew up in a large, poverty-stricken family. She describes the racism and ridicule she endured throughout her childhood following her family’s move from the Indian reservation in Oklahoma to San Francisco, where she was mocked constantly by her peers for her last name and accent. Throughout adolescence, she continued to experience feelings of isolation and loneliness. As she grew older, she began to channel her energies into preserving the rights of the Cherokee Indians and was eventually nominated for Chief of the Cherokee nation. As she led her people both spiritually and politically, she continued to exemplify strength and resilience, overcoming profound hardships including a near-fatal car accident and kidney disease. The story of Wilma Mankiller offers gifted young women a powerful example of female leadership and a gifted woman’s undying spirit.

This is the autobiographical story of Gwendolyn Parker, a successful African American woman and her journey through childhood, her experiences attending Ivy League educational institutions, and her fast-track career as a lawyer on Wall Street. Throughout her autobiography, Parker provides her readers with a vivid picture of her experiences growing up in Durham, North Carolina, in an educated, middle-class family that imposed a personal mandate on her to achieve excellence in life. Her family later moved to Mount Vernon, New York, where she learned through her difficult peer relations that the things that bound the Black community in Durham did not apply to her new home. Parker poignantly describes being shunned and called names such as “Miss Smartypants” by some of her Black peers as she gained success as a student.

Parker provides a close examination of her significant experiences breaking gender and racial barriers throughout her education, as well as in her career. As a teenager, she integrated the Kent School, a private boarding school in Connecticut, where she excelled academically, athletically, and in the school’s theater. She went on to Radcliffe College and later New York University Law School. While completing her law degree, Parker was recruited by a conservative Wall Street law firm, where she became the only African American female member of the firm, an organization that rarely hired women. She described her difficulty making connections with others despite her attempts and the devastating lack of acceptance by her colleagues. She left the firm to work for American Express, where she served as director of a division for 8 years. In 1986, Parker resigned from her position, or, as she describes it, she “finally let go.” Today, Parker does what she has always enjoyed doing: She writes novels. In bibliotherapy sessions with intelligent young women, teachers and counselors will find it easy to use Parker’s powerful messages about coping with difficult peer relations, multipotentiality, gender barriers, and high parental expectations.

Gifted females will appreciate Esmeralda Santiago’s coming-of-age autobiography. Santiago, a graduate of both the New York School of Performing Arts and Harvard University, endured many hardships as a young Puerto Rican girl. The eldest of seven children, she grew up in an impoverished environment trying to understand her parents’ love/hate relationship and her father’s infidelity. Santiago describes her frequent transitions to different neighborhoods and schools and finally her parents’ separation and the family’s move to New York. In the city, Esmeralda felt like an outsider in a foreign culture, and her inability to relate to her peers resulted in feelings of isolation and loneliness.

Santiago narrates the story in a simple style, relating the often heartbreaking events of her childhood gently and without judgment. Though it is one story of a strong individual, it provides insights into the formation of identity and talent development of culturally diverse females.

In this biography, readers learn how important it is to fall in love with an idea, the process by which creative women choose their life’s work. Throughout Beverly Sills’ life story, readers obtain an intimate view of the internationally renowned opera singer’s passion for music and performing before audiences, which began when Beverly was a young girl singing on live radio broadcasts. An important theme in Sills’ biography is the role of mentors who nurtured her gift and shaped her experiences as an opera singer. Her family relationships also strongly impacted her achievement as she internalized their beliefs and values regarding her ability to succeed. Gifted young women dealing with high parental expectations will appreciate the struggle between her mother’s views and her father’s views of their daughter’s talent development and career. After being offered a national Broadway tour contract, Beverly’s parents’ expectations for her were severely at odds with each other. She described this struggle saying, “Mother and I were thrilled; Papa wasn’t. Nice young women didn’t go on the stage, they went to school, he said. If I went on the tour, I’d have to drop out of [school]. My mother stood up to him” (p. 30).

Sills also speaks to gifted young women who struggle with adversity. Beverly had two children, and shortly after the birth of her second child, she learned that her daughter was profoundly deaf and her son was severely retarded. When faced with personal difficulties, she worked harder, avoided self-pity, and maintained great emotional strength. As chairperson for the Mother’s March on Birth Defects, she took her role seriously, celebrating it as one of her most rewarding challenges. In this biography, readers will appreciate Beverly Sills as a strong female who decided to live life to the fullest. Gifted young women will be inspired by the story of a talented and resilient female who balanced marriage, family, and a demanding career while coping with the adversities in her life.

The Native American ballerina Maria Tallchief shares in her autobiography her exciting professional experiences as the prima ballerina in the New York City Ballet Company. In her work with George Balanchine, one of the greatest choreographers of all time, she created exhilarating roles requiring unlimited stamina and technical perfection. Though her life and career seemed glamorous, her honest discussion of her experiences offers gifted young women a realistic portrayal of the dedication and commitment necessary to cultivate talent. Maria poignantly describes how, at 17, she found herself thrust into the adult world of professional ballet, a world filled with rigorous training schedules and sacrifice and in which she managed to succeed in maintaining a balance among a demanding career, romantic relationships, and, eventually, motherhood.

For educators and counselors interested in leading guided reading discussions focused on issues of resilience in women’s lives, two biographies on the life of Heather Whitestone may prove inspirational.

In Yes, You Can Heather!: The Story of Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995, Heather’s mother, Daphne Gray provides a heart-warming story of raising a profoundly deaf, gifted daughter. During the 1994 Miss America Pageant, Heather Whitestone challenged the limits of her deafness to capture both the pageant crown and America’s heart.

Whitestone’s dramatic story began 20 years earlier. At 18 months, Whitestone fell victim to a deadly illness that left her with a devastating hearing loss. During those dark days, her parents were faced with many difficult choices about their daughter’s health, hearing, and education, choices that would dramatically affect their entire family’s life. In this moving biography, Whitestone’s mother recounts those extremely difficult choices. Refusing to leave her daughter in a silent world, she enrolled her in a ballet class. She researched the educational options for her daughter, making the controversial decision to emphasize speech, rather than sign language, and she never stopped believing that her daughter could strive in a hearing person’s world. Yes, You Can Heather! is the inspiring story of Miss America 1995, but it is also the moving story of a mother who had to make agonizing choices and incredible sacrifices to enable her gifted, deaf daughter to achieve her dream.

In addition to Daphne Gray’s biographical work, Heather Whitestone’s autobiography Listening With My Heart is an important contribution to the literature available to gifted young women. Whitestone captivates her readers by telling her own story and the stories of others who have inspired her, proving that, with hard work and faith, young women can overcome adversity. This gifted, resilient young woman refused to listen to the voices of discouragement and instead followed the encouraging spirit of her family and the guidance of her heart. Listening With My Heart is filled with passages that will inspire gifted females and provide wonderful material for teachers and counselors to use in bibliotherapy discussions. One such passage highlights Heather’s resilience during an experience in high school:

Once, sitting in the classroom at Berry [High School] I remember being smitten with jealousy as I watched one of the popular girls laughing with her friends. At that moment, I would have given anything to have switched places with her, but I knew I couldn’t. Even though I would have never wanted to give up my ballet, I always wanted to be a homecoming queen or a cheerleader—something that would have made me feel accepted by everyone and maybe even admired. It was very difficult for me to feel left out of the life everyone seemed to share. One day I told myself, “I’ll prove to them that I’m something. I will find something better than popularity, more outstanding than cheerleading.” (p. 29–30)

During their journey into adulthood, gifted young women frequently face important social and emotional issues that influence whether or not they achieve their full potential. This chapter has explored issues of gender-role expectations, relationship-oriented problems, achievement and underachievement, and the need for resilience that intelligent young women experience. Teachers and counselors using biographies to counsel gifted middle and high school girls may find success addressing these concerns through bibliotherapy sessions. In the implementation of such an approach to counseling, educators should consider that addressing the important issues highlighted in this chapter may empower gifted girls to seek their own unique educational pursuits, career aspirations, and life goals. It remains critical that educators support gifted young women in their exploration of their goals and assist them in achieving their full potential.

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