Professor Susan Paxton of La Trobe University
President of the Australian and New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders, who has worked in the field of teen body image for almost 20 years says of the book, GirlForce You…

“I think it is terrific!  I think it does really express the voices of girls but also gives very wise suggestions.  Drawing on the words of girls, it is written from the inside of a girl's world.  The survey findings are fascinating.  As well as the body image issues, we find issues of friendships and bullying are so important.  The quizzes are good too.  I can imagine girls will really be able to relate to the positive suggestions. 

The sample size is bigger than many expert contributions to the field and the findings are consistent with previous studies. However, I am startled to see that 1 in 2 girls feels pressure to conform to body type and are comparing their bodies with digitally enhanced images of celebrities.”

Prof Paxton adds, “This book will make a positive difference. I will use it as a resource for girls in trouble with body image and eating problems. I like the self-talk approach Nikki suggests and the quizzes are a good way to get girls who would benefit from change to focus on their issues.”

- Professor Paxton & La Trobe University run an anonymous online self-esteem/body-image program for adolescent girls called “My Body, My Life” .  Click here for more info. 
www.latrobe.edu.au/psy/projects/bodylife/index.html

Susan McDonald
Vanderbilt University - U.S.A.

Executive Director

GirlForce pre-teen/teen health & fitness program

www.girlforce.org

"Nikki Goldstein takes girls on a journey of self-discovery in her wonderful and inspiring series, GirlForce. As the director of a national health promotion program for girls (also called GirlForce), I believe there is no better way to support and empower girls than to give them the tools to make healthy lifestyle choices. Nikki's books are part of the solution to body dissatisfaction, poor eating habits, peer pressure, and behaviors that erode the health and self esteem of adolescent girls."

Vicki Condon
Program Director
SISTER2sister Project
Life Changing Experiences Foundation
www.lifechangingexperiences.org

“I feel very inspired by the work done for the GirlForce: You book. We run a mentoring program for disadvantaged teenage girls, providing support inspiration and opportunity through a twelve month mentoring and personal development program. One of the workshops we run to build up the girls’ capabilities as well as their belief in themselves, is all about self< esteem. As a result of a very generous donation from Nikki Goldstein, we were able to give a copy of the GirlForce: You book to each of the 40 girls in our program. The girls were thrilled to receive the book, and I was taken aback by the number of them who sat down over the course of that afternoon and became engrossed in its messages. Our objective is to teach the girls that their past does not have to equal their future, and the book was a brilliant tool to help them understand that they do have a choice to make their own positive decisions about their lives. GirlForce: You helped the girls by giving them some tangible exercises to identify what they are good at, and some lovely self affirmations to help them believe in themselves, and highlight their positive attributes. One of the most valuable things they got from the book was that they are not the only one who feels the way they do. The girls suddenly had a bunch of other teenage girls telling them that they feel exactly the same way about certain things, and that gave our girls a huge level of comfort in itself. I feel very passionately about the issues that our teenage girls face in today’s society, and the GirlForce range of books are a much needed and vital tool to help these girls build their self esteem and build a positive outlook on life, simply by being an avenue through which they can give clear messages to others about how they feel.”