Recommended Books on Menstruation
Menstruation: A Novel (Saqi Books) Four stories intertwine in a ballet of lives: Kindah, the renowned Western-educated feminist; Nadim, her husband, a prominent scholar of Islamic history; Wisam, their neighbor, a newlywed; and Hasan, the young son of a local imam, whose mysterious powers emanate from a sense of smell so strong he can distinguish a menstruating woman from among a thousand others, the smell of lust, love, and hatred.
No More Periods?: The Risks of Menstrual Suppression and Other Cutting-Edge Issues About Hormones and Women's Health No More Periods?
Observing the radical shift in the medical community toward menstrual suppression as a viable option in women’s health, Dr. Rako sees not only a vast information gap for women, but a serious health crisis on the horizon. Drug companies and many health professionals are promoting the idea that it is okay, even preferable, for women to forgo their periods if they are not trying to get pregnant, and many women, when faced with the choice, are seriously considering that option. But what isn’t being discussed enough are the hazards of such suppression, risks that include osteoporosis, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.
In No More Periods? Dr. Rako delves into the whys, hows, and musts of women’s gynecological health and takes a reasoned stand for believing that nature and our bodies have an intelligence about this critical issue. This book is a call to sanity from a woman who has become known as a devout defender of women’s health rights.
"Tampering with the hormonal climate of healthy menstruating women, including teenage girls whose lives stretch ahead for decades, for the purpose of doing away with their periods is, in a word, reckless. Manipulating women’s hormonal chemistry for the purpose of menstrual suppression threatens to be the largest uncontrolled experiment in the history of medical science. Hands down.
What the media has not conveyed, what the public has not heard, what too few health professionals know, and what every woman and her doctor must know about the hazards of menstrual suppression deserves a voice. I am determined that it will have one."—Susan Rako, M.D.
Becoming Peers: Mentoring Girls Into Womanhood An inspirational guide for mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers, aunts, or any woman wishing to nurture a girl through her coming of age (while empowering herself!)
This book provides practical guidelines for mentoring a girl into womanhood. It offers creative ceremonies and activities designed to honor a girl s transition and call her to new levels of maturity. At the same time, it presents the adult woman/mentor with powerful tools for enhancing her inner and outer life. The book is motivated by the belief that for a girl to enter womanhood in a meaningful way, it is essential that her mother and other special women in her life cultivate a new way of relating that will gradually help her to become their peer.
Blood, Bread, and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World "Blood, Bread, and Roses" reclaims women's myths and stories, chronicling the ways in which women's actions and the teaching of myth have interacted over the millenia. Grahn argues that culture has been a weaving between the genders, a sharing of wisdom derived from menstruation. Her rich interpretations of ancient menstrual rites give us a new and hopeful story of culture's beginnings based on the integration of body, mind, and spirit found in women's traditions. "Blood, Bread, and Roses" offers all of us a way back to understanding the true meaning of women's menstraul power.
Foreword by Charlene Spretnak
"[Grahn's] intriguing excursion through folklore, myth, religion, anthropology and history bespeaks a feminist conviction that male origin stories must be balanced by a recognition of women's central role in shaping civilization."
-Publishers Weekly
Honoring Menstruation: A Time of Self-Renewal Every time a woman menstruates she has the opportunity to develop greater self-knowledge and spiritual awareness. Drawing on information from several cultural traditions as well as from her own experiences and those of other women, Lara Owen shows how your period can become a time of emotional deepening and physical renewal during which you can tap into inner wisdom.
"Honoring Menstruation" is an updated, revised and expanded version of Owen's first book, "Her Blood Is Gold" and includes a new section on natural healing methods for menstrual symptoms, as well as a detailed description of the spiritual and emotional phases that occur within the menstrual cycle.
The Curse : A Cultural History of Menstruation Aims to explore a range of hidden assumptions and attitudes about menstruation.
Menstruation: A Cultural History
Ranging from Aristotle to twentieth-century gynecology, contributions to this volume trace the semiotics of menstruation from magical act to evolutionary deficiency. The result is the first comprehensive historical study of how menstruation has been understood within various cultural traditions, with reference to political and social institutions, and medical and religious practices. Includes a guide for scholars on bibliographical and archival sources for the study of menstruation. 
Tilly's Birthday: A Young Girl's Introduction to Menstruation Tilly's Birthday is a book that was written just for your young daughter, or that special young girl in your life. Maybe she is approaching that special time in her life, or it has already occurred, or perhaps she has begun asking questions. In any event, this introductory book can serve as that 'first book' for that 'first talk.' And don't worry about this special moment being clouded or diluted with other information such as; sexuality, birth control pills, or pregnancy, etc. This book focuses exclusively on menstruation so that it is given the honor and celebration it so deserves. The menstrual cycle is recognized as a gift and a rite of passage toward mature development.
In Tilly's Birthday, with its humorous illustrations, an engaging story unfolds. Tilly is experiencing an usual day at school until 'it' happens. With guidance from her mother, Tilly gains an understanding of the physiological changes occurring within her body. Discussion questions follow at the end of the story to facilitate communication between a young girl and her parent about this special moment in her life. This book, published by Learning All About Me, is a positive step towards introducing young girls about themselves and their changing bodies. The focus is just as it is titled; an introduction to menstruation. It seeks to answer the question: "How do I handle this change that is taking place within my body and what does it all mean?" This enjoyable story, with its helpful information, is sure to be a book every young girl will want to read and own!
Period.: A Girl's Guide to Menstruation The start of hormonal changes can be troubling, even traumatic, for young girls. Now fully revised and updated with a parents' guide, Period explains in a straightforward manner the changes all girls go through, answers common questions, and includes a brief description of a pelvic exam.
The Wise Wound: menstruation and everywoman
"The first accessible book about menstruation as a human reality . . . entirely praiseworthy."-The Sunday Times This is a book of many questions and some answers. What is this menstruation that half the world undergoes? Has it any use, or any purpose? Which is it, blessing or curse? This groundbreaking study of the facts, fantasies, and taboos surrounding menstruation has helped bring about a profound shift in attitudes toward a natural phenomenon that has been reviled and denigrated over the centuries. Thoroughly researched yet highly readable, combining psychology, anthropology, and poetry, Shuttle and Redgrove illustrate their theories using examples ranging from the Bible to such modern-day pop horrors as vampire movies and the cult film The Exorcist.
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