THE CYCLE BOOK

Federico, a clinical sex therapist, and Morgan, a midwife, join forces to create a guide for women to better understand their bodies by tracking their menstrual cycles.

The author’s collaborative effort was inspired by their own frustrations (and those of their patients) in dealing with the traditional medical community regarding issues of fertility and more broad-based gynecological difficulties. Women, they assert, are not given the necessary tools to understand the messages their bodies are sending them. Federico and Morgan write, “Cycle tracking is a direct pathway to reclaiming ownership over our bodies.” (“The menstrual cycle,” they continue, “can act as a signifier of overall health and an early communicator when other systems in your body are overwhelmed.”) In addition to recording the usual data associated with menstrual tracking, the authors encourage making notes about one’s “thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations” throughout the cycle, creating a more detailed portrait of one’s physical and psychological condition.  This information, they state, will enable women to tune in to the routine but complicated hormonal changes they experience throughout their cycles—with this data in hand, women will be empowered to self-advocate when dealing with health care providers. Eight stories based on the experiences of patients treated by the authors illustrate a variety of gynecological issues faced by women, and the individual stories are referred to periodically throughout the book. The guide is designed to be interactive, gently leading readers through the daily process of tracking. It includes embedded questions—the prompt “when I start paying attention to my senses, a feeling I notice is” is followed by space for readers to jot down their own answers. Numerous illustrative tracking charts (noting temperature, bodily fluids, emotional states, and more) allow readers to fill in their own information. The authors maintain an upbeat tone, packed with copious, albeit repetitive, affirmatives to remind readers that they “deserve to be taken care of and [they] are perfect.” Detailed anatomical drawings of the gynecological system are accompanied by descriptive text, and the discussions of fertility and birth control are comprehensive.

An informative reference tool filled with positive messaging.