Period Power
Harness Your Hormones and Get Your Cycle Working For You
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'Hill's advice is straightforward and no-nonsense' - The Guardian 'A life-transforming book... fascinating - Daily Mail 'Maisie Hill has written a bloody brilliant book (pun intended). Everything you need to know about periods and how they affect you and your life is here. It's revolutionary' - Miranda Sawyer 'Thank GOODNESS for Maisie Hill! Flipping open the lid on a vital conversation. It's about time we claimed the power of our periods!' - Gemma Cairney, broadcaster & co-founder of Boom Shakalaka Productions 'This is such an important book. Maisie's insights and cycle strategy have changed my life and my cycle. Period Power is written with such intelligence, humour and a deep understanding of women's health. If you have a period you need to read this book.' - Anna Jones, author of The Modern Cook's Year A profound and practical blueprint for aligning daily life with your menstrual cycle. Period Power is the handbook to periods and hormones that will leave you wondering why the hell nobody told you this sooner. The hormones of the menstrual cycle profoundly influence our energy, mood and behaviour, but all too often we're taught that our hormones make us unreliable, moody bitches, or that it's our lot in life to put up with 'women's problems'. Maisie Hill, a women's health practitioner, knows the power of working with the menstrual cycle and refuses to accept this theory. Instead, Maisie believes that our hormones are there to serve us and, if utilized correctly, can be used to help you get what you want out of life. Yes, we are hormonal, and that's a very good thing. This revolutionary book reveals everything you need to know about taking control of your menstrual cycle and outlines The Cycle Strategy to help us perform at our best, throughout our cycle. In Period Power you will discover how to: - maximise your natural superpowers each month while making adjustments for the darker days, and use Maisie's favourite tips to improve them - identify your personal patterns, powers and pitfalls for each phase of the menstrual cycle - plan your month to perform at your best in all aspects of your life - figure out if you have a hormonal imbalance and what to do about it. Period Power is a no-nonsense guide with all the tools you need to improve your menstrual health.
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In theory, this is a great book. At least for the first third of it. After that, it falls into this pseudo-medical, super-holistic branch of self-help, that I do not vibe with. The moon has nothing to do with periods - our womb doesn't have a tide, despite a figure of speech stating otherwise - and while there is a link between metabolism and hormonal balance, the whole notion of there being just one “healthy” (do not get me started on this stupid phrase, or I'll be here all day) way of living that will cure all your ailments is very ... questionable. The medical stuff is pretty accurate and there are a bunch of amazing quotes in the first part of the book, that vibe with my baby-feminist mind - mostly because they are very funny, even if a bit over the top for the sake of what I guess marketing. Those quotes are also fun examples of the writing style of the author, which steers more towards quirky blog rather than academic research.
“I have spent years healing that pain ??? casually at first, and then with fierce commitment. Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Western herbs, osteopathy, reflexology, massage, homeopathy, nutrition, menstrual cycle awareness, cognitive behavioural therapy, psychotherapy, hands on healing, yoga, divorce, masturbation ??? I have tried them all.”
“They???re also fond of describing it as phallus-like but given the fact that the clitoris in its entirety is larger than an average flaccid penis, I prefer to think of the penis as a small clitoris.”
“If you???re using the sympto-thermal method as contraception, then this is when you need to take other measures, e.g. abstaining (boring, particularly if your libido spikes around ovulation), using condoms (still a bit boring but highly effective), or ???pull and pray??? (fun but it requires a lot of prayer, i.e. arguably not a safe method of contraception because it relies on your lover having an excellent level of control).”
“Periods are the only source of blood not caused by trauma but for the most part they are hidden, managed and minimised, which is ironic, given that they are a sign of a healthy functioning reproductive system and that menstrual blood is a rich source of stem cells ??? a type of cell that can develop into any other cell in the body and is therefore highly valued by the medical community.”
“Why is it that when blood that comes out of a v*gina is caused by a man ???taking??? someone???s virginity, the blood is celebrated ??? sometimes shown off ??? and he is admired and slapped on the back, but when it???s a monthly natural biological process, it???s repulsive and must be kept hidden?”
A mixed bag.
I'm not sure I can fully express the anger I hold for some of this information never being offered by any health practitioner or public education system I had access to.
Big takeaways:
1. TRACK YOUR CYCLE: The bedrock of everything else discussed. You can't figure out what's normal for you and what day you might need something specific to manage mood, energy levels, etc, until you have data. And since I've had a couple painful mysteries corresponding with dismissive doctors over the years, self-advocacy backed up with data is going to be my best bet if troublesome symptoms crop up again.
2. Yeah, menopause does have a bunch of sucky aspects/possibilities but it's not quite the unknowable, unmanageable monster lurking in my future that it was before I picked up this book.
I think the biggest benefit was me finally knuckling down and reading up on the subject; I'm not dealing with the fear of the complete unknown anymore.
I'm now facing the necessity of seeking out more knowledge, including self-knowledge, but it doesn't feel as daunting. Let the data gathering begin!
Pros and Cons:
Self help more than scientific in significantly-sized spots.
Despite claim in the beginning that gendered binary language would really only come into play when citing medical studies where terms ‘woman/female' was used, the default in this book is clearly ‘she'; can't help but feel a little alienating to all those looking for answers that do not identify as ‘she/woman'. Few pages addressing ‘not everyone who menstruates is a woman', does define transgender, intersex, non-binary and aspects of their experience relating to periods, also quotes transgender people.
I do appreciate the book addressing racism affecting health care: how the medical field has treated women of colour, in particular.
I'll admit I skipped the pregnancy and puberty focused sections, but the organization within chapters made it easy to focus on on what was relevant and upcoming for my stage of life.
