Period Power

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.