If there’s one thing my bookshelf is full of, it’s period books! There are so many amazing books available to learn all about periods and the menstrual cycle and maybe I’m just biased, but it’s such a fabulous subject.
Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. Please refer to my Affiliate Disclosure for more information.
Today I’m reviewing the delightful book 50 Things You Need to Know About Periods by Claire Baker. If you don’t know Claire, she is a period coach who has been teaching menstrual cycle awareness and how to live in sync with your cycle for the best part of a decade. Now she’s an author who has put all of this wonderful goodness into this book and it’s just the cutest!
If you want to ‘know your flow and live in sync with your cycle’ then this book is a great place to start. With the help of gorgeous illustrations from Rozaline Burkova, Claire imparts all of her wisdom about the menstrual cycle in an easy to digest way.
Delivered as 50 pieces of advice to help you understand the internal rhythm that is your menstrual cycle and how to make the most of each phase of the cycle by working with it, rather than against it.
I will quote directly from the foreword to help give the best insight into why this book is important.
“You may be surprised to learn that, if you’re someone who menstruates, you are at this very moment in time experiencing one of the four phases of the menstrual cycle. You might also be surprised to hear that these four phases vary hormonally, which might explain why you can feel like a different person from week to week. The rise and fall of your hormones can affect mood, motivation, focus, energy levels, memory retention, cognition, desires, confidence, personality, libido, and how your body responds to stress. So, you know, quite a lot…”
I couldn’t agree more, it is a lot. There are so many people who menstruate that would honestly have no idea about the four phases of the menstrual cycle and how the hormone levels of each of these phases basically influence everything about us! For many, many of my menstruating years, I too was one of those people.
It’s not our fault though, this is not something that is taught in schools. Although it very well should be!
But let’s not dwell on the past. We have so many great resources at our fingertips now that can teach us about the power of our menstrual cycle. Let’s make the most of them!
If you want to learn about the hormonal happenings of your menstrual cycle and how they align with the seasons of your cycle then this book is for you.
Yes, if you’re someone who menstruates (and cycles naturally, that is, you’re not on hormonal contraceptives that suppress your hormones) then every monthly cycle you move through four seasons that can be likened to Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.
Claire shares gorgeous insights into each of these phases, their superpowers, their vulnerabilities and tips on how to sync your life to work with the phases rather than against them.
If I had to sum ’50 Things You Need to Know About Periods’ up in ten words they would be: A period positive manifesto that is a delight to devour.
If you would love to finally arm yourself with the menstrual cycle awareness to live your life embracing your cyclical nature, knowing when to go hard, when to take it easy and when to be kind to yourself, then I recommend Claire’s book.
It’s such a gorgeous book, it would also make a perfect gift for a girl or woman in your life, or even anyone who has a menstruating person in their life. Giving someone the gift of this knowledge would be truly special.
I have used this book to help my husband understand the phases of my cycle. As I entered into a new phase, I would give him the book opened to that section and say “Here, have a read about the summer phase that I’m heading into now.” He was able to pick up on the qualities of the summer phase, like spontaneity, when he suggested we go to the pub for dinner on a last minute whim one night. Something he believed I wouldn’t have been so up for and relaxed about if I hadn’t been in my summer!
When we invite the ones we love into this intimate understanding of our cycle, it can only help them to understand us better. This is not just relevant for our partners and husbands but even our dads. Especially dads of teenage girls, who only want to understand their daughters better. Maybe we should add it to the required reading list for father’s of daughters?
You can buy this book here on Booktopia or here on Amazon.
If you want more from Claire, click here to head to her website where she has a stack of great free resources plus some wonderful menstrual cycle awareness courses.
Want to see what other period books I recommend? Check them out here on my resources page.
Ellie Heasman
The Better Period
Ellie Heasman is a period blogger and founder of The Better Period. Ellie helps people on their journey to a better period through introducing them to the world of menstrual cups and period underwear, and sharing knowledge about the menstrual cycle and fertility awareness. You can join in the better period conversations on Instagram @thebetterperiod_ or find out more about Ellie here.