I picked up this book and was super excited to read it. I have been following Nadya for years and had no idea she wrote a book until I looked up Period Power by Maisie Hill and found Nadia’s book as well.
For this review, I will start with my praises. The book started out talking about period pain, PMS, endometriosis, etc. This is so important because so many menstruators suffer from these ailments. I loved that Nadya made a huge effort to be inclusive, which is very important when speaking about periods since so many people have them. Nadya did a great job bringing attention to the lack of period products for the homeless and incarcerated populations, making me want to take action and donate period products. Nadya included awareness about TSS which is often overlooked.
Here are a few things that I didn’t like about the book:
In the beginning, Nadya talked about endometriosis. Some of the information was blatantly incorrect. Nadya didn’t mention a word about PCOS which affects a lot of people and should have been mentioned in a book about periods. Nadya is a huge advocate for using sustainable period products which is fantastic and I am also a huge advocate for this, however, I think accessibility comes first. I very much disagreed with Nadya’s comments about there being no benefits to using a plastic applicator tampon that outweigh the cons. I find this to be false and slightly ableist. Many menstruators including myself suffer from tilted uteruses, dryness, endometriosis, pelvic floor dysfunction, etc. Using cardboard applicators or tampons with no applicators can be extremely hard for those individuals. I think if you are going to be inclusive, you need to also be inclusive to individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions.
All in all, Nadya’s manifesto was beautiful and served a great purpose. I recommend that everyone read this book. Nadia is an amazing person and advocate for those of us who menstruate. I appreciate all that she has done and urge you all to find a way to be impactful in your community. Whether it’s by donating period products to a shelter or creating period packs for the homeless population. Nadya’s book has inspired me to do something, so stay tuned to see what that is.
September's book for the Menstruators Book Club is Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer
Happy Menstruating!
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