Lauren Jones Jones itibaren Dehen, Himachal Pradesh 176102, Індія itibaren Dehen, Himachal Pradesh 176102, Індія

I am so glad I decided to re-read this book! It's been a long time since high school, and I liked going through it with a fresh perspective. I found myself feeling quite sad at the ending, but I loved it overall. Excited to see the movie!

I decided to get this book because in all my internet searches for help, the site which provided me with the most helpful information was The Hormone Help Center from the director, who is also the author of this book. There is a ton of information there on the site for free, if you want a taste of Dr. Redmond's approach, but I wanted to have his book, which I would assume to be the sum of the knowledge he felt important to get out there to women, in a hand-held format that I could highlight and write notes in. I definitely think it was worth it. Though its intent is to guide women so they can make informed decisions with their own doctors, it came too late in my life to do that for me. Still, it helped me to feel good about the decisions I had made and fine-tuned my understanding of my own treatment. It is also full of reassuring and validating statements and experiences that help you see that you are NOT alone, NOT crazy, and the ARE things you can do about it. It took a long time to read, mostly because life kept interfering with my opportunities to sit down and give it the attention I wanted. Though it deals with what various hormones do, the tests you can have and treatments you can take, I didn’t find it at all dry. The text is peppered with patient’s stories, positive and negative anecdotes about health professionals and medical studies, and observations about culture and aesthetics. I found it very engaging and simple to understand, and I decided to read it front-to-back, even though many of the health issues did not apply to me directly. It was so interesting to see the many different ways our reactions to hormones can go wrong, and what can be done about it. Even a woman who doesn’t have life-altering problems with hormones (or doesn’t think she does) would find it interesting and even helpful in dealing with PMS, menstrual pain, bone health, sex drive, how to make oral contraceptives work for you, and being prepared for menopause. It's like the medical consultation you could only dream of having.

I know it's written for young readers, but it was so. darn. repetitive. Painful painful painful at times. I was eager to get to the conclusion, but I think if it were half as long, it would have been easier to handle.