Title: Flow: The Cultural Story of Menstruation
Author(s): Elissa Stein and Susan Kim
Genre: non-fiction, women's health

Ah, yes, that favorite time of the month when Aunt Flow comes to visit... Most cultures view a girl's first period as a sign she is a woman and ready to be married. For Western women, we view nature's red gift as an inconvenience or annoyance. The authors have produced an irreverent, yet educational book about menstruation in American society. What is a natural, biological process has been medicalized by the advertising establishment. Stein and Kim also look at how menstrual flow has been viewed throughout history (sacred yet dangerous), the various birth control options available to women (and how it changes our flow), the controversies surrounding hormone replacement therapy, and the various methods that have been used throughout history to gather "nature's bounty." A must-read for all women!