A period is something that about 50% of our population experiences 400-500 times in their lives! And yet it is often a “taboo” word in the church, with mixed emotions and medical conditions connected to it.

About the book

We live in a broken and fallen world and one reminder of this is the pain in a woman’s period. Whether you experience your period in a regular cyclical way or you are bleeding too much or not all – a period affects every woman’s life in some way. Rachel Jones does an excellent job of covering the nuances of a woman’s period especially with regards to painful or undiagnosed medical conditions, pregnancy, infertility and menopause. She addresses what culture has to say about womanhood and periods and then carefully unpacks what the bible says. She includes powerful verses that help you understand how worship can increase when blood flows and how Jesus empathizes with us in our pain and suffering. 

I was excited to read this book because a period is something I face on a monthly basis – and that is true for most women. I was also nervous to read this book because I didn’t want to read something stereotypical or condemning. This book was none of those things! Rachel is careful to address her audience covering topics like endometriosis and the shame that comes with periods. She gently exhorts the reader to seek medical help when needed, to view a woman’s cycle through a gospel lens and to not use the pain of periods as an excuse for sin.

This book is worth reading for any woman who wants to understand how they can worship God through the suffering of their periods (or lack thereof). It is also a great resource for men who want to understand what their wives go through and how they can encourage or pray for them. There is also a beautiful section on menopause that is helpful to read if you are walking alongside a mother or friend who is experiencing this season of life. 

A QUOTE AND A QUESTION

“…being a woman is not something I have to do; it’s something I am – a gift to be received.” -p. 120

• How can womanhood be viewed as a gift from God?