Review: My Little Red Book

My Little Red Book
By: Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
Publisher: Twelve Books, Hachette Book Group (2009)
Received from: vvB32 Reads
ISBN: 9780446546362

Summary from the back of the book:
MY LITTLE RED BOOK is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from lighthearted (the editor got hers while waterskiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Judy Blume, Diablo Cody), alongside today;s teens.

Ultimately, MY LITTLE RED BOOK is more than a collection of stories. It is a call for a change in attitude. By revealing what it feels like to undergo this experience firsthand and giving women the chance to explain their feelings in their own words, MY LITTLE RED BOOK aims to provide support, entertainment, and a starting point for discussion for mothers and daughters everywhere.

For additional stories, video, and more information, you can visit the website listed above.

Review:
This book is a must have for women and the men that want to understand them. This was probably the coolest book I have read on the subject. You get to read stories going back as far as 1916 until today. This book really reveals how different cultures look at your first period. What traditions occur during this time. How a girl is now viewed in society. This book has replaced Judy Blume in my opinion in regard to what book should you hand a girl when it comes to her time. This book is very positive even in the sadder stories. The stories themselves are mostly told with a sense of light hearted humor even if at the time it was a horrifying experience (with a few exceptions that just wrench your heart). This book is definitely a beginning to a revolution in which women no longer fear or hide our time of the month at the very least from each other and show support for other women and girls.

Probably the most amusing essay I have ever read is "If Men Could Menstruate" which was not harsh on the men. Even if you don't buy this book (and you should) you have to read that essay it will make you crack up for at least a half hour, longer if you have men around you. This book without a doubt receives a five. I wish I had the money because I would totally gives this book to every woman I have ever met. What is great about this book also is that the royalties for this book are actually going to be donated to a charity to advance women's health and education.